I pulled her closer to me. “So am I. You’re gonna have to be patient with me. I’ve told you, I don’t date so I’m not going to get this right all the time. But I don’t play games and I’m not going to start bullshitting you. If I’m with you, I’m with you and that’s where it begins and ends.”
I could see her trying to fight her smile. “So we’re exclusive?”
“Oh my god, and you’re one of our brightest associates? Fuck, we’re toast.” She gave into her grin this time. “Yes, we’re exclusive. I don’t want any guy coming near you.”
Beinginside her was going to fast become my favorite way to spend an evening. She was asleep, and lying in the nook of my arm like she was made especially for it. A sense of excitement washed over me about being in London. It was the job and a fresh challenge, but it was also being with her. She was as beautiful as I remembered, as funny, as wicked, as demanding but just as breakable. For the first time in my life, I was excited to be getting to spend more time with a woman.
Trying not to disturb her, I reached to the bedside table to get my phone, typing out a message to my sister
Me: Dinner on Saturday sounds good. Can I bring someone?
She texted straight back despite it being after 2a.m. That was what kids did to you.
Jessica: A girl?
Me: A woman.
Jessica: Is she a hooker?
Me: Be nice. You’ll like her.
Jessica: Who are you and what have you done with my brother?
Me: I’ll see you Saturday. Love you.
Jessica: I don’t have ransom money, so you’ll just have to keep him.
I put the phone down and grinned to myself.
Anna
We were spending the day looking at apartments. Ethan was still technically checked in at the hotel, but he’d spent every night this week with me. And I liked it. I really liked it. And I really, really liked the sex, which just seemed to get better and better, but I liked him. He made me laugh. He didn’t take any of my shit, he was supremely self-confident and he seemed to like me. So far he wasn’t playing any of the games I was used to. There was no pretending, no bullshit and it felt good. It felt right. It felt free.
Because I knew we only had three months, I wanted to squeeze every last drop out of our time together. I guess he felt the same, because he came ’round every night after work, without excuse or explanation. He’d even brought his laptop back last night and worked a little while we ate and before bed where he went back to work on my body.
I stood by the door, waiting for him so we could head off on our apartment hunting.
“Have you forgotten anything?” he hollered from the living room.
“Nope.” I grinned.
He appeared in the doorway and took in my expression. “Are you laughing at me?” He bent his head and kissed me square on the lips.
“Maybe.”
“You know, I can wipe that grin off your face in two seconds flat. Your little mouth will be all parted and panty in an instant if I let my fingers do this . . .” He reached down to cup my sex. Sure enough, my grin subsided and my underwear dampened. Part of me wanted to continue what he’d started, but we needed to go apartment hunting.
“Ethan, we need to go and I don’t need to be smelling of sex while we look at these rentals.”
Ethan shrugged and led us out. “This is only weekend two. We have ten more to go. Ten more when I’m going to keep you naked and tied to the bed all weekend. There will be no going out.”
Had he started a countdown in his head already? Ten weekends to go? “Promises, promises,” I managed to quip, disguising the clock that had just started ticking in my head.
“So if someone spots us together, what are we going to say?” I asked as Ethan hailed a cab to take us to the first appointment.
“They won’t”
“Famous last words. What if they do?”
