“Yeah.” I shift and lift my head to stare down at my fingernails. The black nail polish I applied a week ago in an attempt to clear the cobwebs from my brain is already starting to chip.
“Still doesn’t explain why I ended up here. How you somehow summoned me into your world.”
I let out a snort. “I didn’tmeanto summon you.”
“Well.” Setting the book aside, he leans forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “You did. And maybe the universe—or your messed-up, anxiety fueled imagination—brought me here for a reason.”
I look at him. “To fuck with my head?”
“Tohelpyou,” he corrects, pointing a long, thick finger at me.
I wonder what sort of dirty things those can get up to?
I shake off the fantasy as he continues. “You want to finish your book, and I want you to finish my story. We can help each other. Win-win.”
I frown. “And how exactly do you propose we do that?”
He grins his signature slow, panty-melting grin—one that should be illegal in twenty-seven countries by the way.
“Simple. You write me a proper ending, and I help you get your mojo back. But there’s a catch.”
“Of course there is.”
“I want the full experience. The real deal. I want tolivewhile I’m here. Have some fun. We could eat great food, listen to music, and go dancing. Maybe even fuck with your ex. Make him regret ever leaving you at the altar.”
My eyebrows lift high enough to fondle my nine-foot ceiling. “You want to... fake date me?”
His eyes drop to my mouth. “No, kitten. I want toactuallydate you. While I’m here, I want it all. The full experience.”
Heat crawls along my sex, making me squirm. “Exactly what do you mean byall?”
Glancing up from where he definitely watched me squeeze my thighs together, he leans in, his voice a low purr. “You. Me. A little revenge. A lot of fun. And eventually… every single orgasm you’ve ever imagined me giving someone else? I’ll give toyou.”
My breath hitches. “You’re serious?”
“As a heart attack,” he says, mouth so close it almost feels like a dare. “We’re not going to half-ass this, Noia. You want to fix your writer’s block? Then we’re going to have some wild, crazy fun to help inspire you. Then, you’ll write out everything we do after we act out the story in real life.”
Taking a step back, he holds out his hand. The contract he’s offering me has sex and danger written all over it.
“What do you say? Deal?”
I stare at his big, beautiful hand. A hand that could grip my throat, while his fingers from the other pump furiously inside me. It’s a thought that has my heart racing and my brain short-circuiting.
And my ovaries? Those traitors are signing right on the dotted line.
Fuck it.
I reach out and shake his hand. “Deal.”
SIX
ryder
What thehellhad I just agreed to?
I watch as Noia’s warm, soft fingers slide out of mine after we shake on our twisted little deal, and all I can think is—where the hell did I come up withthat?
It wasn’t just some casual suggestion. It was a goddamn mission statement. One that involves real-dating my creator, seducing her, helping her write, and basically making her life better all while figuring out how the hell I’m going to help her finish my story.
