“You know”—I wave a hand at him—“being tied down to one woman.”
“No, I don’t know. Explain it to me.”
“Well, you’re a man who is used to getting his way. It’s in the way you command me. For instance, telling me to come home with you.” I purse my lips. “Or propositioning me for sex.”
“Are you telling me you didn’t enjoy it?”
“Oh, I said no such thing. But I also want to be someone’s wife one day: no kids, a wife. And you are not husband material. So, I think, like I did with my last situationship, we quit before it goes any further.”
“One last taste,” he says, leaning dangerously close so no one else can hear. “At my house.”
“No,” I insist, even though his hand tightens on my thigh, and my body is screaming at me to say yes. I hold strong.
“So, you two have been seeing each other for a bit, then?” James asks, watching us intently.
“Sorry, James, I missed your answer,” I say, trying to direct the focus off me and Arlo.
“Marriage? Well, I guess I never really thought about it since my wife died,” James hedges.
Arlo squeezes my thigh, and I ignore him and his tempting ways.
He will not win tonight.
I hope.
“You’ve never thought of marriage?” Arlo asks him.
“No, can’t say I have,” James grits out.
“I have,” Delaney chimes in, breaking her silence.
“This is something you want?” James asks her.
She answers with a decisive “Yes.” Delaney has always wanted the fairytale happy ending. Even through her sickness, she still wanted it.
Sebastian gives me a look that I read perfectly, and I turn toward Delaney.
“We’re going to head out. Are you good to get home with James, or do you want a lift?”
“I’ll be fine. Thanks for the catch-up. Both of you.” She smiles warmly at us.
I turn to Arlo, who is trapping me in. “Can you move?”
Sebastian is already standing, waiting for me.
“Manners,” he states with a tsk. “You know how to use them when I’m giving you pleasure with my tongue.”
Sebastian says something, but I don’t hear him as my face goes red.
“Get the fuck out of my way before I hurt your cock.”
He smirks at me. “As long as you kiss it after. A little pain never hurt anyone.”
“Oh my god, you are insufferable.”
“And you are stunning,” Arlo says before he slams his lips into mine. I’m so shocked at first that it doesn’t register until his tongue slides into my mouth, and I instantly taste coffee. I go to pull back, but he wraps his hand in my hair, holding me in place. I finally give in and kiss him back.
I’m just a girl, and he’s just a man who knows how to kiss.
