Page 227 of If Our Hearts Collide

Her lip curls up into a smirk. “And all this time I thought you didn’t care or even see me. You have a jealous streak, Mr. Stone.”

“And you have a defiant streak, Miss Hoffman.”

She busies herself by filling another mug with water and then offering it to me, which I accept. I could get used to her serving me, with her sassy smile and creamy smooth thighs.

“For you, sir.”

My eyes narrow on hers. I’m starting to learn that Penny thrives on playing games and driving me wild. “I could get used to you being my little servant.”

She huffs out a laugh, obviously finding my comment fun. Her upper teeth gnaw on her lower lip, drawing my attention to the sensitive flesh.

“You’d fire me the first day for not taking orders.”

My lips curl into a smile. “Or punish you for your disobedience.”

“It’s not a punishment if I like it.”

I nod, thinking about the possibilities for the near future. “True.” Maybe fucking the brattiness out of her in feral lust will do the trick then.

“Anyway”—she takes a sip of her drink—“it was just a few times at Soulful Mind when we were messing around.”

Okay, we are back to the fucker again…

“No fluids were exchanged, but that’s because I wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment. He got pretty mad that I wanted to take things slow.” She shrugs, obviously thinking back on thesituation. “Huh, well, maybe that is why he called me a prude the one time we were making out, and I wouldn’t give him a hand job.”

I clench my mug so tightly that I worry I might shatter it. It takes everything in me to resist the urge to relocate the asshole and verify that he knows never to contact Penny ever again. It’s not like he hasn’t already been threatened to stay the hell away from her—by numerous people. Sometimes a broken nose just adds necessary punctuation to the message.

Penny deserves a man, not some boy looking to scratch an itch.

“I would prefer to not use condoms, Penny,” I say, trying to get back to the point of this whole thing.

“Okay…”

“Thus, it’s best to talk with a professional about a birth control schedule and to make sure that both of us are healthy.”

“I’m pretty sure no one actually has this talk when they hook up after a night out partying. Just sayin’.”

“Well, this should be the normal and responsible thing to do before starting any sexual relationship. It’s also the difference between being with a man versus a man-child.”

“I’m pretty sure we are in the minority, Collins.”

“How so?”

“Well, most people enter into relationships for the romance aspect. And nothing about a sex contract screams hearts and flowers.”

“At least it will offer protection in the aspect that we both will know exactly what to expect. Plus, you’d be surprised what people do behind closed doors. We might not be as much in the minority as you think.”

“I don’t need the romance. I just need the rapture. I don’t need a Hallmark card love story, Collins. What I want is a slam-me-against-the-wall fuckfest.”

“Bloody hell.”

“And right now, this teetering along the edge of right and intensely wrong is making me feel all sorts of temptation.” She fixes her hair behind her ear. “I don’t want condoms.”

“Good. We are in mutual agreement.”

“And I’ve been getting injections periodically for years to help with cramps. So I’m good to”—her eyes meet mine—“go. So let’s get it on.”

“Patience.”

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