Page 56 of Pretend for Me

The events leading up to this moment would definitely make it seem so. Of the various possibilities I could have gone with to fulfill my mother’s dying desire, I chose the one guaranteed to push the bounds of my self-control. It’s as if I was subconsciously hellbent on self-sabotage, knowing my chosen path would challenge not only my resolve, but my sanity as well.

Yes, my sanity. Because from the day Piper Parker walked into my life—my vibrant wild card, the match to my powder keg of repressed desires—I’ve realized I have little of it left.

Now, as I watch her approach, poised and determined to shatter my well-constructed walls and my diminishing willpower, I feel like I’m balancing on the edge of a cliff.

And God help me, I’m about to fall.

My body tenses with each step she takes, my senses on hyper-alert. My hands tighten around the arms of the chair as I force myself to breathe, to maintain some semblance of control. But the sway of her hips, that mischievous glint in her eyes, and her beautifully parted lips tell me I’m about to lose that as well.

And a part of me—a much bigger part than I’d suspected—is eager to do so.

Clicking some lock on the side of my chair, Piper drops its arms, straddling me as if it were perfectly natural for her to do so. As if we’ve done it a million times.

Her hand skates over the back of my neck as she rolls her hips over my groin, surely feeling the boner I’m hoping to force down.

“Piper . . .” I warn half-heartedly, my throat bobbing. At this point, I don’t know if I’m asking her to continue or begging her to stop.

“Are you not attracted to me, Lex?” she asks breathily, dragging her hips over me again. Her hand tightens on my neck while the other squeezes her breast.

Fuck.

I don’t respond, all the words lodged inside my throat, feeling my cock turn to stone underneath her. If that isn’t enough to answer her question, I don’t know what would be.

“I know you don’t want to touch me,” she huffs, grinding against me. “I don’t know the reasons. Maybe you think it’ll complicate things, or maybe it’s simply that you’re not attracted to?—”

“Does it look like I’m not attracted to you?” I grit through my teeth, relenting as I palm the globes of her ass on my lap, even as warning bells ring somewhere in the crevices of my mind. “Does itfeellike I’m not attracted to you?”

She hitches one shoulder up, scraping her bottom lip with her teeth. “Sometimes it feels like you can’t get far enough away, even when we’re under the same roof.” Her body undulates over me. “Plus, you did say no to my proposal?—”

“You know damn well my answer had nothing to do with attraction,” I croak almost desperately.

Everything battles inside me to shove her pants off, spread her open on my lap, and show her just how attracted Iam to her. Instead, I ball my hands into fists on her ass and pray I can still rein this in.

But I already know we’re in too deep, without a raft or life jackets.

She fists my shirt, the engagement ring I gave her sparkling. I’ve noticed she never takes it off—not even when she goes into the pool—and God, there’s no end to the satisfaction that brings me.

Her lips find my neck, her hot breath skating across my skin before her tongue follows the trail.

“Then touch me, Dev,” she begs. “Make me come.”

Jesus.

This is a terrible idea. This could complicate everything. She’ll leave as soon as this charade is over, and I’ll be left with all the pieces.

“Piper . . .” I try once more, leaning away to create space between us.

“Fine,” she relents, her hips coming to a halt. Her forehead falls against mine as our breaths entangle between us, fast and heavy. “You’re attracted to me but don’t want to fuck me. Is that it?”

“You know it would be a bad idea,” I murmur, trying to convince myself as much as her.

She nods against my forehead, her hand still clasped around my neck. “Do you know how much you turn me on?” she asks, her words doing nothing to drown out the sizzling electricity between us. “You drive me crazy, Menon.”

The feeling is mutual, sweetheart.

“How am I supposed to go back out feeling like a live wire?” she huffs out a labored breath as her shoulders slump.

“Maybe you don’t have to.”

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