Page 77 of Freefall

“This isn’t what we agreed to.”

“I don’t really care what we agreed to.” My voice comes out huskier than I intend. “I want you to fuck me. But first…” I reach for his shirt. “I want you to kiss me again.”

I lean forward, but he stops me with a firm hand to my chest. His expression shifts from lust to concern as his eyes search mine. “How much have you had to drink?”

I move back until his hand falls, and I pretend to think about it.

“I don’t know.” I tap my chin. “Five or six?”

“Jesus, Harper.” He drags a hand down his face. “We’re not doing this right now.”

A laugh slips out. “I’m messing with you. I’m completely sober. I didn’t even have a single drink.”

He studies me for another long second, clearly unconvinced.

“What?” I ask. “You don’t believe me?”

I step away from the wall and carefully place one foot in front of the other along an imaginary line in the hallway. “See? I can walk a straight⁠—”

He catches my wrist before I make it two steps. “I believe you.”

I glance at him over my shoulder, a slow smile spreading across my face. “Good. Then kiss me.”

He shakes his head.

I turn around, taking a step closer. “Okay then fuck me.” Another step. “Please.”

A quiet chuckle rumbles in his chest. “You think you’re the one in control here?

I shrug innocently.

“Oh, Harper.” Heat flickers in his eyes as he tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “You want me to fuck you?”

His voice drops an entire octave as he leans forward, whispering into my ear. “You’re going to have to beg a lot sweeter than that.”

19

NATE

I’ve kissed a lot of women since that first time in middle school, but it always felt unnecessary and far too intimate.

That’s why I stopped.

That’s why Harper was the last woman I kissed.

When we made this arrangement, I assumed kissing wasn’t part of it. Then she stood on her toes and pressed her lips to mine. For a second, I didn’t know what to do, and then instinct took over.

Kissing her didn’t feel optional. It was inevitable.

Now, as she stands in front of me asking me to fuck her, all I can think about is getting my lips on hers again.

Despite the confidence dripping from the words I just spoke, my chest tightens when she threads her fingers through mine and leads me toward her bedroom. But the second the lock engages, echoing through the room, I snap out of it. All she has to do is bite her lip, and I’m across the room, walking her toward the bed and pushing her dress up past her hips. Her legs part and I press a knee in between them, close enough that the denim from my jeans scrapes against her bare thigh.

“Safe word,” I demand.

“You know it,” she says softly.

“Say it, Harper.”