Page 49 of Pretend for Me

Piper watches me unbutton my shirt, her curious gaze taking on the color of the darkening sky. I drape the shirt over the lounger, acutely aware of her attention, before moving down to undo my belt. The metallic sounds of my buckle echo in the charged silence between us.

I can’t help but meet her interested gaze as I unbutton and unzip my trousers, letting them slide down my thighs. Stepping out of the pooled pants at my feet, wearing nothing but my boxer briefs, I make my way to her.

Piper’s lips part slightly, her eyes as transfixed on me as I was on her just moments ago. She licks her lips. “Christ, Lex,” she breathes huskily. “You should come with a warning label, you know that?”

A smile tugs at my lips, both satisfaction and guilt battling within me. I’m flattered, triumphant, even, but that nagging voice inside my head demands I rein it in. That this can’t progress past whatever this is.

Pushing the thoughts aside for now, I pad down the pool steps, sliding into the warm water beside her. Dunking myself completely under the water, I feel the air expand inside my lungs, allowing it to give me a chance to collect myself. I stayunder for a few seconds longer, hoping the water will wash away my conflicting thoughts.

When I finally surface, driving my fingers through my hair to take it off my forehead, I find Piper watching me from the side. Her eyes linger on me, tracking the rivulets streaming down my chest.

Her elbows rest on the concrete ledge behind her in a casual pose that betrays the tension in the air. Her legs kick out in front of her, breaking the water’s surface, bringing my attention to her feet as I make my way to her. Her toes are painted white, contrasting with the dark water around her.

White toes on slender, beautiful feet.

And despite the fact that I’ve never had a foot fetish—oranyfetish, for that matter—I can envision myself becoming obsessed with those damn toes.

I can envision myself becoming obsessed with every inch of her.

I bury the thought inside the recesses of my mind as I close the distance between us, coming to a stand in front of her.

She lowers her legs, making ripples in the water around us.

“There. Happy?” I ask her, my gaze snagging on the way her chest rises and falls above the water.

She flashes me that grin—the one that screams trouble—like she’s doing one of her damn victory squeals in her head. “Very,” she says in a husky whisper.

I take another step forward, still towering over her, despite the fact that she’s pulled up on her elbows and her feet no longer touch the bottom of the pool.

Her voice lowers and goosebumps smatter her chest despite the warm water. “So, what did you want to chat about?”

I inhale deeply, the scent of chlorine and citrus filling my lungs. How the fuck am I supposed to be letting her down when I’m seconds from grabbing her by her waist and tuggingher to me? “I wanted to revisit the conversation from the car yesterday.”

She drags a strand of wet hair out of the corner of her mouth, exhaling an exasperated sigh that stirs the water’s surface. “I told you. That was nothing for you to worry about. I’ve got it handled.”

Confusion bends my brows before realization has my hands balling into fists at my sides. The fucking text she got in my car.

I still don’t know what it was about, but I’m willing to bet it would piss me off if I did.

Where I’m adept at concealing my emotions—though I’m doing a shit job when it comes to her, acting like a possessive lunatic—Piper’s expressions are a mirror to her thoughts. I didn’t need to know the contents of the message to know it had caught her by surprise, and not the kind followed by cake and champagne. It had shaken her. Her shoulders had sprung to her ears, her eyes had turned haunted, and an uncharacteristic frown had creased her flawless face.

But as much as I want to dig into that text, I’m also treading a fine line. She’s done everything I’ve asked of her with little argument. If she’s putting up a fight on this, I have to believe there must be a good reason she wants to keep me in the dark. And while I have the means to breach her privacy, I’m going to respect her wishes. It’s the least I can do for everything she’s doing for me.

So why is my gut waving a red flag, urging me to heed its warning?

The water suddenly feels a little colder, and I’m hyper aware of the little space between us—a space I want to both close and increase.

Biting my bottom lip, I reconsider even standing in here where all I can see, hear, smell, and practically taste is PiperfuckingParker. The bane of my existence, and the only one crazy enough to be in this situation with me.

I should go. Get out of this damn pool before its toxic water and her intoxicating scent have me saying the opposite of what I came here to say.

Instead, I find myself walking toward her, until I’m right in front of her. Lifting my hands, I grasp the ledge behind her as I lean in to speak at the shell of her ear. “I was referring to our other unfinished conversation.”

Piper practically trembles before her eyes find mine. She flicks out a finger, dragging it up the inside of my bicep, all the way to my shoulder, before training it down my collarbone and around my pec. It twitches as my jaw locks.

Clearly, she’s well versed in a game I’ve never been very good at.

“I see,” she muses throatily. “You went allSilent Patienton me in the car yesterday. I figured you’d forgotten about it.”

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