Page 61 of Mr. Big Shot

“She’s a wild beast,” I assure him.

“Really?” He nuzzles his nose against hers, and I just blink at them wondering if Moira somehow knows exactly what she’s doing trying to steal my man.

Eventually, after they’re done bonding, he sets her down and she winds through his legs before hissing at me as she walks back to her window of choice.

“Can I get you a drink?” I ask him. “Water? Soda? Iced tea? Hard liquor? A seltzer?”

He’s still looking around my apartment. “Water’s fine. Is this you?”

I’ve already started to head toward the kitchen island so I can’t be sure which framed photo he’s pointing to on the TV console. “Is it the one where I’m missing my two front teeth?”

“Yeah, and your hair’s all tangled.”

I laugh. “Yeah, that was the day after Halloween and I was hopped up on ten different types of sugar. Okay here’s your water. Take it and sit down and we’ll start.”

He turns to me, entirely too amused. “We don’t actually have to do this. In fact, we really shouldn’t.”

Rejection washes over me so swiftly it feels like a sucker punch.

“You don’t want to?”

Chapter Twenty-One

Hudson

I wipe a hand down my face, trying and failing to come up with the right words here. Do I want to seduce and have my wicked way with Scarlett? Uh, yeah, would love to, actually. Thanks for asking.

Should I be doing this, though? Now that’s the real question.

I know I’ve already agreed to it and I’m here, in her apartment, but it’s not too late to talk some sense into her. She’s standing in front of me brimming with pure innocence. She doesn’t even have the capacity to mask her hurt over thinking I’m rejecting her.

“I can’t be the best person for this. Surely there are a million guys lined up around the block. Here, let’s get you set up with a dating profile. What app do you like?” I’m already holding my hand out like I’m waiting for her to pass me her phone.

She shakes her head. She’s a lost sad puppy when she tells me, “I can’t. It has to be someone I trust.”

I squeeze my eyes closed, trying to channel some bullshit yoga mindset to conquer the raging desire coursing through my veins. In my current state, my brain mixes up yoga and Yoda so my inner thoughts sound like: Want to fuck her, you do.

Jesus Christ.

I look at her again.

She’s chewing her bottom lip. “This is nothing serious. Okay? This is science.”

Science, got it.

Wait, don’t got it. “Explain.”

She puffs out an exasperated breath. “Don’t ask me to explain! I don’t know. I barely passed my science courses. Just…it doesn’t have to be all that intense, okay? No feelings, no tricky situations. One time. You and me and then”—she snaps her fingers—“it’ll be like nothing ever happened.” I don’t say anything, and she puts her hands on her hips. “People have one-night stands all the time! We can be those people!” Her eyes take on a pleading look. “Can you just pretend I’m someone else for tonight? Not Scarlett Elwood, but a girl you picked up at a bar? A girl you really, really want to sleep with?”

Yeah, that’s just it. There’s no pretending required, and that’s why this feels a little wrong.

“You don’t need to do this,” I tell her. “Jasper is—”

That sentence never makes it to the finish line. Scarlett—knowing full well where I’m headed—decides to take matters into her own hands. She suddenly starts to walk closer and then stops just when her chest barely grazes mine, arches up onto her toes, and kisses me with bold abandon.

Scarlett.

In mere seconds, I’m consumed by her taste, by the feel of her pressed against me. My hands reach out for her hips. I gather her close, bunching her silky dress in my fist as she moans. The sweet sound puts fire in my veins. I kiss her back, tilting my head as I band my arms behind her. I don’t know if she planned on her kiss lasting this long, but now neither one of us is retreating.

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