Page 19 of Save Me the Trouble
We started the run at an easy pace, our steps echoing against the pavement. The city was just beginning to wake up, the streets still relatively quiet as we made our way toward Pike Place Market.
“Do you run a lot?” I asked after a few minutes of silence, doing my best to try and keep my voice steady.
“Every day I’m not in the office. Helps clear my head.”
I made a soft noise and tried to focus on my breathing. Cardio wasn’t exactly my thing.
“So, what’s on the agenda for today?”
If I wasn’t so focused on keeping pace and not tripping in the middle of the sidewalk, I would’ve glared at him.
Instead, I swallowed over the lump growing in my throat and let my exertion mask my unease. “Sex,” I blurted out and then realized how it sounded. Like, I meant the physical act itself. “I meant intimacy questions,” I panted, shaking my head and feeling like a fool. “Not actual sex. Obviously—” I broke off with a cry as he grabbed my arm and hauled me to a stop…against his chest.
I was swallowed up by his gaze. His heat. I couldn’t tell if it was my galloping heart or his I felt pounding against my chest.
And then the blaring car horn invaded my attention as it blew past us. I gasped and looked over my shoulder, now seeing theDo Not Walksignal that I’d missed.
Holy shit.
“Whatever you meant, I’m sure running into oncoming traffic wasn’t part of the plan,” he said with a low growl.
“Right,” I stammered, knowing I should pull away but, for some reason, couldn’t find the strength to move.
There was something in his gaze…something that felt like it was reaching out to me like I was some kind of lifeline.
“You were saying,” he murmured low, his eyes drifting to my mouth. “Something about sex.”
He was sweat and musk and man…and I was almost made a fool of again.
“Intimacy,” I choked out and stepped back. The crossing signal changed, and I let out a sigh of relief, picking up my jog again. “I need to complete your intimacy profile,” I said when he caught up to me. “Compatibility is just as important inside the bedroom as it is outside.”
He made a low sound that I swore was a laugh. “Not sure I’d put compatibility at the top of the list of intimacy essentials.”
He always had to be difficult.
“Okay, then what would you put at the top?”
“Attraction,” he said without missing a beat.
“Tell me more.” I tried to focus on my breathing. On remaining steady. Calm. Not on the powerful strides of the man beside me nor the way his muscles flexed in perfect coordination and definitely, most importantly, not the electrical attraction pulling me toward him.
“This profile…this match engine you have…it can mine the data and find me a perfect fit, but that doesn’t matter in the bedroom. It’s not about fit, it’s about connection. A spark. Anache to be with the other person. There is no statistic that can measure ache.”
“I think you might be surprised,” was all I could manage on principle…mostly because I agreed with him, but it was my job not to say that.
We slowed as we reached where the road dead-ended at Pike Place Market, the giant bronze pig staring at me from across the street. The vendors were just starting to arrive at the market to set up for the day, the scene feeling more intimate and real than it would later in the afternoon when it was bursting at the seams with tourists.
“Where to now?”
He nodded toward the market. “Let’s walk.”
We crossed the street in silence, my heart thudding loudly in my ears. It would’ve been easier to continue this conversation while we were running—while my adrenaline was exerted elsewhere—but I couldn’t put it off.
“I need to know your preferences for the profile. All of them. So, if you like to be spanked or have a red room of pain, this is the time to confess.” I tried to make it sound light—easy—but all I noticed was the higher pitch my voice had taken.
“No red room of pain.” His pace slowed—stopped right next to the bronze pig, forcing me to stop also and face him. His expression was intense—too intense to escape. “Just a blue room of pleasure.”
My jaw dropped and then snapped closed. “I need you to answer seriously, Mr. Crown. This is one of the most critical—” I broke off with a sharp inhale when he closed the space between us.
