Page 51 of Reverb

“That depends.” She leaned her weight on one hip in that way she had, still looking at me. “When’s the repeat?”

Who was this woman? It had to be a trick. “You want me to rip your clothes off, Maplethorpe? Then keep going. Because I’ll do it.”

Her eyes went wide. She didn’t back off, though. “What’s wrong, Zeeland? Not sure you can perform so soon after the last time? I hear that happens with age.”

“Age jokes?” I shook my head. “I know I got you drunk with orgasms, but try to use that big brain of yours. You can do better.”

“One of us can do better, and it isn’t me.”

Oh, it was on. I was going to fucking devour her next time. I hadn’t gone down on her yet, and she had no idea what she was in for. “You want a repeat, you’ll get a repeat,” I said. “But I have one question.”

Her eyebrows rose. Her cheeks were flushed. She was enjoying this as much as I was, and she was trying to hide it, but she was turned all the way on. Apparently insults were our foreplay. “You have a question? A momentous occasion. Do tell.”

“Why now?” I asked her. “You were so worried during the tour, when we weren’t fucking. Now that we are fucking, you don’t seem worried at all.”

Sienna bit her lip and frowned. This was all her. We could have fucked for the entire tour and it would have made no difference to me professionally. I would always be me. When it came to the timing, the call had been hers.

“You’re very romantic,” she pointed out.

That set me back. I had to go over what I’d said. Was it because I’d said we were fucking? Was that the wrong word to use? I probably should have said something nicer.

I’d said the wrong thing.

And just like that, I spun. Everything shut down. I ran a hand over my face, feeling helpless, waiting for a word to come. Anything at all.

“Stone.” Her voice was soft.

I cleared my throat. The word came hard, not because I didn’t want to say it, but because I did. “Sorry.”

Sienna’s brows pinched as she watched me. I had no idea what she saw in that moment. I didn’t want to know.

“To answer your question,” she said, “During the tour, I was worried that people would think I was sleeping with you to get ahead. And maybe I would let people convince me it was true. Because you’re you, and I was stranded.”

I waited. I gave her a silent nod to go on.

“And now,” she said, “I’m home, I’m not stranded, and who I see is my business. And I know for a fact that I’m not sleeping with you to get ahead. Tell me—if I asked you to do me a professional favor, what would you do?”

“I’d tell you I’d think about it,” I replied, “and then I’d do nothing.”

“Such an asshole,” she said, smiling, and I wanted to kiss her. I just wanted to fucking kiss her more than anything. There was nothing about my reaction to Sienna that made any sense. It never had.

“So you see,” she continued, “I know I’m not sleeping with you for an advantage. I’m doing it for other reasons.”

Did I know what those reasons were? Maybe I did. I caught her gaze traveling down me, then up again, her pupils a little dark. I had some kind of effect on her, like she had on me. Maybe not the same, but it was something.

“My charm, right?” I managed, regaining some equilibrium. “It’s definitely my charm.”

“So much charm,” she agreed, stepping forward into my space. She circled her arms lightly around my neck, rising to her toes. “You have no idea.”

She didn’t kiss me, which was good. If she’d started, I wouldn’t want to stop.

Instead, she leaned in, lowering her voice almost to a murmur. “I like how you talk,” she said. She kissed me lightly on the cheek.

She turned and left the room, leaving me in my silence.

NINETEEN

Sienna

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