“This desk was my father’s.”
“What happened to him?”
“Died in an accident when I was just a teenager.”
“Seth. I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you. It’s one of the few things I’ve taken with me wherever Sawyer and I have moved. Whenever I see it, I remember him sitting here late at night, balancing his checkbooks for the family’s logging business.”
“It’s beautiful.”
He nods and then looks back at me with a smile.
“What movie did you want to watch?” I ask, my voice softer now. “The Wellingtons?” I’m teasing.
Seth’s deep laugh rumbles through his chest. “That’s fine with me.”
“I was kidding.”
He shrugs. “I wasn’t. Let’s see what the lovely couple is up to today.”
I grab a slice of cake as he moves to the foot of the bed and lowers himself to the floor, leaning back against the mattress. Part of me is relieved we aren't sitting on the bed. The other part wishes we were.
I carry my plate over and settle beside him, mirroring his position. Our shoulders brush as we face the TV, and I'm suddenly very aware of how little space exists between us. He looks unfairly good like this. Relaxed. Comfortable. Like we're doing something completely normal instead of watching porn together.
I take a bite of cake, determined to act like a functioning adult. Then he taps something on his phone.
“Ah, they just uploaded a new episode.”
A second later, the giant TV across the room lights up with their faces.
I nearly choke on my cake.
She’s in a maid outfit. He’s in a top hat, sporting a thick, fake mustache, and smoking a cigar while wearing no pants. He’s fully erect and her nipples are visible through her costume. They move into a closet that’s somehow also a secret library, and before I know it, Mr. Wellington bends Mrs. Wellington over and—oh. Oh wow.
He’s fucking her with the end of her dusting broom.
I glance at Seth, waiting for him to crack a joke, but he doesn’t. He’s not watching the show. He’s watching me, eyes locked on mine, the untouched angel food cake in his hand completely forgotten. And then I see it—the moment his control gives way and something in him finally snaps.
“Fuck it.”
Chapter 25 - Brianna
He drops the plate beside him and reaches for me. His hand slides around the back of my neck, and before I can think, he's pulling me toward him. Our mouths collide. The kiss is all urgency—messy and breathless, like we've both finally run out of patience.
I barely manage a breath before he's kissing me again, one hand tightening at my neck as he pulls me closer. Then, just when I start to lose myself in it, he breaks away. His chest rises and falls as he stares at me, his grip still firm, like letting go isn't nearly as easy as pulling me in.
“Alright. Time to go.”
“What?” I hardly get the word out before he’s pulling me to my feet, his grip firm as he guides me toward his walk-in closet.
“Come on. I need a taste of you right now.”
Seth shuts the closet door behind us, sealing us into the dark, hushed space, and my lungs forget how to work. I stumble back a step, then another, deeper into the closet, my pulse thundering in my ears.?
Holy shit. This closet is bigger than the entire bedroom I rent at Natasha’s. Shoes line the walls in neat rows, clothing hangs in perfect order, but none of it exists to me. All I can see—all I canfeel—is Seth, advancing with the steady, hungry patience and focus he reserves for the crease.
My back bumps into the shelves, the edge digging into my spine, and then his arms cage me in, trapping me there. His body heat rolls off him in waves, searing straight through my clothes until my skin prickles with anticipation. We’re doing this.
