Page 47 of Start With A Slap

What in the Benedict Cumberbatch…“Okay, Sherlock, I give,” Ivy said. “How did you guess that in the span of five seconds? Seriously, what is your secret?”

He chuckled. “There’s no secret. You’ve been peeking into your handbag all day. You rushed to read it. Your shoulders slumped when you did.”

She processed that for a moment. “Fair enough.”

“Right, well, remember it’s only five AM back home.” He lit a Gitanes. “Give him a chance to wake up and send her on her way.”

“Ha ha,” she said, not laughing, as she dropped the phone into her purse. “You said it yourself. He wouldn’t cheat on me.”

“Well, bugger, I take it back. Be dead easy to use this to my advantage, you know.”

“Good thing you hate taking the easy route.”

“Yeah.” Smoke streamed out of his nose as he took in the scenery. “Good thing.”

“I’m curious, Sever,” Ivy said, sitting back. “How’s the magic affair calculator doing? Still on schedule?”

He smiled wickedly. “Ahead of.”

“What does that mean?”

“Permission to speak frankly, no risk of breaching our agreement?”

“Sure,” she said, not so sure.

“It means despite everything, despite the fact that I can’t touch you or flirt with you or even make you think your husband is a duplicitous cad, tomorrow morning you’ll be clinging to my naked back, quivering,” he stared at her lips, “begging me to let you come just one. More. Time.” His eyes met hers on the last word.

An intense tingle radiating through her body, she said, “Permission over.”

CHAPTER 14

Permission

She had to do it.She had to go with the slinky metallic dress, the sheeny makeup, the loose waves and the Ferragamo 4-inch sandals. Shehadto.

Going drab would change nothing but her attitude: Sever was determined to get her clothes off tonight no matter how well they draped. Luckily Ivy was equally determined—to return to her hotel roomaloneand call him in the morning, thumb firmly on nose. He couldn’t touch her; there was nowayhe could win! Why not live it up while turning him down?

There was no reason to deny herself the joy of looking and feeling her very best out on the town in Paris. If this turned out to be her last opportunity, her thirteen-year-old self would never forgive her. Plus, she was pretty sure it would be a crime against womankind to not take full advantage of the gratis high fashion, top-notch styling, and spa treatments at her disposal.

Besides, Jason had yet to return a single one of her calls.

To sum up, she had to do it. And as a hilarious bonus, Sever was rendered non-verbal for the first time in ...probably ever.

“God blind me,” he rasped when she emerged from the hotel. “Gold is your color, love. You are... just... You’re...” He swallowed. “Youare...”

“Take your time,” she said, sliding into the car. “I’ve got all night.”

Radiantwas the word he finally settled on. His first several choices, he confessed, would have drastically voided their agreement.

Which gave her an idea: what if she couldmakehim void the agreement? What if she could beat him at his own game, makehimthe one to fold? All she had to do was not touch him — he had the real challenge: he couldn’t behimself. What if she suddenly became so irresistible he couldn’t help but say exactly what was on his mind, or get all touchy-feely again? He’d be forced to ditch his magic calculator and concede defeat, and she’d be able to enjoy her evening without hearing the tick-tock-tick of his doomsday countdown.

It was genius. And he was already on the brink. In the car and at the awards banquet, she caught him stealing lustful glances, felt him straining to play by the rules. So she made it harder: casually, subtly, she tossed her hair over a bare shoulder, sucked on a cream-tipped strawberry, grazed her fingers down her throat... Then she’d try not to laugh as he lost his train of thought or grit his teeth or cracked his knuckles in frustration.

It was intensely gratifying to seehimsquirm for a change. How had she not thought of this before?

She had a fleeting pang of guilt that he might flub his acceptance speech because of her. After all, the program claimed he’d be sharing the secrets of his success but he hadn’t prepared anything; he liked the immediacy of improvisation. Sure, Sever could probably improvise his way out of a straitjacket, but under these conditions? Maybe not so much.

Whatever. Her virtue was at stake and she needed him to crack ASAP. So, while he was talking to her, she ‘absentmindedly’ fellated her finger — after ‘accidentally’ dipping it in frothy latte foam.

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