Page 36 of Saved By the CEO

Scenes from Mr. Bennett’s office flash before my eyes.

That man could make me fall apart with a single look.

I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to force the thought away. Comparing them isn’t fair. Mr. Bennett has to make me come, or else I die. It makes sense that he’d be good at it. He has very clear motivation. Very high stakes. A literal life-or-death performance.

The last session had taken, what, two minutes? Afterward, he’d leaned in and whispered,“Good job.”

Heat creeps up my neck just thinking about it.

Damn it.

I’m lying next to the very nice man I’m dating after having perfectly acceptable sex, and I’m getting turned on by the memory of my boss praising me like a golden retriever.

Josh shifts beside me. His arm tightens around my waist, and I think he’s still asleep until he presses a soft kiss to my shoulder.

“You awake?” he mumbles.

“No,” I say.

He huffs a laugh against my skin. “Liar.”

I smile, because it’s sweet. He is sweet. This is sweet. I need to focus on that.

He props himself up on one elbow, his hair sticking up in the back. He suddenly looks nervous.

“Was that okay?” he asks.

“Yeah,” I say. “It was nice.”

His face falls a little.

Shit.

“Nice in a good way,” I add quickly. “Not nice as in boring. Nice as in—you know, nice.”

Truly a poet.

Josh looks down at the sheets, rubbing the back of his neck. “Did you…?”

He doesn’t finish the question, but he doesn’t have to.

For half a second, I consider lying. It would be so easy. One tiny lie to protect his ego and end this conversation. But then I think about what I just told myself. Normal couples communicate. Normal couples work on things.

“Not quite,” I say carefully. “But that’s okay.”

His cheeks turn pink. “Oh.”

“It really is okay.”

“Right.” He nods a little too quickly. “Yeah, no, totally. I just—I usually don’t have that problem.”

The words hang between us.

Then he gives me a sheepish smile. “Sorry. That sounded awful.”

“It’s fine,” I say.

“I can, um—” He clears his throat. “I can learn. I mean, if you want. You can tell me what you like.”