AllFreeNovel
Share Us
After spending another extra day in Paris and sightseeing at more local spots, Dash and I returned. Since we were both jet-lagged—well, I was, while his workaholic ass went straight to work—from our long flight, we had to postpone our dinner plans with my family. Of course, my mom didn’t take that too kindly and conveyed as much when I called. Alas, nothing can be done about it.
“As long as it’s a fake relationship with benefits, I say have fun.” I focus on Rosa while Iris wears a neutral expression. I can sense her disagreement from a mile away. “It’s a risky situation you’re in and if one of you wants more, it’ll get messy.”
“There’s nothing to worry about.”
Except I feel like I’m lying to my friends…to myself. The time we spent in Paris, the parts about his life he shared, has shown Dash to me in a new light. I always thought of him as an arrogant, possessive, and cold man but he’s so much more—thoughtful, mischievous, and protective.
He’s still no less possessive and domineering. I mean, he confessed he desired me when I was with Niall and then is constantly calling me his, with an intense clarity in his piercing gaze.
But men say a lot of the things in the heat of the moment, right?
The earth-shattering kiss—it felt too real, like he was marking me as his.
However, as I listen to Rosa’s warning and Iris believing Dash is smitten with me, I’m slightly regretting giving in to him. I know I shouldn’t have broken our rules. It was for this exact reason I made them in the first place.
Now, I don’t know where he and I stand. God, I’m so fucking confused.
It’s been three days since we’ve been back and both of us haven’t had a chance to spend time alone since we’re catching up on our respective workloads. I haven’t even seen him sleep, quite honestly. He’s been holed up in his office and even if he’s home, he’s either on his phone or attending online conference meetings. Always gone in the morning by the time I wake up and then I’m asleep by the time he returns.
Strangely enough, I don’t like that.
“How are you going to tell your parents you’re having a court marriage?” asks Iris, pulling me back to the present.
“Or that you’re doing it the day after tomorrow?” adds Rosa.
I shrug. “I’m just going to rip the Band-Aid off. I don’t want to give them a reason to try to sabotage my relationship with Dash. So, the sooner we marry, the harder it will be for them to not accept it.”
“That’s wise.”
The next two hours pass by in a blur as I tell them all about my adventures, minus the kinky club in Paris, and catch up with their lives. Rosa informs us that her parents are trying to force her to marry Nova by the end of this year, who for some reason is in agreement. So, now she’s trying to figure a way out of it. We don’t arrive at a solution by the time they have to leave.
It’s ten at night when I take the elevator to our—I meanDash’s—apartment, and I don’t expect him to be home. Hence, my surprise when I find him in the kitchen, cooking no less, with his shirtless back to me. I blink twice to make sure I’m not hallucinating.
“You’re home early,” I state dumbly after a pause. My heart, suddenly galloping in my chest.
He twists to face me, roaming his lazy yet burning gaze over my messy bun, thin cami top, and loose lounge trousers—which are baring my belly button—to the tip of my toes. I don’t miss his lingering pause on my braless breasts, making my nipples harden instantly.
Jesus, I’m needy again.
I pretend I haven’t secretly missed kissing him and the all-consuming way he does it.
I pretend that despite him coming home late every night, I don’t feel him slide into bed and pull me into his arms right after he whispers that he still hates cuddling. As if he knows I’m listening and I have to hide my smile.
Maybe I give it away when I curl my body tightly around his warm one. Don’t know what I’ll do if he sleeps naked like he warned me.
“I didn’t know you cooked.” I nervously fill the silence when he stays quiet.
Rounding the counter, he stalks to where I’m lurking in the doorway while wearing every woman’s kryptonite—low-hanging sweatpants that leave little to the imagination. Like mine wasn’t already corrupted by him.
“Dash—”
His lips descend on mine, stealing my breath away. My back collides against the wall, my hands gripping his wrists as his cup my face and he kisses the ever-loving hell out of me. He pours three days’ worth of tension, longing, desperation into one single kiss.
Like I’m not the only one who missed the mere press of his lips against mine.
The insistent flick of his tongue against the seam of my mouth, followed by the teasing glide as he tastes every corner with a low groan, betrays his satisfaction.
Our breathing is heavy, ragged, and harsh once he pulls back. The green flecks in his eyes, lighter than I’ve ever seen, as he gazes softly into mine. It triggers something in me and suddenly, Rosa’s words from earlier flick through my hazy brain, shattering the momentary bliss.
