Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 98321 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98321 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
“Now you’re just being mean.”
“How is that mean?”
“What if I always sleep naked? You’re making me feel ashamed. And the human body is nothing to be ashamed of, Bianca. In fact, mine is quite nice. I think you’d enjoy seeing it naked.”
“I’m sure you do.”
“I might even enjoy seeing yours naked.” He shrugged. “Just putting that out there.”
“Ha! Not a chance.”
He shook his head. “I had no idea how repressed you were.”
“I’m not repressed just because I wear pajamas to bed, Enzo. You’re just trying to trick me into letting you see me naked.”
“Is it working?”
“No.”
He took another drink. “The least you could do is walk around topless or something, considering that I just began a yearlong dry spell for you.”
“I think you’ll live,” I told him, patting his arm.
“Easy for you to say. You’re a woman.”
“This again?” I rolled my eyes. “Contrary to what men might think, Enzo, women crave sex just as much as they do.”
“I had no idea you were craving sex with me, Bianca.” Enzo gave me the eyes and slipped an arm around my waist. “But don’t worry, I know how we can solve this problem.”
I laughed, beating one fist against his solid chest. “Don’t even think about it. And get your paws off me.”
But instead of letting me go, I felt his lips—and then his tongue—brush my temple. Then he released me. “Frosting,” he said, licking his lips. “Don’t worry, I got it.”
I touched the spot he’d licked, my heart hammering in my chest, heat pooling between my legs. Taking a step back, I attempted a cool expression as I smoothed my hair. “You made a mess shoving that cake in my face. Is it anywhere else?”
Regarding me silently, he took another sip of his beer. “No. You look perfect.”
I gulped some wine and tried to calm down.
But as our party wrapped up, I couldn’t stop thinking about sex with him, picturing him naked, imagining his body moving over mine. What was it going to be like sharing a bed with him? Would I even be able to sleep?
This is ridiculous, I kept telling myself. You can’t break the no-sex rule. You were the one who put it in the contract to begin with. Fine, this isn’t the wedding night you once dreamed of, but remember why you’re doing this in the first place.
But my body was having a hard time letting my mind stay at the wheel.
“Everything okay?” Enzo asked me on the ride over to his house. We were going to drop off the wedding presents we’d received, and he needed to grab a few things for the overnight stay at the inn.
“Fine,” I said, careful not to look at him.
“You seem quiet all of a sudden.”
“I’m just tired.”
“Me too.” He yawned. “Getting married is fucking exhausting.”
“Having a baby will be worse.”
“True.” He paused. “Speaking of which, when do we go in for the first attempt?”
“I have an appointment with the fertility specialist next week. Because I don’t ovulate normally, I’ll have to take some preliminary steps to make sure we know exactly when it will happen, and then time the insemination right. There’s a drug I have to take.”
“What do I have to do?”
“Not much. Show up and get off.”
“I prefer provide a sample, please,” he said haughtily. “Don’t cheapen it.”
I laughed, in spite of everything. “Just make sure it’s a good one. We need the gold-medal swimmers.”
“How dare you imply I have any other kind?”
“Speaking of which.” I shifted in the passenger seat to face him. “What are you going to think about?”
“When?”
“While you’re, you know, providing the sample. What will you think about?”
He frowned. “Jesus, Bianca. I don’t know.”
“Porny stuff?”
“Probably. Am I supposed to think about the Holy Ghost or something? Because I don’t think that will result in my best work.”
“It doesn’t have to be religious,” I said. “Just not anything too . . . you know, skeevy.”
“What if your definition of skeevy isn’t the same as mine? We’ve never hooked up, so I don’t know if you’re totally vanilla or like a little kink.”
“What kind of kink?” I asked, curious.
“Any kind. Bondage, blindfolds, role play.”
“I’ve never done anything like that,” I confessed. But now I was thinking about it. Would I let him blindfold me? Tie me up? Would I trust him not to hurt or humiliate me? I wasn’t sure.
“I’d be happy to test your limits—all in the name of research, of course.”
“You know what? Never mind,” I said, crossing my legs a little tighter. “Think about whatever you want. It’s really none of my business.”
I stayed silent after that. What the hell was wrong with me, anyway? I needed to stop allowing my hormones to make this thing between us into something it wasn’t.
My limits already felt tested.
Around ten o’clock that night, Enzo unlocked the door to the Bellamy Creek Inn’s honeymoon suite. He pushed it open and looked back at me. “Want me to carry you over the threshold?”