Page 24 of The Haunting Plot

“You’re asking the wrong person. My track record isn’t the best.”

“I know!” Jonah interrupts. “We could scare my mom with a fake spider. Then she’ll jump in your arms, and you can kiss her and… the end.”

“It’s not that simple, kid,” I say, offering him a smile. “But I appreciate the idea.”

RJ rubs his chin thoughtfully. “Raven loves pranks. She was a bit of a prankster when we were younger. It was kinda her love language.”

My head swivels between them. This is a terrible idea. “Not happening. I want no part of this.”

“Trust me. You can absolutely win her over with the perfect prank. She respects the heck outta someone that outsmarts her.”

“Oh, I’m definitely not smarter than her.”

“You don’t have to be. You just have to catch her off guard so she doesn’t see it coming. But it’s gotta be good since you only have the element of surprise once with her,” RJ assures.

“And you’re sure it’s not gonna make her mad?”

“I’m trying to help you. And I’m not trying to tick my sister off. Knowing Raven, this’ll probably be some weird foreplay to her.”

I shoot him a look.

“What’s foreplay?” Jonah asks.

“It’s something that’s very important,” RJ says, then cringes. “I heard it the second it came out of my mouth.”

“What prank are we doing? I wanna help.”

I exhale sharply, relieved Jonah is moving past RJ’s blunder.

“First, you’re gonna help with the house,” RJ says to me.

“I told you, I don’t want to force my way into her life if she doesn’t want me here.”

“She wants your help. I heard her tell the moms,” Jonah adds.

There’s a twinkle in RJ’s eyes as he claps his hands. “You’re going to show up here in two days. Act confident, like this was the plan all along. Trust me, she’ll go along with it thinking she forgot. Then you’re going to prank her, and I have the perfect one in mind.”

——————

He was close. Too close. Close enough to hear each ragged inhale and exhale. Close enough to feel the warm puffs of breath against my cheek. Close enough that his masculine scent was consuming me with each breath I took. His eyes danced back and forth, searching mine for some kind of clue, something to let him know that he could proceed. When they dipped to my lips, I groaned, needing him to put me out of this misery.

“Tell your husband what you need, darlin’. I need to hear you say it.”

Why was he teasing me like this? My need for him was all-consuming. It stole the breath from my lungs, the thoughts from my mind, and the words from my lips. But like hell if I was admitting any of that.

“It looks like my wife is in need. What do you need, wife?” He spat the last word like an insult, but it felt more like a claim. “Need me to fight your demons, gorgeous?”

My lips were practically numb from how hard I was biting them. Why had fate cursed me like this? Forced me to be married to the one man I swore I’d never let myself fall for. He was going to ruin me, and I would gladly thank him for it and beg for more.

Holy. Shit. This isn’t what I was expecting to find when RJ told me to read romance books. Why is it so fucking hot? His dick isn’t even out. They haven’t kissed, yet her need for this man is practically leaping off the page. Are all romance books like this?

“You’re blushing, Chief,” Hardy says as he walks into my office.

I slam the book shut, fumbling it like a hot potato. “Am I?”

Hardy reaches across my desk and swipes the book. “Hitched and Tied. Ayana Cox. I thoroughly enjoyed that one.”

“You’ve read it?”