Page 87 of The Protégé

“What? You’re so random.” Amusement flickered in his eyes. “And strange.”

“Thanks for the compliment. Now, answer the question.” I held up a finger. “You have one minute to think about it.”

Orion stared at my lacy thong as though it could tell him the answer.

“You won’t find the answer there.” I leveled my head.

“You’re wrong. Just looking at it has given me some ideas.” His lips quirked. “The sun likes working at the bakery because it likes to rise.”

My jaw dropped. “How do you know that?”

“Because your pussy told me.” Orion leaned in. “I answered correctly, so now I get to remove one thing, right?”

There wasn’t much to remove on me, but that wasn’t the point of this game.

He must have read the riddle somewhere. I had a collection of weird riddles from when I had my blog.

“One thing.” I straightened my posture, still trying to figure out how he knew the answer.

“I want your thong off.” With finesse, he slid off my panties and pressed them to his nose, inhaling. “You smell so good.”

The image of him with that intimate gesture was etched into my mind. I’d never watched a man do that before. It was hot as hell.

“My turn now.” He scrunched up my underwear in his hand and leaned back in the chair, looking like a decorated general who had won a battle. “Why did the book go to the police?” He met my gaze, but then his eyes slid to my sex.

I crossed my legs and folded my arms over my chest, wondering if he had a weird collection of riddles too.

“Why did you do that?” he asked.

“Do what?”

“Cross your legs. The whole reason for me taking off your thong was for me to admire it, along with your gorgeous breasts. You’re like the perfect piece of art for me to study. You know I collect art and other fine things, right?”

“I want to see them one day,” I said, then glanced over at the sliding door with the bug net. “Well, there’s a breeze, and I could catch a cold, so I need to cross my legs.” The summer humidity had lessened compared to the last few days.

He didn’t call me out on the ridiculous excuse.

I didn’t have to think long to reply to his riddle. “The book went to the police station because it had to report evidence of an indescribable plot twist.”

Something flashed in his eyes. It wasn’t surprise, but something else. A recognition? An epiphany of some sort? Had my silly answer helped him figure something out?

“Did I answer it correctly?” I pursed my lips.

“You did.” He tucked my thong into his pants pocket.

“I want your pants off,” I said.

Without hesitation, he rose from the chair.

“No. Let me do it.” I hopped off the kitchen table—which had never been kissed by my ass until today—and gripped his dark jeans. I removed his belt, dropped it to the floor, and tugged down his pants. A massive bulge tented under his boxers.

Orion was so gorgeous, so masculine. He stood like an inexplicable monument in my kitchen. He possessed the face of a sex god while radiating irresistible power. Though he called me Sunshine, he was the one who emanated power like the sun. I couldn’t look away.

I wanted to touch him, but I couldn’t until I answered another riddle. It was my rule, and no matter how I wanted to break it, I had to see this through.

How long would it take for him to lose control? How long would it take me?

As though he understood my need, he smiled and sat down. Unlike me, he opened his thighs so I could see his massive bulge in its glory.

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