Page 198 of Rules of Association

“Finish up, baby. We have plans.”

“We do?” I wrapped my arms around him. “Well, as long as they don’t go past Monday when you officially start as CEO of your own company, then I guess that’s fine.”

He looked down on me with serious eyes. “I’m pretty sure legally you have to sell to me, Cee.”

“I’m selling for a dollar. Take it or leave it,” I said snuggling into him.

He leaned back. “Don’t you want your dollar, then?”

“I already took it,” I said.

“When?”

Patting his ass, I reached into his back pocket and grabbed his wallet, pulled out the one dollar bill I’d planted there last night before returning his wallet to its glorious resting place. “Just now. Pleasure doing business with you.”

He laughed. “What about a contract, Ceci?”

I shrugged, and he looked down at me for long beats, reading me until he understood. “The paperwork is done too, huh?”

I nodded.

“Did you forge my signature?” he asked.

“Who wants to know? You or your legal team?” I asked.

“Celestia.” It was a mix between a groan and a disbelieving laugh. It made me smile too.

“I only signed the last name,” I assured him. Then with a peek up to his eyes I said, “I figured It wouldn’t be that much of a problem if someday it wasn't a lie.”

Like a curtain lowering, he changed. I could feel his energy shift from relaxed and happy to something excited and charged. His hands splayed out on my back, one resting nearly on my ass and squeezing. “Fuck later. We’re leaving now.”

“Connor!” I laughed. “I didn’t even get to the apologizing part.”

“Fuck that too,” he said as he started to pull me away from the dwindling crowd and toward the beach behind the festival. “Say it when you’re on top of me, I don’t give a damn.”

“Geez,” I said but couldn’t help the jolt of excitement as I followed him. When we passed the turn to the parking lot though, I slowed. “Where are we going?”

A swat to my ass got me moving again. “Keep up, you’ll know it when you see it.”

I guess excited Connor was bossy.

Sometimes, I have to play hardball with you.

It was a while ago now that, he’d said that and it still brought this tingly feeling to my body. I followed him quietly along the outer edge of the beach until we reached a certain point, and he began to cut across toward a figure in the distance.

The sun was setting both beside us and on the other side of the world. We were on the very edge of fall, the air starting to cool for the night earlier than it had in the summer, the sunset less pink and more of a warm yellow and orange. I know it probably made my hair look like fire and my eyes look crazy in the almost identical glow.

Connor stopped, and yanked me up toward him, scooping hands underneath my butt and dragging me into the air against his body.

“Con!” I tipped as I wrapped my arms and legs around him. My dress riding up. “Why are you carrying me?”

“I want to look at you.”

“You should be looking where you’re walking!” I said looking behind us to do just that. He was walking straight enough though, so I returned my gaze to his to find him staring straight at me. He wasn’t smiling anymore. Not laughing either, just looking at me with this hard serious expression on his face.

“What is it?” I asked him.

He moved his eyes over my face, sliding them like a caress from one end to the other. Doing the same to my eyes and then my hair. “You’re like the fucking sun.”

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