Page 61 of Spark

“I am. Who knew? My family, I suppose. But who else?” I pick up Bruno and wave it at him. “Now that you’ve seen my dildo, and I’ve seen your kinky little handcuffs, I feel like we’ve entered a new stage of our friendship, babe. One where it feels perfectly natural for you to let me read your kinky little?—”

“No.”

I toss my dildo onto the bed in a huff. “Why are you being so stubborn about this? So what, you like to smack an ass on occasion? What could possibly be so shocking that you won’t let me read your dirty fantasies?”

“It’s not shocking. It’s just . . . Personal. Really personal.” He shifts his weight. Licks his lips. “Honestly, it’s just so fucking hot, I can’t believe I wrote it. Since we’re only friends, it feels like it would cross a line for me to show it to you.”

I open my mouth to speak but close it again. What can I say to refute that, really? If it’s thatdirty, he’s probably right. But do I want that to be right? No. In this moment, every cell inmy body wants him to show me what he wrote, anyway. Our friendship be damned.

“Will I show it to the next woman I have sex with?” Kendrick continues. “Hell yeah. Because I’m sure it’ll make her super wet and horny.”

My eyebrows ride up.

“But, you know, as friends, I think we should draw some boundaries in terms of how graphically we talk about sex and our hottest fantasies. As friends, should we really be talking about the stuff that turns us on the most? I don’t think so. You’ve already found out more about me than I would have told you.” He jerks his chin toward his nightstand, presumably referring to those kinky handcuffs, and I swear to God, my clit pulses in reply.

“Um, yeah,” I say slowly. “I get what you’re saying, in concept. But don’t you sometimes talk to your guy friends about sex?”

“Sometimes.” He smirks. “But not in graphic detail. And you’re not a guy.”

“So what? I’m still your friend.”

He stares at me, immovable.

“So, does that mean your lyrics are in graphic detail?”

“Very much so. They’re as graphic as it gets. Whatever you’re imagining, it’s that and more. Much more.”

My eyes widen. “Really? Jesus, Kendrick. What the fuck is in that thing?” I swear, the more he tells me about it while refusing to tell me about it, the more intrigued and turned on I get.

Kendrick drags his teeth over his lower lip. “Tell the truth. You want to read ‘Spank’ while using Bruno, don’t you?”

I haven’t thought about doing that. But now that he’s mentioned it, I’m instantly obsessed with the idea. “I mean, I wouldn’t say no to doing that. Especially if it’ll make you give it to me.”

Kendrick’s chest heaves. “I might have said yes to helping you out, if you’d been a good girl and respected my boundaries. But as it stands, I can’t give it to you, or else you’ll never learn your lesson.”

“I will, though. Right after you show it to me, I’ll learn a valuable lesson, I swear.”

Kendrick laughs. “About what?”

“Persistence.”

We both laugh.

“Sorry, I can’t do it, babe,” he says. “You’re a monster, and you need to learn.” He smirks. “Speaking of monsters . . .” He motions to Bruno on the bed. “Should we agree on a notification system for when you’re getting busy with Bruno? A sock on the doorknob, perhaps?”

“That won’t be necessary. I’ll use him when you’re out.”

“I wouldn’t want to deprive you of a single orgasm, if you suddenly feel the urge to have one.”

What’s happening? I know his words didn’t say it, but it sure feelslike Kendrick is tacitly offering to give me orgasms during my stay here. Am I crazy? Am I drunk on all the racy, imagined thoughts I’m having about what might be scribbled on the pages of “Spank?”

Kendrick lays his large palm on his bare abs again, drawing my attention to them, the same as before. “I normally jerk off in bed, but while you’re here, I’ll do it in the shower. Maybe that strategy would work for you, too. Is Bruno waterproof?”

The image of Kendrick jerking off in the shower flickers across my mind, sending tingles into my panties. “He’s waterproof, yes, but I wouldn’t be able to do my thing with him in there if I knew you could hear the telltale buzz from out here.”

He cocks his head with a smile. “Didn’t you just say there’s no shame in masturbation?”

“There isn’t. But that doesn’t mean I can relax enough todo it when I know someone can overhear me. I’m shy like that. Always have been.”

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