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“Your mom, then,” she says knowingly, chuckling as she holds the bouquet up to her nostrils and breathes in the fragrant aroma. “I’m a little unsure about having been taken out of the loop, but I’m not as down about it as I thought I would be if it ever happened.”
“You’re not?”
“There is no world in which a target should be on the frontline of an investigation. Helping out on the back end by providing information is fine, but actively going after the threat is another. I wasn’t removed because they don’t trust me or because they don’t think I’m up to the task as Mike’s kid. That makes a difference to me. I’m not about to throw a temper tantrum when I know they’re treating me the same as they would anyone else. In fact, that’s all I’ve ever wanted. To be treated the same.”
“Okay, well, I’ll just take these back, then.” I reach for the flowers, but she jerks them out of my grasp and laughs as she holds them possessively to her chest.
“Nope. No take-backsies. They’re mine now.”
“Fair enough.” I drop down on our bed and stare up at her, truly impressed by how well she’s handling this.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Beckoning her, I wrap my hands around her thighs when she comes to stand between my legs, and I bring my gaze up to hers and smile. “I’m a little bit in awe of you right now. You really aren’t a stuck-up little girl with a stick up your ass and a point to prove by all means necessary.”
Her eyes go round, but then she lets out a soft sigh and runs the fingers of her free hand through my hair. “I guess I understand why you thought I was that, and maybe I even was, but not anymore. Besides, this way, I get to be on vacation with you instead of spending all day, every day in the security office with the others. It’s an okay trade.”
“Just okay?” I echo disbelievingly. “I made you come four times last night. That has to count for something.”
Her cheeks catch fire, and she smacks my arm. “How many times do I have to tell you that you can’t just say stuff like that?”
“I can say whatever I want when it’s just the two of us.” I lie back on the bed, not releasing her legs. She topples forward, laughing as she tosses the flowers to the side and catches herself just in time.
With her face now hovering just inches above mine, she smiles and presses a whisper-soft peck to the tip of my nose. “Can I be honest with you?”
“Always.”
The rosy hue on her cheeks deepens, but she pushes forward despite her obvious embarrassment about what she wants to say. “It, uh, it turns me on when you talk that way. Is that normal?”
Brushing her hair back with the tips of my fingers, I look deep into those blue eyes and nod. “It’s called dirty talk in some circles, and it’s a whole thing. A lot of people—I’d even go so far as to say most—are turned on by it. You should never be embarrassed or ashamed of anything that turns you on, though, Liv. If it turns you on, it turns you on. That’s what sex is all about. Everyone’s got their kink, and whatever it is, it’s okay.”
She tilts her head, thinking it over for a moment before she glances back at me. “How do people figure out what their kinks are?”
“By doing.” I shrug. “I’ve never really thought about it like that, but for me, I guess I just kept discovering what I liked and didn’t as I went along. Some people probably watch porn to figure it out too. Or talk to other people about it. We’ve got time, love. I’m all for helping you figure it out.”
She nods, a faraway look in her eyes again before she rushes out, “I think I want you to tie me up.”
“I can definitely do that.” I lift my head to kiss her, then sigh as I let it drop back down on the mattress. “We promised Isabella and Mason we’d go to the pool with them this morning, though. So later?”
“Later.” She agrees, and I groan, already knowing it’s going to be a long-ass morning until I can get her right back here to do what she asked me to. Crawling off me, she looks back at me over her shoulder when she pauses at the edge of the bed. “Is there anything you’d still like to try that you haven’t yet?”
“A lot,” I admit happily. “If I say anything you don’t want to know about, stop me, but Maxim said it’s really important to be honest about this stuff in a relationship, so I want to give it a try.”
“Okay,” she says, bending her leg to sit sideways on the mattress as she waits for me to come clean.
Shit.I really don’t like the thought of speaking to her about my past conquests, but I want to do this right. As Maxim pointed out, Olivia already knows how I was, so it won’t exactly come as a surprise to her, but still…
Taking a deep breath, I start slowly, giving her plenty of time to back out if she wants to.
“The thing about one-night stands is that, inherently, you’ve a got a very limited amount of time with a person. I’ve had a few casual, regular-ish partners, but I’ve never been in a relationship, so I’ve never really gotten to explore different things with just one person. I’ve also never really… taken my time. You and I have taken a bit of time, but there’s always been either the fear of someone walking in and busting us or somewhere we’ve had to be or something we had to talk about.”
She watches me with curiosity shining from her eyes, but she doesn’t look upset about me talking about one-night stands. “You’re saying you want to try really taking your time?”
I shrug. “Yeah, I think I would. Full disclosure, I have tied people up before and I’ve been tied up, but again, there’s always been this element of urgency to it because I’ve always known the clock was ticking down.”
Her pupils have dilated a little while we’ve been talking, and her lips part now. She swipes her tongue over them, then flushes bright red. “I’ll admit that I like the sound of that, exploring slowly with you and knowing we don’t have to rush anything. Could this count as part of that? Both of us are obviously turned on by just talking about it, but we have to go out now. Doesn’t that mean it’s all part of the long game?”
I frown, but then I realize she’s right. “Look at you getting all fancy on me. You’ve really grown up, haven’t you?”
