Page 108 of High Roller

I wave her away and pick up my book. “Since you won’t read me something of yours, I’ll have to make do with this.”

Grace walks away, and I curl up with the book. The rest of the weekend looks similar, with Victor away from the house working, and Grace and I getting to know each other. There is heavy flirting between us, but so far there’s been no repeat of the kiss we shared.

On Sunday, after Victor leaves for work, I fix lunch for the two of us, and we sit at the bar talking easily. Our conversation shifts to her writing again. “Come on, Grace. Read me something. Please? I have very little excitement in my life right now, given my current circumstances.”

Grace rolls her eyes at me and shakes her head again. I’ve been pestering her off and on all weekend, but she’s still holding out.

I should probably accept no for an answer, but I’m so damn curious, and the thought of Grace reading something erotic is too much of a pull to give up that easily. Creative writing has never been a talent of mine, but I’ve always wished it were, and that makes my curiosity about what Grace writes even stronger.

“I’m working on something right now. If I like it when I’m done with it, maybe… possibly… I’ll read it to you.”

“Why wouldn’t you like it? Are you hard on yourself?”

Grace sighs. “Yes. I usually hate everything I write.”

I stand. “Go get it. We’re going to practice being kind to ourselves.”

I point and try to appear stern, but she laughs. “Fine. But only so you’ll leave me alone.”

Grace gets her laptop, and we move to the couch in the den where she gives me the pleasure of reading a story about two women engaging in a forbidden relationship. The chemistry is magic, and her prose is as close to perfect as I’ve seen. My hunch that she has natural talent was right. I give her a smug grin as she moves to the next chapter.

“Well, this is unexpected.”

We both whip around at the sound of Victor’s voice. He stands in the doorway of the den, his jacket unbuttoned, and one hand casually in his pocket as he pulls his tie free with the other. Phineas in a suit has never done what Victor in a suit is doing for me now.

“She forced me,” Grace blurts, slamming the laptop shut.

“Forced?” he questions, strolling farther into the room.

“I did put a lot of pressure on her,” I admit. But he’s not looking at me. He leans forward and taps the closed laptop.

“Keep going, butterfly. That’s not a request.”

Grace squeezes her eyes shut, and I’m sure she’s mentally cursing me as she lifts the lid on the computer again and waits for it to wake up.

Victor drops to the ottoman in front of the sofa where Grace and I sit and leans forward. “Go ahead, butterfly. I won’t even make you back up to the beginning.”

“I hate both of you,” she mutters. As she opens the laptop and waits for the screen to load.

“That’s OK. Just as long as you keep doing as you’re told,” Victor teases, running a hand up her thigh.

Her voice shakes as she launches into a paragraph in the middle of an oral sex scene.

As she reads, Victor shifts her, so she sits facing him, then pulls her legs apart and slides his hand between her thighs. The twinge of jealousy that flashes catches me off guard.

“You’re soaked. Is it the idea of having anyone lick this sweet cunt or the idea of another woman doing it?”

For some reason, I’m holding my breath as I wait for her answer.

“Both,” she whispers.

Victor looks at me. “You’ve kissed her. Are you interested in more?”

My eyes widen and I look at Grace.

“I…”

“It’s a simple question. Do you want to eat Grace’s pussy?”

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