Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 102479 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 512(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102479 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 512(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
“Did you come out to Montauk because I was going to be here this weekend?”
“It doesn’t matter if I did.”
“It does to me.”
Another baby step. Six inches now. The air around us crackled. His breathing picked up, and I could feel it tickle my skin. Instead of making me nervous, it invigorated me. “Answer the question.”
He stared at me while I wondered if I should take the last step. I was just about to do it when he closed his eyes. “You should go home, Sutton.” His voice was stern, cold, and detached.
I took an immediate step back. Had I been misreading his desire? I suddenly felt like a troll rather than the temptress I’d thought I was just a minute ago. Heat crept up to my face. “Okay.”
“I’m going to use the bathroom.” Jagger stepped away from the doorway to let me out. “I’ll meet you downstairs and walk you out in a minute.”
My heart felt heavy as I returned to the living room. I thought about leaving before he came back, but that would only make me look like a petulant child. Instead, I took a seat on the living room sectional and forced myself to wait to say goodbye. Staring down at his piles of work papers, I felt so damn foolish, and I wasn’t really seeing anything—at least until some pages ripped from a yellow legal pad caught my eye. They were sticking out sideways underneath a stack of clipped-together papers, and I recognized the computation since I’d worked through it myself just yesterday. I bent and slipped the pages out.
At the top, a number was written above the margin and circled. The answer—the right answer.
Did Jagger work through the rest of the problem after we left the conference room? For some inexplicable reason, I knew he hadn’t.
I scanned the pages, eyeing rows and rows of computations. There were at least a dozen sheets of paper filled, and from what I could see at a quick glance, they were all right. I reached the last page just as Jagger returned to the living room. He looked at my hands before his eyes met mine.
“You let me win?” I asked.
He looked conflicted. So I asked a different question.
“Why did you let me win?”
“I figured it would help your confidence. Plus, I didn’t finish that much faster than you.”
“You even offered me a prize after I supposedly won—why add that to the mix?”
He met my eyes again. “I wanted to see what you’d ask for.”
A fire lit inside me. “I think I finally figured it out.”
“Figured what out?”
“The prize I want, assuming you’re still giving me one since I now know you just let everyone think I won.”
“That depends.” Jagger’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “What is it you want?”
“You.”
CHAPTER 18
* * *
Sutton
“That’s not happening.” Jagger folded his arms over his chest.
But his refusal did nothing to deter me this time. I retook the steps I’d surrendered upstairs and put my palms flat on his rock-hard chest. He flinched, but I knew it was because he felt the same jolt I did, not because he experienced any physical discomfort from my touch. His eyes sparked with lust, no matter what his words said.
“Why not?” I asked.
“Because you work for me.”
“Nice try.” I grinned. “You already told me you wouldn’t give two shits if that were the only obstacle. Kiss me, Jagger.”
His chest rose higher with each breath. “I can’t.”
“Can’t? Or don’t want to? If you’re really going to stand there and reject me, you could at least be honest.”
His eyes dropped to my lips and stayed there. “Can’t.”
“Why?” I looked down, noticing a substantial bulge. “It doesn’t look like it’s a physical problem.”
“It’s definitely not a fucking physical problem.”
“Then what is it? Is it because of your…proclivities?”
He smiled sadly. “Sutton, putting my proclivities together with your history would be like setting two trains on the same track and waiting for them to collide. Plus, I’m the kind of man who sends jewelry and a thank-you note to say goodbye the next morning, not brings you flowers and asks for a second date. It’s not a good idea.”
“I’m not asking for hearts and roses.” I lifted my other hand with the intent of wrapping it around his neck, scraping my fingers along his skin. But Jagger caught my wrist. His hand held me tight, and I liked the way it felt. No, I loved it.
“Then what are you asking me?”
I took a deep breath and looked directly into his eyes. “To fuck me.”
His eyes closed, and he let out a string of mumbled curses. He was on the brink of giving in, and I would’ve stopped at nothing to watch him break. So I did the one thing I knew no man could resist. I dropped to my knees and reached for the button of his shorts.