Chapter 63
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
“No. Absolutely not.”
“Why not?” Gage stands at the edge of the couch, arms folded, muscles straining against his suit.
“Because!” Anxiety churns in my gut.
“I want to hear the story.”
“I am not reading that to you.” I motion at the special edition we brought back from the store.
I was secretly so excited when he got it, and I haven’t been able to take my eyes off of it.
Buddy sniffs it like it might be a treat.
Although I’m not sure how she can stand to use her nose.
If it’s bad in here for us, how bad must it be for her?
“Are you afraid you’re going to mess up?”
“No. I just, I don’t want to.” Now, I’m crossing my arms like a child. There’s a slew of emotions churning inside me. What if the book isn’t as good as I remember? What if it’s too slow, and he hates it? What if he judges me for what’s inside? No. This is far too intimate.
“Good. ‘Cause I charge a fee for every word you fuck up.” Gage sits down on the couch, patting the spot next to him with a haughty expression.
“You what?” I sputter. Is he serious right now?
“You heard me. Every fumbled word comes out of your paycheck.”
I see the corner of Gage’s mouth twitch, then he goes back to his mask.
He’s playing.
“How much?” I ask, bending down to grab something.
Gage purses his lips. “I don’t know, I think maybe five–”
He doesn’t see the pillow coming as I whap it into his head. Gage gives a startled ‘oomph’, and Buddy dances between us, tail wagging. It takes Gage a second to recover, and he straightens his glasses. His face breaks into a smile an instant before he lunges off the couch.
I squeal, trying to run before strong arms wrap around my middle and yank me back to a hard chest. Then he drops us both back so we’re sitting on the couch, pinning me to him.
“Let me go.” I struggle, trying to keep the laugh out of my voice.
“No.”
“Gage!” I squeal as Buddy sticks her face in mine, licking. My arms are pinned at my sides, and I’m unable to stop her, so I just thrash back and forth, gagging. “It stinks!”
Gage chuckles. “What was that? Sorry, I can’t hear you over the ringing in my head.”
“I didn’t hit you that hard.”
“Huh?”
I fight Gage’s iron grip, but he’s relentless. He keeps me pinned against his body without an inch of wiggle space, and soon, I’m panting and out of breath, trying to keep Buddy away with my feet.
“Get her, Buddy.” Gage leans me down, right into her face.
“Stop!” I see the mouth of unending bad breath descend.
“You going to read to me?”
“Yes! Yes, just let me go!” I’ll say whatever I need to just get away.
Gage hauls me up effortlessly. “See? How hard was that?”
“Now let me go.”
There’s a second where he doesn’t. A second where I feel how hard he is under my ass. A second where I realize he could do whatever he wanted with me.
Then, Gage releases me, and I scramble up and away from him. Gage arches an eyebrow and smirks.
I have an odd moment of relief, embarrassment, and… disappointment. Disappointment? What the hell is wrong with me?
“Get to reading.” Gage kicks his feet up on the coffee table, grabs the book, and hands it to me.
“I’m under duress,” I grump, but I take it.
Gage just grins.
“And I’m not paying you.”
He just closes his eyes, that smile still on his face.
I try not to focus on anything besides just reading the words on the page.
Soon, I get caught up in the story that I remember so well.
Gage sits there quietly, listening with his eyes closed.
After a while, I’m not sure if he’s gone to sleep; he’s so still.
But when I pause, he shifts his head in my direction. “Need water?”
“No, I just thought… you were asleep.”
“You’re the one who sounds tired.”
I shrug. There’s something about reading that puts me into a trance.
“Do you want to move to the bedroom?”
My stomach drops at the same time my heart leaps. It does this weird pitter-patter, and I feel like my whole body is racing to catch up.
Gage’s voice is gentle. “Just in case you pass out. More comfortable. Stinks less.”
He’s inviting me to his room. At night. For sleeping. And anything else.
So, I’m not reading into this. This was a date. My emotions tangle, but above all that, I feel a thrill of excitement.
“I, uh…”
The silence stretches on so long it gets uncomfortable, but I’m frozen. I’m not sure what I want to do. I think… I might want to go, but I’m also scared.
Gage stands up. “You got me, I lied. I just don’t want to carry you to your room after you pass out in here. Don’t want you drooling on my shoulder.” He fake shudders.
He’s joking, but I catch the tension around his eyes, and I hate it. I want that happiness back. But he’s inviting me to his room. After Max…
“I don’t uh… I can’t share a room with anyone.” As I say it, fear washes over me. I feel a hole get bigger in my chest, and it aches. That ache is mixed with a fucking insane desire for him to understand.
Instead of pressing, Gage just nods. But not before I see a flash of hurt on his face.
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“Plus, I’m pretty sure your pillows hate me.” I try to smile. “Don’t think I could show my face there anymore.”
Gage laughs, breaking the tension. “You? I’m pretty sure they’ve filed a formal complaint against me. I’ve been sleeping with them at the end of my bed. Can’t look at them.”
“Oh yeah, you’ll be paying for their therapy for the rest of your life.
” I laugh and follow Gage as he gets up.
We both walk back to our rooms, and I tense, waiting for him to pressure me.
Instead, Gage just tips his head at me. “You read pretty well today. I won’t be exacting any fines. I’m a lenient master.”
“You ass.” I shove at him, and he just smiles gently.
“Hey, Raven?”
I stop. I shouldn’t have turned him down. My whole body is riled up from where he touched me. He’s hot and kind, and why the hell did I turn him down?
“You have the prettiest voice I’ve ever heard.”
Then he disappears into his room and shuts the door.