Page 51 of Degrees of Control

“Not American football, I get thrown off by all the shoulder pads. I like Australian Rules though. What’s your family like?”

“Mom and dad. Two brothers, two sisters.”

This isn’t a conversation, Bell, it’s a verbal tennis match.

“Does your dad wear a white suit and one of those string ties?”

James made a face. “I think you’re confusing my daddy with Colonel Sanders, darlin’. You’re close with your family, right?”

“Really close. I talk to them a few times a week, make sure my accent doesn’t go wonky. My sister Tess lived in London for two years and when she came home she had these horrible British inflections.”

“Right.” James spun his empty bowl around on the counter. No response, no anecdotes of his own.

“So what’s your job exactly? All I know is that you wear a suit.”

“I’m the Director of Operations for a livestock exporting company, something I’m guessin’ you wouldn’t be crazy about, Blue-Eyes?”

She gave him a winning smile. “Hey, I didn’t become a vegan to make everyone feel bad. That’s what global warming’s for.”

James snorted. “Well my job isn’t all touchy-feely, runnin’ in the park like yours. It’s a lot of paperwork, a lot of meetings.”

“Do you like it?”

He shrugged, more than a little animosity in the gesture. Suddenly he hauled himself to his feet, collected both their empty bowls and grabbed another beer from the fridge. He popped it open and leant against the counter with a languorous smile that made her stomach flutter. “Ever done anal, Blue-Eyes?”

Of course he would bring the conversation back to sex, the only plane he was comfortable on and she was not. Charlie felt herself blush. She shook her head. “I’ve thought about trying it though. Maybe we could… If you’re interested?”

He gave her a sly smile. “You want me to be your first?”

“Urgh, it’s bad enough men have one virginity to gloat over without adding another.”

James took a deep swallow of beer. “How did you lose your virginity?”

Charlie pressed her hands to her mouth. “With you, James. Oh God, I wasn’t meant to say anything.” He scowled and the tension eased a little. “In the back of a Holden commodore with The Foo Fighters on the radio. He couldn’t get it in for ages.”

“That’s pretty terrible, sweetheart.”

“Hey, we were seventeen. It was pretty standard seventeen-year-old sex fumbling. What about you?”

James grimaced and her imagination went wild. Was it a friend’s sister? A lingerie model? Two lingerie models? But he didn’t elaborate. “I was a little younger. Anyway, the answer’s ‘sure I’ll take your tight littlevirginass’.”

Charlie considered this and her palms coated themselves in sweat. “Uh, I don’t mean tonight or anything, I think that’s an event you have to…prepare for.”

James leaned forward and tangled a hand through her hair. “Okay, so not tonight. Do you want to play a little game with me instead?”

“What kind of game?” Charlie didn’t know why she bothered asking. Whatever it was, she was going to do it.

“A kind of game I like.” James grinned, the lasciviousness of his smile turning her stomach to liquid. He really did have beautiful eyes. Green with amber flecks, lashes as long as her arm. His hair was blond but his lashes were so black. How? She was staring now. She had to stop staring…

James’ hand tightened in her hair. “How about you put on something pretty and meet me back here, Blue-Eyes?”

“What will happen when I came back?”

James moved closer so their foreheads were touching. “You’re gonna push me away. You’re gonna let me talk you into bed even though you’re a good little girl who never does anything of the sort.”

“Strangers?”

James nodded. “You remember your safe-word?”

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