“Is that like a border?” he asks. “Will I need a visa to cross?”
“Ha ha, very funny. It’s not a border. It’s the Great Wall.” I point to his side. “You stay there.” I point to my side. “I stay here. We do not cross the wall. Ever.”
“What if the wall moves? Or gets damaged?”
“‘If the wall moves’?” I give him a stern look. “Mr. Sterling, why would pillows move on their own?”
“Well, Mrs. Sterling, the world is full of mysterious happenings.” He leans toward me, and he smells of a hint of cologne and minty toothpaste. “Haven’t you seen Ghostbusters?”
“That’s a movie,” I say firmly, ignoring the way his breath tickles my skin and my nipples go hard. “Mr. Sterling, you have to promise you’ll stay on your side of the bed, or I’m sleeping on the floor.” As threats go, it’s pretty lame. But I have a feeling he would never let that happen.
“Fine, have it your way. But just know that I won’t complain if you cross the border. I allow visa-free entry because I’m open like that,” he says magnanimously.
I do my best not to snort a laugh. I refuse to encourage him. Then I slide under the covers, very carefully unhook my bra under the shirt and put it on the night table. I should’ve taken it off in the bathroom, but I didn’t want to be without my bra around him any longer than I had to.
He stares at the bra for a few moments, then slides under the cover and turns off the light.
We lie in the dark. I pull the sheets closer. His scent wafts from the cotton. Oh my God. My body starts to hum with electricity. Holy shit, he smells so, so good, especially when it’s mixed with a hint of laundry detergent.
Burying my nose in the sheets, I inhale some more with the desperate neediness of a glue addict. This is like…scent porn. I’m actually getting wet, and my nipples are impossibly hard and aching. If I were alone, I might finger myself to sleep. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve fantasized about Nate.
Evie, you are a sad, sad woman.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I will myself to sleep, but it doesn’t work. My senses are hyperaware. I can hear the soft sound of his breathing, the heavy beat of my heart. The flesh between my thighs seems to throb, slick and oh so empty.
The hell of it is that I have a feeling this sensation won’t be dissipating anytime soon. Certainly not in the next six weeks I’m going to be stuck with him.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Nate
“Visa-free entry? Ah hahahaha.” Court actually slaps his thigh. “Did you also tell her you’d pay for a reentry permit?”
“You’re such a dick. A loud but limp dick.” He’s being overly boisterous, which is drawing attention. Ugh. Bastard. I must’ve been nuts to ask him to lunch at Virgo, a bistro near my office, on Wednesday. And to bring Yuna, because she’s in town, and she’s usually cool. I was hoping to introduce Evie to them, but she turned down my invitation. Again. Apparently my being her husband hasn’t changed her “no lunch with the boss” rule.
“You mean a hilarious dick.”
Yuna kicks him under the table, making him wince and hiss. “You’re being unsupportive.”
“Thank you,” I say. “The position of ‘Nate’s best friend’ is going to become vacant anytime now. You interested?”
“We can do better than that. I’ll be your soul sister.” She grins, then giggles.
I laugh. She has a magical ability to make me laugh, and not with annoyance, unlike Court. She just flew in from Korea, but apparently isn’t at all affected by jet lag. Her eyes are bright and clear, and she’s listening with the attentiveness of a cat. She flips her auburn hair over one slim shoulder.
“I’ve missed you,” I say.
“Missed you too. And the wedding! I wish I’d been here. I’ve never been to a Vegas wedding. Yours would’ve been perfect. It’s awkward to crash some strangers’ wedding, you know?”
“It wasn’t that special,” I say. She knows the truth about the wedding already. I trust her, and I wanted her as an ally, both for me and for Evie. I know Evie has friends of her own—like Kim—but I want her to have more. Some people from my circle, so she knows we aren’t all ogres.
“You can have one yourself,” Court says to her.
She ponders. “You think?”
“Most definitely not.” I give Court a dirty look. “Unless you don’t plan to involve your mom in the ceremony.”
“That’d get me disowned.” She leans closer. “Look, if your wife is being difficult, seduce her. Just show her your assets. No hiding.”