Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 102781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Annalise swallowed. “And if the situation were reversed? If I find out something you did that upsets me?”
“Then I’ll lick you until you’re not pissed off anymore. And probably try to piss you off again the next day.”
She laughed. “You’re making this sound so simple. But it’s way more complicated than that.”
I took her hands in mine. “Well, there is one catch.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s going to be difficult for you not to fall for me.”
“God, you’re such an ass.”
I leaned in. “An ass that you have a shitload of chemistry with, like it or not. So whadda you say? By day we fight like enemies, by night we fuck like warriors?”
She looked me in the eyes. “I really hope I don’t regret this.”
My eyes went wide. I hadn’t expected her to say yes, though I was prepared to wear her down. “At the end of the day, we only regret the things we missed out on doing. So I’ll make sure we do it all.”
Annalise’s friend walked back over. “You two look cozy.”
“Now you come interrupt? Where were you five minutes ago when I had a temporary lapse of sanity and agreed to the crazy deal this lunatic just proposed?”
Madison smiled at her. “You need a good dose of insanity. Plus, we’re running out of stuff to talk about after twenty-five years of friendship. This will give us all new material for our weekly dinners.”
Annalise leaned over and kissed Madison’s cheek. “It certainly will.”
***
I’d wanted Annalise to myself from the moment I’d walked in. Not that I didn’t have a good time—because surprisingly, I did. Her friend Madison was a straight shooter, and her date was a decent guy, too.
But now they’d just said goodbye, and Annalise and I stood outside the winery, just the two of us, as they pulled away. The dirt that kicked into the air from the tires hadn’t even settled yet when I had her face in my hands. I kissed her softly at first, but I couldn’t stop myself, and it didn’t take very long before it turned hard and heated.
She moaned into my mouth, and I had to force myself to pull back before it was too late and I ended up fucking her against a tree for her parents to walk out and see.
I brushed my thumb over her swollen lips. “Come home with me.”
“I can’t.” She frowned. “I told my mom I’d stay over tonight. Tomorrow morning I take the ride with her to go deliver free bottles of the new season’s wine to some of her biggest customers. Matteo cooks a huge brunch, and all the pickers and workers come to eat. We started doing that the first year they bought the place, and it stuck as a tradition.”
That sounded nice, but I was selfish, so I couldn’t even hide my pout.
“Awww…” She stroked my cheek. “You look like I used to at Christmas when I opened all my new toys and then my mom made me put them away because company was coming over.”
I locked my hands behind her back. “I definitely want to play with my new toy.”
“I think we should establish a few ground rules anyway,” she said.
“Uh-oh. Rules always get me in trouble.”
She smiled. “I bet they do. But I think we need a few.”
“Like what?”
“Well, like I don’t think we should make it public at work that anything is going on between us. Not even to our friends.”
I nodded. “Makes sense.”
“And when we’re together outside of the office, no talking about work projects where we’re competitors.”
“Agreed.”
“Okay. Well, that was easy. You’re not usually so agreeable.”
“I also have a few of my own ground rules I’d like to establish.”
Annalise raised a brow. “You do, do you?”
“Yep.”
“Okay…”
“Unless one of us ends things before the expiration date, we’re monogamous.”
“I guess that was a given for me. But good, I’m glad you put it out there anyway. Anything else?”
“Are you on the pill?”
“I am, yes.”
“Then let’s get rid of the condoms. I had my annual physical a few weeks ago. Clean as a whistle. If it feels that good inside of you wearing them, I need to find out what the hell it feels like without.”
She leaned in and pressed her breasts against me, looking up.
“Bare…okay.”
“What time is brunch over tomorrow?”
“Probably by three.”
“Come straight to my house after. I’ll make us dinner and eat you for dessert.”
She looked up from under those long eyelashes and ran her tongue across her top lip. “What about my dessert?”
I groaned. “You’re killing me, Texas.”
Chapter 30
* * *
Annalise
I stood with my mouth hanging open, looking out at the view.
Since Bennett and I didn’t live far from each other, I’d assumed he also lived in a five-hundred-square-foot apartment and sacrificed space for the nice neighborhood. But West Hill Towers—at least the apartment I was currently standing inside of—didn’t sacrifice anything. His open kitchen and living room area was probably twice the size of my entire apartment. And when I looked outside my window, I saw the building next to me. Bennett had a million-dollar view of the Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge with the mountains as a backdrop.