Page 23 of Honey Sunshine

There’s a shuffle on his end, the sound of him moving around in bed. “You’re trouble,” he says.

I laugh, unable to help myself.

The air between us shifts, the playful banter fading into something deeper, more charged. I feel the pull again—the magnetic force between us that I’ve been pretending I can control. My fingers tighten around the ring as if it’s some kind of anchor.

“What are you doing right now?” he asks, his voice dropping slightly, becoming softer, more intimate.

“I’m lying in bed,” I answer truthfully. “Thinking about you and... what happened earlier tonight.”

I almost regret saying it as soon as the words leave my mouth, but the silence that follows feels warm, like he’s processing it, not pushing it away.

“Thinking about me, huh?” His tone is gentle now. “Did you like it?”

My heart races at the question, and I can feel my cheeks warm. “I did,” I admit. “It felt... different. In a good way.”

“Different how?”

I bite my lip, trying to gather my thoughts. “I don’t know, it just felt... different. I haven’t felt like that with anyone before. Never been... kissed like that.”

He lets out a soft chuckle, and I can practically picture the smile on his face, but he doesn’t say anything.

“What are you thinking about right now?” I ask, my curiosity sparking as I bury deeper into the sheets.

He hesitates, and I can hear the smile in his voice when he finally responds. “I’m thinking about how much I want to see you again. To finish what we started.”

“Oh, you naughty boy!”

“You’re the naughty one,” he counters. “Rubbing up against me like that. I bet you nearly came in your pants, didn’t you?”

I give that awkward laughter I usually do when I know something’s right but don’t want to admit it. “I mean, can you blame me, when I have a handsome man kissing the life out of me and touching me like that?”

“You definitely enjoyed it,” he says with such confidence that I can’t deny it. “I could feel how much you liked it.”

“You were into it too—admit it! I could feel you...” My voice trails off. The memory of his arousal pressed against mine is still fresh. Hell, I can still feel the ghost impression of it.

“Fuck, Zach... would you believe me if I said I’m still hard right now?”

“No way!” Oh, he couldn’t possibly still be hard after all this time!

“I am. It’s so painful, Zach.”

I bite my lip, leaning back against the cool surface of the headboard as heat radiates through me. “What are you going to do about it?”

He lets out a soft laugh. “I have plenty in mind. But first, I want to know what you’re wearing right now.”

A shiver shoots down my spine as I respond. “Nothing. I sleep naked most of the time.”

“Damn, you’re killing me,” he groans. “Now I definitely have to rub one out before I sleep.”

He isn’t the only one who has to, not with the semi I’m sporting now from all this heated talk.

I want to challenge him to do it. With me. Over the phone. Part of me wants to push him—to see how far we can stretch this, whatever this thing is, between us. To hear him say all the naughty things he’d do to me over the phone, so we can“finish what we started.”But then a sharp fear cuts through the fantasy. What if I push too far? What if, after we cross that line, he regrets it? This is just a fake-boyfriend situationship. After tomorrow, this will all be over.

The temptation gnaws at me, but I force myself to hold off, to not cross that line just yet.

Think about your business. Keep it professional—even though what happened earlier happened, keep it professional, Zach Bower!

“Harvey . . . I’ll see you tomorrow.”

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