Page 29 of The Truth of Us

I reached her and slid one hand around her waist, pulling her gently against me.

Her breath caught this time.

There she was. That girl from New York.

I lowered my mouth toward hers instinctively, and Harper turned her head immediately.

The rejection shouldn’t have annoyed me.

It absolutely did.

“No kissing,” she reminded softly.

Right. The stupid rule.

I exhaled a laugh against the curve of her jaw. “You are deeply frustrating.”

“You like it,” she replied.

Unfortunately.

She turned herself so she was facing the windows and brushed her long hair over one shoulder, exposing her back to me. Then she looked up at me over her shoulder through lowered lashes and quietly said, “Undo my dress, Elliot.”

8

HARPER

What the fuck am I doing?

It was what had been playing through my head during the entire conversation with Elliot. These kinds of arrangements weren’t new to me, but they were something I had said I never wanted to be a part of. Which is why I am here in Chicago, alone, trying to make my way instead of back home in New York, with my father.

I could rationalize that what I was doing could eliminate this tension and energy between Elliot and I. I knew he wasn’t someone who would settle down and I never wanted to be one of many, I didn’t want to live like a lot of women do in our world. Men were almost expected to have mistresses on the side, while the wife was to remain perfect and wait for her husband to return home to them.

No thanks. I didn’t want that for me, and neither did my father. Which is why he agreed to allow me this time to figure out what I wanted without the added pressure of who my family was.

Our easy banter and the chemistry between us was off the charts. I could do this. I could be with Elliot for the term of this arrangement and then walk away.

He set his glass down and loosened his cufflinks, a fire in his eyes that made me want to squirm.

“I am going to fuck you now,” he said with not an ounce of humour. He was… serious.

My lips parted on an exhale, and I almost choked on my words. “Are you?”

Elliot was locked onto me with an intensity that made me think… could someone orgasm from that look? He started unbuttoning his shirt. “Harper Vale…”

My eyes widened instantly, and my heart rate kicked up to a dangerous rate. Did he do that deliberately? Call me by his last name… or was that a slip?

He continued with no reaction to calling me by his last name, “... will you grant me the pleasure of letting me fuck you tonight?”

I couldn’t help it; I burst out laughing. Elliot Vale could get under my skin, and I needed to remember this wasn’t real.

He moved toward me slowly, his baby blue eyes tracking over my features as if he was gauging how I would react to him moving closer.

My heart was in my throat when Elliot pulled me to him, his large hand sliding against the silk of my vintage dress, and the feel of the warmth of his hands through the cool silk made my breath catch.

As he lowered his mouth toward mine, his eyes focused on mine. Fuck, I wanted him to kiss me so badly. Which is why I needed to follow the rules and not get lost in the ‘what if’ of this whole situation. So I swallowed the need to have his lips on mine and turned my head so his lips grazed my jaw instead and then reinforced my rule. “No kissing.”

Elliot exhaled a laugh against the curve of my jaw, groaning. “You are deeply frustrating.”