Page 132 of Now and Forever

“Fuck me however you want. Fuck me like you did that model in your bed.”

“No, and for future reference, mentioning another person will kill a guy’s mood,” he muttered, immediately rolling off of me so fast the absence of his body’s warmth left me bereft.

His cold tone snapped me back in place, making me realize I had showed too much, given too much without getting anything in return. I was just someone he wanted to mess around with for fun. It probably boosted his ego to see me undone, ready for his command while still he kept me at arm’s length.

“Note taken. Thanks for the advice. I’ll make sure not to get carried away. It’ll come in handy for the next guy.”

His head spun so quickly to face me it made me lose my breath. “Dare to bring another man in this bed, and you’ll see what getting carried away really means!” he seethed with unmistakable disdain, lacing his words with an underlying threat.

He could fucking try.

“I can bring whomever I want. This is my bed. You don’t see me complaining about your models.” My hands were shaking so much I was surprised I contained myself from slapping his cheek.

“I won’t be doing much of that … as long as you promise me the same.”

Obviously, he would take his women elsewhere, while I would have to settle with going over to the guy’s house if it really came to that. However, I didn’t want to be put in position where I couldn’t bring anyone over to my place just because Drew Cavendish had said so. It was beyond absurd. And what was even more surprising was the very fact itself that he was dead serious about it.

“Am I not allowed to have a healthy sex life like the rest of the population? Do you honestly expect me to go to the guy’s house?”

His eyes became so dark I could barely spot the blue. “I don’t want you to, but if you have to, I don’t want to know.”

“Why the hell not?”If his intention was to mind fuck me, then he had successfully accomplished that. Well done.

“I don’t fucking know,” he growled into the room, seemingly just as confused as I was.

I gave up. There was no point in delving much further into it. There was nothing there. The main problem was me being able to detach my emotional self from everything I did with him since he had been forthcoming about having no designs on being in a relationship with me.

“You know what? I’m done having this conversation.”

“So am I.”

At least we agreed on something.

“Good night,” I said, barely glancing at him before resting back on the pillow. Never had sleep sounded so inviting.

Much to my surprise, he kissed my forehead before getting to his feet and switching off the light. I had expected him to leave the door ajar like he had last night. However, much to my dismay, he pulled down the sheets on the opposite side of the bed, pulled his pants down, and slipped into my bed with nothing but his boxer briefs on.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m sleeping with you,” he said like it were a given.

I wanted to pull my hair out, scream—anything to channel the frustration that had been one hell of a nightmare all day.

“What if I tell you I don’t want you in my bed?”

He pulled himself closer to me, sliding an arm under my neck as if it were the most natural thing to do in the world and he hadn’t spent half of the evening dismissing the possibility of us happening.

With his lips close to my ear, he then whispered, “I’m not going to have sex with you; that should put you at ease.”

“Heaven help us if you did fuck me.” I almost laughed at the stupidity of this conversation.

I was about to say something snarky when I felt his arm loosely drape across my waist before he left a soft kiss behind my ear.

“I don’t want to fight anymore, babe. We’re both tired. The past, the present, and what happens in the future—let’s forget it all. I just want to be in the moment … with you and nothing else.”

I didn’t say anything. I was beyond words. Not only that, but the way he held me made me consider that he might just like having a girl around to cuddle with, and I was a good candidate for it. This didn’t mean anything, not in a way that mattered. Still, I would take what I could get and simply pray to God I could come out of this sane.

It didn’t take long until I became subdued, gradually drifting halfway into subconscious with his arms fastened around me. Never had I realized how a woman could feel safe when the person who held her was the one she held dear to her heart. It was wrong to feel right, but there was nothing else to describe it.

“Chlo?” His lips touched the base of my neck then trailed against the soft, sensitive side just above my shoulder. “Baby …?” he said, breathing the scent of my skin, and then I felt the tip of his nose brushing softly, affectionately. “I’ll see you in your dreams, cupcake.”

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