Page 44 of The Deal with the Playboy

He studies my face like a map and gets up from the couch, stepping closer to me. I step back until my body brushes against the hard glass behind me.

He stares at my face for several moments and my heart thumps loudly in my ears, overshadowing the sound of the traffic outside.

“Like what?” His tone is husky.

I don’t want to tell him the thoughts I have of him fucking her when I’m not around, but if I don’t admit something to him, he won’t let it go. And I want to prove to him that not all relationships are transactional. Me opening up to him might work toward him trusting me.

“You fucking her on the desk as you yank her hair and smack her ass.”

I can’t believe I said that out loud.

He places his hand above my head, his breathing fast. My eyes venture down south, landing on his dick print. My body craves him, and my core tingles, remembering the way he touched me last time. I told myself I wasn’t going to sleep with him again, but his nearness makes it hard. At night, I make sure I’m asleep way before he comes to bed, or I’ll lie on the couch late at night to avoid him so I don’t give in to the temptation.

He grins and rubs his fingers through my silky hair. “Like I had you bent over the table the very first night I fucked you?”

“Hardly. No.”

I said I wasn’t going to lie to him, but I had no choice. If I admit what I really want from him, I’m not going to hold back.

He smiles like the Cheshire cat and twirls a strand of my hair around his finger. Being engulfed by him makes me hotter than a firecracker. He taps his finger on my chin, his eyes zeroing in on my lips. “You don’t sound convincing. Should I jog your memory on how I felt between your legs?”

When I crouch down to escape him, I find myself behind the beige sofa I ordered to replace the other one. I glance around the room, it’s a lot brighter than it was when I first moved in and the scent of fresh jasmine wafts in the open space.

Moisture pools in my lace panties, and I need to change them quickly.

“Help me with my sister, please,” I say instead, changing the subject. “I’ll give you anything you want.”

His face is blank, and he slides his fingers into his pockets, leaning against the glass wall I slipped away from. His eyes drift to the skyscrapers out the window, then back at me. “Did she ask you for your help?”

I shake my head, fiddling with the hem of my shorts. I need to get away from him before I do something stupid like kiss his face.

“You’re overstepping your boundaries. All you are going to do is push her more toward him. Let her figure it out on her own.” His tone is as cool as a fall night in the city.

She’s all I have. The thought of that bastard hurting her and getting away with it makes me want to go crazy. I have to help her, I can’t stand by and not do anything. Besides, I’m her older sister, it’s my job to protect her.

“I don’t care. She needs someone to help her, to know someone loves her. My mother doesn’t care.”

“Okay, I’ll help.” He stands directly in front of me, and my pulse accelerates in my neck. “We’ll hire Aurora to do some digging on her husband.” He strokes the side of my cheek with the back of his hand, and I sigh. “I’ve been wanting to bend you across my desk since you started working for me. We should scratch it off the bucket list.”

I duck my head from under him and head to the bedroom and shut the door. My stomach clenches in need, hoping one day he would make true on that promise.

Poppy

Ibring the silk blanket to my neck and grab my phone from the nightstand to look up Tate’s name on Google. I want to do everything in my power to bury him and get my sister out of the situation she’s in.

I only find good things about him, though. He donates money to charities, and he’s to the CEO of his father’s oil company soon, so I exit Google and scroll mindlessly through Instagram instead.

Usually, I’d be asleep but I can’t help but think about helping my sister. If she does leave Tate, will my mother be as pissed off at her like she is at me? She always favored her over me. Growing up, she always received less punishment than me. Everyone knows that she’s her favorite child. When we visited family in Georgia, Mother boasted about her and Jimmy, usually leaving me out. I don’t know if she’s singling me out on purpose, but each one of us has to prove our worth to her in a different way. Jimmy with his accomplishments by becoming a CEO straight out of high school and Sophia and I by our appearance and who we marry.

Jasper walks in, grabbing pajama pants from the dresser, and hurries to the bathroom without sparing me a glance. I’m glad because there is too much sexual tension between us.

Several moments later, I hear the shower going, and my cheeks heat as I imagine Jasper naked and slick with water. I imagine his hands on my body like the last two times we slept together and my nipples peak, my heartbeat gallops in my chest like a wild horse. I should go into the living room and sleep on the couch but I keep myself glued to the bed, getting lost in my fantasy.

I slide my hand between my legs, placing a finger on my clit, and moan softy while I imagine how he feels inside of me. I imagine him coming on my stomach and mouth. I imagine him eating me out while he fingers me. Several moments later, I come, biting my lip to keep from moaning out loud, then I hurry to the kitchen to wash my hand and head back to bed.

When he waltzes back into the room, his hair is damp, making his locks appear darker. He slides in next to me. I feel the heat of his body, and the smell of his bodywash lingers in the air, making me wetter than before. Dammit, I need to make myself come again. Agreeing to sleep in the same bed as him wasn’t a good idea. Every night has been torture. Every night has been leaving me more unsatisfied. I want to give up my rule of no sex, but I can’t do it. It will only make our relationship more complicated.

Jasper faces the opposite direction of me. “We need to move up the wedding date by two weeks.”

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