Page 36 of Pretend for Me

Plus, the guy has been anything but predictable. If I were to make a move first, can I honestly guess how he’d react?

But there is the question of my ridiculous attraction to him, my desire to jump him at every chance, and my increasing sexual frustration that only he’ll be able to cure.

And while I agreed to the terms of this fake relationship, we never discussed this aspect: what if one of us starts wanting more, even if it’s just physical? Probably because at the time, I hadn’t realized that my attraction to him would be such a living, breathing entity.

But it is. It so fucking is.

At the time, I thought my fingers and my toys would be enough to take us across the finish line. But they so aren’t.

Because all I’ve done since I met my fake fiancé is imagine those enormous hands on me, those thick fingers filling me, and that ridiculously beautiful mouth on my skin. Between our charged banter and me practically salivating at the sight of the man, I’m not sure I can handle months of this.

I’m not sure I can handle another week!

Which is why I’ve created a new proposal for us. One that hasn’t been discussed yet, but really ought to have been, and one I plan to suggest in the car tonight on the way to dinner at his parents.

Dev’s hand rests on the small of my back as he opens the passenger door to his sports car—easily worth more than everything I own—and helps me inside. Just that small gesture, his hand on my back, not even touching my skin, has my heart pulsing in between my legs.

I’m just rechecking my lipstick in the mirror when he slides into the driver’s seat. He waits for me to finish and I give him an inquisitive look, flipping the visor and sitting back into my seat. “What’s up?”

Leaning across me, he reaches for my seatbelt and pulls it over my chest. His woodsy cologne envelops my senses, his jaw and neck so close that I’d only have to move a millimeter and I’d be able to feel his scruff across my lips.

Exasperated and needing a change of underwear, I throw my hands up and slap them down on my thighs just as he finishes buckling me in, shooting him a bewildered look.

His brows furrow. “What?”

“Are you doing this on purpose?”

He squints at me like I’ve lost my marbles. “Am I doingwhaton purpose? Making sure you’re safe?”

My nostrils flare at that smirk, which has been finding his lips more and more recently. “No. I mean yes, but that’s not all.” At his continued confusion, I huff out an exasperated breath. “The sweet gestures, like buying Vajayjay a pink bow and my rabbits that expensive food, the barely arguing with me when I threw you out of your room, the looking at me like . . . like you’re thinking the same things I’m thinking?—”

His face stills, his voice dropping low. “And what are you thinking?”

I take a breath, wrapping my arms around my chest, flicking a glance out the window to get a hold of my thoughts. My heart hammers behind my ribs in anticipation of my next move. Not even I know what’s going to come out of my mouth.

“Peter.”

I turn back to face him. “Dev, I moved in with you and now we’re going to meet your parents as a couple for the first time. I’m about to meet your mom, the person we’re doing all this for.”

His chin lowers but his eyes stay fixed on me, urging me to go on.

I lick my lips. “I just think that if we’re going to be living together and in this fake relationship, we should . . . get something out of this too, you know? I feel this weird tension between us, this charge like I’m going to combust. Half the time I want to slap you, while the other half I want to climbyou like the goddamn Redwood you are and rub my lady bits on you like I’m in heat?—”

My eyes bounce between his. “Oh, gosh, I'm rambling again, aren’t I? See this is exactly what you do to me.” I glare at him. “You make my brain melt and I just start glitching like this. I don’t act like this in front of anyone?—”

“What do you mean get something out of it?” Dev interrupts, his voice sending goosebumps over my bare arms.

“Never mind.” I shake my head, pinching the bridge of my nose. “You know what? Let’s just get going. I don’t want to keep your parents waiting, and honestly, I’ve humiliated myself enough. I don’t even know what I was saying?—”

“Piper, look at me.” When I hesitate, I feel his warm hand around my wrist, gently guiding it down. He holds it there, waiting for me to meet his gaze. “What do you mean by, ‘get something out of it’? I need you to be clear.”

I’m positive he can hear the hammering of my heart resounding against the silence in the car. I swallow hard, feeling the tops of my cheeks burn. I have no idea why this is so hard when I’ve never had a hard time talking about it before.

“Dev, I like sex. No, I don’t just like it; I love it. And while I’m committed to going through with this arrangement for as long as you need, I just . . .” God, my cheeks are on fire. “I have a new proposal for you.”

“Which is?”

I lift my chin, pretending to have the balls to say this when my lady balls are actually shriveling up inside my lady crotch. I realize that’s anatomically incorrect for me but it feels right at the moment. “I would like you to fuck me.”

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