Page 69 of Forget Me Not

“Pull out, Alaric!”

I watch her face, observing the desperation in her eyes, and once I’ve filled her up, my mouth tugs up in a grin. “My bad.”

“You asshole!” She slaps her hands on my back, then scratches me even deeper than before.

“This punishing game is sort of fun.”

“You punished me by coming inside me?” She pushes me up, and I lift the weight of my body off hers. “What the hell is the matter with you? I’m not on birth control. As you well know, I can’t afford it.”

Real panic seems to flood her body as my slippery dick slides out and I roll onto my back. “That wasn’t a punishment. I just wanted to feel you from start to finish.”

Rhea grumbles a few inaudible sounds mixed with some curse words as she climbs out of her bed. “Get up.” She lifts her hands in the air. “You will go straight to the pharmacy and buy me the morning-after pill. We’re done here.”

I fold my arms under my head, making myself comfortable while the mixture of our arousals slides down my dick. I’ll buy her the pill. After all, I know how much she was hurt after she lost the baby. If I can’t convince her to marry me, I sure as fuck won’t be able to convince her that her child, our child, would be safe with me.

“What?” I snicker. “No snuggles?”

“Ha! Not a chance in hell.”

“Come on, baby.” I pat the side of the bed next to me. “Pull the stick out of your ass for a few minutes and just lie down with me.”

She shakes her head in annoyance and grips the end of the comforter beneath me. “Get off my bed or I’ll pull you off.”

I smirk. “I’m two hundred and fifteen pounds of solid muscle. But go ahead and give it a try.”

She jerks the blanket, only dragging me down an inch, and I laugh. The sound sends her into a fit of rage. Her fists plant firmly on her hips. “Why are you so fucking insufferable?”

“I actually thought I was being pretty sweet. Name one guy you’ve fucked who wanted to snuggle after.”

“Easy. Daniel. Martin. Craig. Mr. Lyons, who happens to be the senator of an entire fucking state.”

“Huh. Well done. Which state was that?”

“Hell if I remember. A big one. Texas, maybe.” Rhea snatches up a dirty towel from the floor and tosses it at me. “Cover your junk. I’d prefer to never look at it again.”

The towel lands on my stomach and I push it back on the floor. “All right. So I guess I don’t win on the romantic front. Doesn’t mean I won't stop trying.”

“That’s a shame.” Her voice is a whisper that I hear very clearly.

With a robe now wrapped around her, she pulls the bedroom door open. “I have to use the bathroom. Be a gem and disappear before I return.”

I sink deeper into the mattress when her phone catches my eye from beside the bed. I reach for it, knowing my girl is too smart to leave her phone unlocked. It’s attached to a cord so I turn on my side and tap the screen, just to see if she’s got any notifications.

My jaw clicks when I see a message from Farm Boy. I can’t read the entire thing, but I can see the first sentence.

Tyler: Looking forward to seeing you at work Saturday. How cool that we finally get to…

It ends there, but if I had to guess it read: ‘How cool that we finally get to work together.’ How cheesy is this guy? Rhea likes this?

I slam the phone down and lie back with my head resting on Rhea’s pillow. I turn slightly, drawing in a deep breath of the scent of her hair.

Rhea is working a Saturday night shift at Taryn’s, which means many more drunk men than what she’s used to. It also means working closely beside my new nemesis,Tyler.My plans are never open because I’m always watching Rhea, but Saturday night just filled up. I swear over everything that is holy in this world, if one guy so much as looks at her wrong, he’ll be the next unsolved case in Lockhaven.

“For the love of God, Alaric.” Rhea comes storming back into the room, slamming the door behind her.

“Easy, killer. Don’t you know people are trying to sleep in this house?”

She scoffs at my sarcasm. “Why are you still here? And why the fuck are you still naked? Get your old ass dressed.”

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