Page 84 of Irresistibly Wild

“I could’ve sworn I taught you how to make yourself come a lot harder than that,” he whispered. “As much as I would like to finish this and test my theory on your orgasms, our contract calls for no fucking or shared beds, so…”

He moved off the mattress and walked towards the living room, leaving me beyond bereft and breathless.

“Goodnight, Mrs. Carter.”

SEVENTEEN & A HALF

PRESENT DAY

TRAVIS

Fifty Miles Outside Las Vegas

Ihad no idea how to get through the rest of my marriage without enduring the most painful case of “blue balls” in history.

What the hell was I thinking?

ACT SEVEN

BACK THEN

TATIANA

Portland, Oregon

What the hell am I thinking?

I’m staring at Travis via my phone’s screen, feeling more conflicted than ever. It’s a little after midnight, and I’m holed up in a hotel bathroom.

“I can’t talk to you right now,” I say. “I’ll have to call you tomorrow.”

“Why are you whispering?”

“That’s not the point. Hang up the phone.”

“I don’t want to.” He smiles and lays back in a bed I don’t recognize, shirtless with his abs on full display. On any other night, I would happily continue our routine of talking until sunrise, but I don’t have it in me today.

“If you can’t talk, what’s the reason?” he asks.

“It’s not a good time and I’m tired.”

“Give me therealreason.”

“That’s it. Accept it.”

“If you weren’t such a terrible liar, I would.” He sits up, looking into my eyes. “Tell me.”

“It’s because your sister called me a cunt on the podium two hours ago.”

“You called her a bitch first.” He smiles. “I read your lips on TV.”

“No, I said, ‘Good job out there today.’”

Then I called her a bitch.

“You told her to get used to being in second place.” He laughs and tilts his head to the side, disarming me in a way that only he can. “Congratulations on winning first place tonight. You deserved it.”

“I didn’t know you were watching.”

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