Page 61 of Pretend and Propose

I slide a hand over it as I step beneath the warm spray and pleasure rockets through me, making it clear my body is demanding a release.

It feels wrong to get myself off in a stranger’s house, but if I’m going to share a room with Daisy tonight, it’s probably the smarter choice.

I wash my hair and body, trying to get the ache and need to subside, but I fail.

So I wrap my hand around my cock and I sink into the fantasy of Daisy here in this shower with me, her eyes heated and wanting. Wanting me.

She presses her lips to mine and grips my cock in her delicate hand, squeezing and stroking me until I groan aloud.

I slap a hand over my mouth, but I don’t stop stroking myself. I can feel the orgasm building, the desperate release imminent.

In my fantasy, Daisy drops to her knees and presses kisses along my length before opening her mouth and taking me into her warm heat.

I blame my overactive imagination for how clearly I can see her before me, her lips moving along my hardness while she reaches between her legs and slides a finger inside—

I come with a nearly heart-stopping intensity, grateful I’ve clasped a hand tight over my mouth to silence my groans. I watch my seed mix with the shower spray and go down the drain as I pant, catching my breath.

“Fuck,” I mutter, my heart racing.

At least now, I’ll be able to share a room with Daisy like a gentleman.

Chapter Seventeen

Daisy

The guest room is homey and warm, but it’s also tiny. There’s room for one double bed and a small dresser and that’s it. There’s barely enough floor space to walk around the bed.

Noah grunts and rubs the back of his neck and his head, fluffing up his curly hair into a bigger than usual mess. His biceps muscle flexes with the movement, his lifted arm showing off his lean torso, and all I can think about is him in this bed with me and that body pressed against mine.

It’s after midnight and I can tell he’s tired. Lennox made us a dinner of rice and beans, and then we played board games until we all got sleepy.

Lennox is obviously nothing like I expected, and she’s fun. In a different world, I could see being friends with her.

The question I need to ask her sits like a stone in my chest, but I couldn’t do it when we’re staying the night. I can’t figure out if she’ll be angry or excited if I offer her a place at Tenth Avenue Books. And I don’t want a mad hostess in a house that’s almost definitely haunted.

It’s clear Tenth Avenue could do a lot to advance her career, but I doubt she’ll see it that way when she left her last publisher because they were too pushy about marketing potential and the business side. Tenth Avenue’s main focus for their authors is marketing. It’s unlikely I can even promise I’ll be her editor.

Which means I’ll have to lie and tell her Tenth Avenue will respect her wishes if I have any hope of bringing her in and getting my job back. It’s my only option, but it feels so, so wrong.

“I’ll sleep on the couch.” Noah turns toward the door.

“Lennox will definitely know our relationship is fake if you sleep on the couch.”

“She already knows.” Noah turns back to face me, frowning, his brows creased in concern. “She figured it out herself. Guess our acting could use some work.”

Does it require a lot of acting from him? That kiss this afternoon felt like the realest thing in my life. “She told you that?” I wrap my arms around myself and sit on the edge of the bed, exhausted and sad. “She’s clearly interested in you.”

Noah’s eyes flash with anger when he looks up at me. “I’m not interested in her.”

“Noah…” I have no idea what to say. No matter what I do, I feel like I’m going to lose my best friend. If I give into this attraction between us, we might date, but we’ll eventually break up when he realizes I’m a terrible girlfriend. Then we’ll be ex-lovers and angry at each other. If I don’t give in, I feel like I’m breaking my heart piece by piece every day.

“I’m sorry I snapped.” He runs a hand through his messy hair and squeezes the back of his neck. “I’m tired and grumpy.”

“Lennox seems to be happy with Lovemore Publishing. But I’m still going to try to convince her to come to Tenth Avenue. Tomorrow. Before we leave. So if you’re thinking you want to be all sweet and romantic because you think I won’t do it and that means I’m not a horrible person, you’re wrong. I’m still a horrible person.”

“You could never be a horrible person, Daisy.” He sighs and drops his arm, his body drooping. “Even if you convince her to go to Tenth Avenue and become Lovemore’s most hated, I’ll still be on your side. I’ll still be romantic and sweet to you.”

He sits on the bed next to me and I drop my head into my hands. He’s said this before and yet I keep pushing him like he’s the one who thinks I’m a terrible person, when it’s me who thinks that of myself. “I don’t even know who I am anymore. If I can’t get back into Tenth Avenue Books, what am I going to do?”

---