Chapter 10
CHAPTER
TEN
TESSA
“Are you going to stand there all night?” I ask Linc. We’ve spent the evening working on the presentation, and I’m feeling so much more relaxed. He pretty much wrote the voiceover while I carried on editing the video and I’m starting to realize it’s not just his easy way of talking to people that’s made him get as far as he has in this business.
He’s astute. He understands people. He knows what makes them tick.
And in our world, that’s dynamite.
He walked into the bedroom a minute ago, and did a double take when he saw I was already in bed. On the left side, because when I was with Jared I always had to sleep on the right side and I hated it.
“I’m just wondering if we should have the talk now,” he says. “Because if you want my body, we should at least exchange health details.”
“Shut up and get in.” I roll my eyes and lift the cover. He walks over, pulling his t-shirt off so he’s just in a pair of shorts and I really try not to look at him.
But dear god, it’s not fair. This man has everything. The easygoing nature, the flair for getting what he wants and the world’s most perfect body.
“You okay, Carmichael?” he asks, smirking.
“I’m a little warm,” I say huskily, because I know what he’s doing. Trying to rile me up again. But two can play at that game.
I pull the covers off my own body, revealing the short pajamas I bought at Bloomingdales. Ange had insisted I needed something lighter than the flannel I wear in New York.
His eyes dip to my thighs and he lets out a long, low breath.
“Might want to cover up,” he tells me. “I turned the air conditioning up.”
“Then you should probably put your t-shirt back on,” I tell him.
“I never sleep in a t-shirt.”
“And I usually sleep naked. So let’s compromise.”
His eyes darken and I like it a little too much. It’s been a long, long time since a man looked at me like that.
“You’re playing with fire,” he mutters, climbing into the bed beside me. The mattress dips deliciously.
I shimmy down the bed and roll onto my side, facing him. He does the same.
“So this is weird,” I say. “I can’t remember the last time I had a sleepover.”
“Want me to paint your nails?” he asks, and I grin.
“I could do yours.”
“I have a manicurist for that.”
Of course he does. The man is perfectly polished.
“What else do girls do at sleepovers?” he asks, blinking slowly. He has the most delicious thick eyelashes .
“Not what you think,” I say dryly.
“I wasn’t thinking about sex.” He runs his thumb along his jaw. “Though now I am.”
“It’s hard to remember what we did,” I say, quickly changing the subject. “I guess we talked about our other friends. The boys we liked. Our parents.”
“Where did you grow up?” he asks.
“In Texas.”
“Your parents still there?”
“No, they moved to California.”
“That’s a long way from New York,” he says and I nod. I don’t see them that much anymore.
“Truth or dare,” he says.
“What?”
“Isn’t that a game that people play at sleepovers?” he says, a half-smile pulling at his lips. Blood rushes through my ears.
“I guess.” I nod. “What would the dare be?”
“Putting some real clothes on. But I’d rather you chose truth.”
My chest tightens again, the way it seems to do a lot when he’s around. I’d never realized how much this man could get under your skin if you let him.
“What truth?” I ask.
He presses his lips together, as though trying to think of the most excruciating question. “Okay, tell me the most embarrassing thing that happened to you as a kid.”
My eyes meet his, and I feel my cheeks flush.
“Oh, Carmichael. Do you have a juicy secret?” he asks me. “Because now I need to know.”
“I can just take the dare,” I remind him.
“Tell me your secret. Go on.”
I have no idea why I’m entertaining answering him. Maybe it’s the way he’s looking at me with the softest expression I’ve ever seen from him .
“I walked in on my parents having an orgy,” I say quickly, my words mashing together.
For a minute he says nothing, his mouth agape as he stares at me.
“No way,” he finally responds. “Seriously?”
I nod, remembering how mortifying it was.
“I’m gonna need all the juicy details,” he tells me.
“You have to promise not to tell anybody.”
He touches his brow. “Scout’s honor.”
And it’s weird, but I trust him to keep it to himself.
“I was fifteen, just a bit older than Zoe,” I tell him. “I was supposed to be staying at my friend’s house for a sleepover but I got sick and her mom dropped me off at home.
“Did her mom see?”
“No. Thank God. She could tell there was somebody home from the inside lights. So she dropped me off and drove away.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I can’t believe I’m telling you this.”
He gently pulls my hand away. “I’m touched that you are. I thought you were going to tell me you got your skirt stuck in your panties at school or something. So what happened next?”
I let out a long breath. “I walked in and saw my dad…” I shake my head. “I can’t. It’s so mortifying.”
“Your dad was balls deep in somebody not your mom?” he asks.
“Something like that,” I squeak.
“And your mom?”
My cheeks are burning. “Was in the kitchen.”
“Not cooking?” he asks.
“Not cooking,” I agree.
“Jesus, Tessa. I think you just won the game. What did you do after that?”
“I snuck out. Slept in the summerhouse in our backyard. Then pretended to come home the next morning. ”
“Nobody noticed you were there?”
“No, I don’t think so. At least I hope not.” I wrinkle my nose. “And I never mentioned it to my parents.”
“So they don’t know you know?” he asks.
“No. But I’ve never looked at them the same again.”
“I bet.”
“So I guess that’s why I was a bit uptight when you mentioned threesomes. I just…” I shake my head. “I want to be a good parent for Zoe.”
“You’re a great parent. Anybody can see that.”
I give him the smallest of smiles.
“Carmichael?” he says. And I relax, because we’re back to Carmichael and Salinger. I can deal with that.
“Yes?”
“You want a hug?”
I open my mouth to say no, but then I realize that I really do want one.
I think I need one.
I nod. “Yes please.”
And it turns out that as well as being sweet talking, successful, and annoyingly good looking, Linc Salinger also gives the best hugs.
Go figure.
LINC
I wake up in the morning with a hard on that’s precariously close to Carmichael’s ass. Okay, it’s touching it. So I shimmy back because if there’s one thing she doesn’t need it’s the dirtiest part of me touching her the morning after she pretty much bared her soul to me.
Truth is, I found it difficult to go to sleep after her confession. I felt bad that I’d pretty much wrenched it out of her. And felt even worse that once I pulled her into my arms all I could think about was kissing her.
Inappropriate much?
Absolutely.
Did I want to do it anyway?
Absolutely.
Weirdly enough, she passed out about five minutes after I pulled her into my arms. And when I finally drifted off, about an hour later, I actually slept better than I have in a while, too.
And now I get to watch Carmichael wake up.
She does it in fits and starts. First of all she groans and stretches her arms, then kind of folds in on herself. Then she groans again and opens one eye, before closing it like she doesn’t like what she sees.
“Are you staring at me?” she asks.
Okay, so she’s grumpy, too. This is delicious.
“Just admiring your bed head,” I tell her and she groans again, reaching up to touch her long, thick locks.
Her eyes spring open, and this time they stay open. “What time is it?” she asks.
“Ten.”
She sits up so fast my eyes can’t keep up. “You’re kidding.”
“Yes, I am. It’s seven.”
“You’re an asshole.”
“Thank you.” I smile at her. “You slept well, by the way.”
“So did you. For once.”
“What does that mean?” I ask. Because I’m pretty sure I didn’t tell her about my nightmares.
“Nothing. Just that when I woke in the middle of the night you were snoring like a baby.”
I sit up too, running my hands through my hair. “Well I guess this bed is good for both of us.”
“So it seems. ”
“Want to sleep with me again tonight?” I ask, wiggling my brows. She laughs and it warms me.
“Yeah, sure.” She shimmies to the side of the bed and climbs out, treating me to a delicious view of her ass. Christ, it’s perfect. Round and full, but with a lift to it. No wonder my dick liked it so much.
“Salinger?”
“Yeah?” I clear my throat and drag my gaze away from her backside up to her turned face.
“Thanks for being so sweet last night.”
I smile and she smiles back at me. “You’re welcome.”