Page 55 of Forbidden Harmony

“Yes.”

“You’re not fucking them.”

“Why do you care?” she said. “I offered youthe opportunity first and you turned me down flat. So, why do you even carewho I have sex with?”

“I’ve changed my mind.”

“I… what? Why?”

“Does it matter? I’ve thought it over andchanged my mind about giving you lessons on fucking.”

“Maybe I’ve changed my mind too. Maybe Idon’t want your help anymore,” she said.

He leaned closer and licked her bottomlip. She moaned, her mouth parting immediately and he grinned before nippingat her lip. “Liar.”

She licked the spot he nipped and glared athim. “You’re not playing fair.”

“I never do.” He straightened and pulledher to her feet before taking her phone and dropping it into her purse. “Let’sgo, Sunshine.”

“Go where?” she said as he led her towardthe back of the shop.

“It’s time for lesson one.”

“I don’t want to keep having sex at yourshop,” she said. “It seems like it might be a bit unsanitary for yourbusiness.”

That made him laugh and she smiled timidlyat him. He led her down the hallway and unlocked the door at the end of itbefore leading her up the narrow staircase. He opened the door and she staredin surprise at his small apartment.

“You live above the shop?”

“Yeah.” He kicked off his boots as shetook her heels off and placed them neatly on the mat.

His place was just a bachelor pad with a tinyliving room and an even tinier kitchen. There was a TV, a coffee table, a smallbookshelf stuffed with books and a loveseat in the living space. His doublebed was against the far wall with a nightstand on one side and a dresser on theother and that was it for furniture.

He kept his place clean and tidy, but hewas suddenly a little embarrassed by how small it was. Not to mention the seventiesdécor. The orange shag carpeting that covered the floor was gaudy and ugly,the beige linoleum in the tiny kitchen was chipped and faded, and the avocadogreen fridge was hideous. But it was furnished and decorated when he boughtthe shop and he’d never gotten around to updating it. Didn’t seem necessary.No one but Gideon ever saw this place anyway.

This was his sanctuary from the outsideworld and he never brought the women he fucked here. He either fucked them atwhatever grungy place they lived at or took them to a motel. He should bedoing the same with Addison, but he was too goddamn horny to wait. He couldmake an exception just this once.

“I like your place,” Addison said.

“Yeah, right,” he said.

“No, I do,” she said. “It’s small but Ilike the seventies feel of it.”

She smiled at him before walking to thelarge window that overlooked main street. He followed her and yanked down theblind. She glanced at him and he shrugged.

“No one needs to know you’re up here.”

“Right,” she said. “I’m sorry. I promisedI would be discreet and I’m already breaking that promise.”

She walked the couple of steps to thekitchen. “Could I get a drink?”

He opened the fridge. It had beer, a fewtakeout boxes from a Chinese food restaurant, and a bottle of hot sauce.

“I’ve got beer or water,” he said.

“Water is fine.”

“It’s just from the tap,” he said as hegrabbed one of his two glasses from the cupboard.

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