Fake it till you make it, right?
Wesley clears his throat. “Dress warm.”
My muscles stiffen but I don’t turn to look at him. “Why?”
“Because it gets chilly once the sun sets, and I want to show you something.”
“Does thissomethinghave anything to do with why you asked me not to go out tonight?” I ask, making the mistake of glancing at him over my shoulder.
His eyes roam over me, taking in every single detail before they crawl back up my body to meet mine. My skin feels like it is onfirebeneath his gaze, but I nod and pull out an oversized crewneck sweater and leggings.
“I’m going to get dressed,” I announce, turning to face him. I clutch my clothes to my chest and grip the towel tightly around me.
“Okay,” Wesley replies, smirking.
I blink, glancing toward the bathroom before dropping my eyes to the clothes in my hands, weighing my options. I could get dressed in the bathroom. Clearly, he’s not going anywhere.
Does he want me to do it right here in front of him? I’m probably overthinking this entire thing.
It’s not a big deal. He’s seen most of me before. He’ll see more of me when we eventually have sex, if he ever lets us get to that point.
I swallow hard, summon what courage I have left, and let the towel fall.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
WESLEY
I’mfucked.
Completely,irrevocablyfucked.
Sadie stands in the center of her room—completely and devastatingly bare—while I force myself to act like it’s nothing. Pretending the honey-warm light on her skin isn’t undoing me, that I’m not coming apart at the seams over the soft dip of her waist and faint tan lines. Pretending my cock isn’t aching, straining against my sweatpants. Every throb is a punishing reminder that I have no right to want her this deeply.
My pulse hammers like it’s trying to shatter through my ribs.
I’m losing my goddamn mind.
While I would thoroughly enjoy making her moan my name and come on my tongue again, I need to remember that’s not part of the plan.
Restraint. Control.
I won’t survive the rest of summer if I give into the temptation and cave every time I see her.
Feigning nonchalance, I clear my throat, adjust myself to hopefully make it less obvious, and continue to scroll aimlessly on my phone.
I am not affected. I’ve seen a naked girl before. I am not—
Then two things happen at once: I make the fatal mistake of glancing up from my phone at the same time Sadie bends over, sliding lacy black panties up her thighs.
I don’t remember moving. One second I’m on the bed, and the next I’m in front of her, my hand threading into her hair, guiding her up to me. My mouth crashes into hers, desperate, unthinking. She gasps against my lips, a tiny sound that lights me up, and then she’s pulling me closer by my shirt like she can’t stand the space between us.
All sense of control evaporates.If I’m being honest, I never stood a chance.
I’ve never had this problem with anyone. Not in high school, not with the girls who’ve thrown themselves at me.
Nothing prepared me for this.
She’s not just irresistible—she’s a fucking force of nature.
