“No fucking way,” he says.
“Why not?”
“You’re not going with someone from an app. You’re not going with someone from your show. You’re not going with some other guy. Case closed,” he says, then moves off the stool and wraps those strong arms tight about my waist. “You’re mine this week. You go with me. Only with me. I don’t want any other man even looking at what’s mine.”
What’s mine.
I ache from this possession. “I’m yours this week,” I murmur.
“You fucking are, Ellie. Mine, only mine. And I will treat you that way.” He slides a hand down my throat, over my chest, then squeezes my right breast. “Don’t want another man thinking he can have you.”
But Gabe can’t have me either. He’s not available, nor am I. We might be screwing, but we’re not truly dating, so it’s best to put all our cards on the table. “So, I’m like a one-week girlfriend?”
He seems to think about that, then says thoughtfully, “A fake real girlfriend.” Then he adds, “How’s that for a dating challenge?”
I smile. “Perfect.” But I want to be clear on what this means, so I ask, “At the party, we’re sort of pretending we’re together?”
He tilts his head. “The party where our book club moms will be serving apple pie and lemonade? Where our dads will be making barbecue? Playing lawn croquet? No, we’re not pretending we’re together.” He lets go of my breast so he can wrap a big hand around my ass, then he smacks my cheek, and I shudder. “We’re pretending we’re wholesome,” he corrects as he swats the other.
I gasp. “Can we practice being wholesome this week in public?”
He dips his face to kiss my neck. “We need all the practice we can get. So we’re gonna date publicly like we’re good, and privately I’m going to fuck you senseless,” he says as he kisses me.
My breath catches in excitement. “I’m a very good actress.”
“You are. But you’ll never need to act in bed with me. In fact, we’re going to practice coming in a few minutes. This time you’ll be crying out my name while you’re sitting on my face.”
I’m ready to ride him into the night. But I do want one more thing from him. “Gabe?” I ask coyly, twirling my hair. “There’s something I want too.”
“Name it,” he says, retaking his dominant tone. “And I’ll see if you deserve it.”
I bat my lashes. “That thing you promised me earlier if I didn’t make it to bed on time.”
The facial.
His smile is filthy as he strokes my cheek, then runs his thumb over my mouth. “You want that, sweetheart?”
Breathlessly, I say, “I do.”
“Then you’ll get it. Butonlyafter you fuck my face. So, go,” he says, waving me off. “I’ll clean up the kitchen. You get naked. When I walk into the bedroom in a couple of minutes, I want to find you with your legs spread wide and you playing with your pussy, getting yourself nice and hot and wet for me. You better be fucking yourself when I find you in there.”
“I promise,” I say, and I race to the bedroom.
WEDNESDAY
A Nice Day for a Stroll along the Greens
12
A BOX FOR YOUR BOX
Ellie
The bright Los Angeles morning streams through the window and wakes me up.
That’s weird. Usually Gigi wakes me up with her tongue on my face.
Dog kisses are a sign she needs to go out. Where is my little lover?