Page 81 of The Charmer's Gambit
“Oh, quiet, Mister ‘Knock Her Up And Leave Her,’?” Sarah snapped. I didn’t follow the reference but assumed he had said something like that about her at some point. And from her expression, she was not a fan.
“You were right, Evan,” he murmured, unfazed. His blue gaze danced over my best friend in a way that would make most women squirm, but Sarah was not most women. She folded herarms and glowered at the too-forward man, which only seemed to amuse him. “I do like her.”
“I don’t think the feeling is mutual,” Evan replied with a grin at his fuming fiancée. “Which I also anticipated.”
“It’ll make for an eventful wedding, I’m sure.” Garrett lifted a glass to his lips and gave a motion for her to proceed.
“I cannot believe he’s your best friend,” she all but growled.
“He grows on you,” Will put in.
Sarah and I shared a look.Yeah. Right.
“Anyway,” she said, addressing Mark again. He’d watched the entire exchange with a bored expression. “I need you to teach my twin sister a lesson.”
His brow furrowed. “That does not sound like something I’d be interested in doing. At all.”
“But I’ll pay you handsomely for it,” Sarah said with a pointed look at Garrett. “Since I have the funds.” When he didn’t react, she continued her spiel. “What do you think, Kincaid? Intrigued?”
“Not even slightly,” he replied honestly while examining his watch.
“What if I make things interesting?”
He gave her a doubtful look in response.
“Hear me out over dinner,” she continued.
“Why?”
“Because it’ll be a free meal.”
Both of his eyebrows lifted. “And you’re under the impression I require free food?” He sounded more amused than annoyed.
She sighed. “You’re going to make me beg, aren’t you? What will it take to hear me out?”
Mark studied her for a long moment, his expression flattening. I couldn’t tell if he took pity on my best friend or if he just wanted to end the discussion, but he finally sighed, “Fine.I accept the dinner offer, but I’m telling you now that I’m not interested in your pet project.”
Sarah brightened. “Oh, we’ll see how you feel after I pitch my idea.”
“I’m confident I’ll feel the same.”
“Ye of little faith,” she teased.
Will wrapped his arms around me from behind and laid his chin on my shoulder. “Unfortunately,” he murmured, “we won’t be joining you all for dinner, but good luck on the negotiation. In the meantime, I need to have a chat with Miss Dawson.”
I shivered against him despite being warm. “A chat?”
His scruff tickled my neck as he nodded. He pressed his lips to my ear and whispered low so no one else could hear. “I want you naked and waiting for me in my bed in five minutes.”
Adrenaline shot through veins, setting my bloodstream on fire. Holy hell, that was hot. I had to force myself to swallow, to remember to breathe. When he talked to me like that, my entire world halted. Nothing else existed but Will and the visceral need he created deep within. We’d spent the last month and a half together nonstop, and I still hadn’t gotten enough of him. I doubted I ever would.
It wasn’t until he let me go that I remembered our company in the room. Garrett’s gaze was knowing, while Sarah and Evan seemed too absorbed in a discussion about where to go for dinner to notice, and Mark had his phone out again.
“Uh, I’m going to change,” I announced somewhat lamely. “Since we’re not going out to dinner.”
Sarah’s eyebrows danced up, and I knew what she was thinking.Rachel lives in business attire. True. I loved my skirt suits, but Will wanted me naked. That qualified as a change of clothes, right?
“Good luck at dinner,” I said before she could comment. “And we’ll catch up tomorrow or later tonight.”
