Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 98021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
I didn't want him to touch her. But what was I going to say? No, Briar, don't fuck this douche. So what if he's rich and hot and incredibly interested in wooing you.
I don't have a claim to her. I can't tell her to keep her pants zipped.
Yeah, I haven't dropped mine in a while. Since that night in Toronto. It hasn't felt right.
But I can't have her.
I'm not going to be that asshole who tells her not to fuck someone else just because it makes me sick.
She's a grown woman. She can do what she wants.
No matter how much I hate it.
"He treated you like shit," I say.
"He was really sweet, actually."
I hate his stupid face and his hipster haircut. "Still hate him."
She smiles. "This place is new?"
"That was a year ago."
"A year is new."
"It was time to upgrade. Especially with shit with Adam. I wanted space for him here. Didn't know he'd lock himself in the mansion."
"You didn't have room for him before?"
"Not enough."
"Only a thousand square feet for him?"
"That spare bedroom is why you're not sleeping in my bed."
She smiles. "And where are you sleeping in this scenario?"
I see it immediately. Briar in my bed, in only the white sheets, her soft body melting into mine.
The two of us locked together.
It's absurd. I don't cuddle.
I don't kick women out of bed. I'm a gentleman. I fix breakfast; I pour coffee; I hail a cab; I kiss goodbye.
I don't mind the morning routine—especially if it comes with a round two—but I don't linger in it.
I certainly don't dream about holding someone close. Smelling her shampoo. Tasting her lemon soap.
That's relationship shit. And I'm not capable.
My brain is confused. All this shit with Preston. This ruse. That's it. It's too much.
"Liam? Are you okay?" she asks.
Fuck, what are we talking about? Sleeping arrangements. Not helping my cock cool it, but I'm a grown man. I can take it. "The bed. We're engaged."
"The floor," she corrects.
"Whatever gets you off."
"Really? If I said it would get me off if you slept on the floor, you'd do it?"
"If I get to watch."
She shakes her head you're ridiculous, takes a long sip, turns her attention to the view. "Did you buy the place to piss off the tech douche?"
"My first bid was to piss him off. Then I fell in love."
"I can see all the way up to midtown. And the water. The view is better than your office."
I nod.
"You've never mentioned the view."
"I'm used to it."
"I don't know if I'd ever get used to it. I've been in New York since I was eighteen, but it still amazes me." She turns to me. Brushes a purple hair behind her ear. "How long has it been for you?"
"In the city? Since college." I've always loved the city. The life, the energy, the people. It's a million times more vibrant than the still mansion where I grew up. Or the secluded boarding school I attended.
But it's so much better through her eyes.
Bigger.
Bolder.
More brilliant.
"This isn't what I expected of you. It's elegant. Understated."
"I'm not?" I ask.
"You offered to eat me out in front of your brother."
"You said that already."
"Yet it needed to be said again."
"It was a legitimate offer."
Her cheeks flush. "Was it?" She brings her drink to her lips.
We're on the north side of the building. Facing the lights of the Financial District and Midtown beyond it. "You don't think I'm good for it?"
"I can't tell when you're kidding sometimes."
Me either, honestly. "You'd never say yes."
"If I did?"
"Adam would stop us."
"Not Danielle?"
"Are you kidding? You've seen her pictures."
"We've looked at them together."
"Exactly."
She lets out a soft laugh. "She'd pull out her camera."
"Could be hot."
"Not my thing."
"No? Never took pictures with someone?"
"No," she says.
"You wouldn't?"
"I wouldn't ask a third party to take them." She turns to me. "She'll probably want to shoot us now that she thinks we're engaged."
"With clothes."
She shoots me that same get real look.
"She'll ask, sure. I'm game, but if you're not—"
"Liam!" Her voice rises to a girlish squeal. "Your sister-in-law is not taking nude pictures of me."
"She's not my sister-in-law yet."
"Was that really the salient point?"
"Was it not?"
She laughs you're ridiculous. "Would you really pose for Danielle?"
"Fuck yeah. Can you imagine the look on Adam's face?"
"He has the same look on his face at all times."
"To the untrained eye, sure. But I can tell when he's pissed."
"And that's it? You'd do it to piss off your brother?"
"I offered to piss him off. If she wants to do it, why not?"
"You'd let her post them publicly?"
"Once I'm officially single again. If I'm on the market, I might as well advertise the goods."
She lets out a soft laugh. "And it has nothing to do with helping her?"
"Fringe benefit."
"You just want women to look at your dick that badly?"
"It deserves to be looked at."
"Uh-huh." Her eyes flit to my crotch. "No one's stopping you."