“I…” My mouth fell open. “What? Why would you say that?”
He eyed me skeptically. “Don’t think I don’t know you like to call me your sorta friend.”
Shit. I feigned innocence, placing a hand to my chest. “Me? Who told you that?”
“No comment.”
I made a mental note to kick Coop the next time I saw him. “Okay, you got me. I don’t make friends easily,” I confessed.
“No, really?” The sexy smirk on his lips let me know he was being sarcastic.
I tossed a throw pillow at him. “Seriously. It’s no small feat that I let you in.”
“Your house?” he asked.
I felt a blush work its way up my neck. I’d let him into my body too. But I wasn’t about to open that door again. “Of course.”
“You still didn’t have to help me.”
“I did. Besides, you’re my fake boyfriend.” The wordfakeleft a bad taste in my mouth. This thing between us felt too big for fake, but there wasn’t another category for it.
“Is that what I am?”
I lifted a brow. “Is this a trick question?”
He smiled then. A real, full smile. And my stomach flipped. “No.”
Finishing the rest of my wine, I stood. “I should probably clean up.”
He followed me inside. “Heaven forbid you don’t throw out the two paper plates from dinner.”
“Oh! You got jokes. Does this mean I can stop being nice to you?”
Preston broke down the empty pizza boxes while I wiped the table down. “Now that you mention it, I actually prefer you to be nice-nasty.”
I cracked up. “Niceandnasty?”
His smile faded and his gaze fell to my lips. “Or nice and naughty.”
No matter what, do not kiss him.
Preston inched closer. The air around us changed, and my lighthearted mood faded to horny as hell under his hooded stare. “Dallas,” he whispered. “I don’t think you realize what tonight meant to me.”
One night. One fuck. And I’d already had that, so this should be a non-issue. Butdamn, he smelled so good. The heat from his body made me want to lean into him, to wrap my arms—and my legs—around him.
“I know the fundraiser was important to you,” he continued, “and I appreciate that you didn’t hesitate to skip the event for me.”
How about two nights, two fucks? I blew out a shaky breath. “I told you to stop thanking me. It’s not necessary.”
He brushed his hands up my arms, over my shoulders and neck, to my face. Every touch of his fingers ignited something inside me. I was helpless, lost in my desire for him. “You’re so beautiful.” He circled my nose with his. “So damn sexy.”
I shuddered as his words washed over me. The ability to reason with myself flew out the window. When he’d come to me, I’d wanted to ease his pain. Now I wanted something else. Him. Naked. Now. “Please,” I gasped when he tugged me closer, and my body crashed against his.
“Please what?”
I stepped on the tips of my toes and kissed him. Because…I wanted his lips on mine. And his body. I broke the kiss, cupping his chin in my palm. “Take my clothes off,” I breathed. “And yours too.”
Before I could tell him where I wanted him to take me, he wrapped one strong arm around my waist and set me on the countertop. His lips were everywhere—on my mouth, on my cheeks, on my ears, on my neck—as he pulled my shirt up and off. My pants were next, then my panties.
