Page 52 of Christmas in Coconut Creek

I wasn’t letting them talk to me or touch me like he did either.

With Frankie it was like zero to sixty with no breaks, and that was terrifying and exhilarating because I knew we were destined to hit a wall. A very large, hard, unmoving wall.

But I’d rather take my chances on the airbags than not experience the ride.

“All right.” I stopped wrapping. “What did you want to talk about?”

Frankie stopped fidgeting and took a deep breath. I could tell his tongue was perusing the roof of his mouth and his mind was moving a mile a minute, which was about as long as it took for him to say anything.

He straightened his back with a weak grunt, and clasped his hands together on his lap. “Have sex with me.”

I blinked rapidly, and my pulse stuttered.

That was the most blatant way a man had ever tried to coerce me into doing him. It was also comical that this was what Frankie needed so desperately to talk to me about that hestoppeddoing the string of things that would have led directly to me having sex with him.

I was so taken aback that the only real response I gave was a confused, nervous laugh.

“Yes, Ophelia. Have a lot of mind-blowing, filthy sex with me.”

“What’s the catch here?” I asked. “You’re saying a lot of things that I’m liking, but I know there’s something else rattling around in that head.”

“It’s obvious that we’re in dangerous waters with each other,” he said. “I can’t look at you for more than ten seconds in those fucking shorts without thinking about what they’d look like on my bedroom floor.”

Now I couldn’t either.

“There's no hiding that I have my shit with my ex. I’m just looking for someone to get me back on track, and I know you’re a hundred Olympic snowboarders deep in Colorado.”

I snorted. “I fucking wish.”

“The point is, both of us are in a situation where we can have some fun right now.”

“Like, friends with benefits?” I raised my eyebrow.

“Like friends with benefits.”

I must have fallen asleep and started dreaming. The only reason I was evenmoderatelyhesitant with Frankie was for fear of forming an attachment when we lived so far away from one another. Him being the one to bring the title to the table was not only incredibly assertive, but also made parts of me weep that weren’t my eyes.

It would be like signing a contract. Transactional pleasure for the both of us, no emotion down, and then my hot-pilot-fuckbuddy lease was up in two weeks—satisfaction guaranteed.

My head swam with the possibility. There was only one hiccup.

“What’s in it for me?” I asked.

“What?”

“I’m here to visit Florida and spend time with my Nat. What happens when we’re done hooking up or she’s holed up with Mateo for the night?”

“You know you’re welcome in my bed as long as you’d like, O.”

An idea formed like a storm cloud in my head. I snapped my fingers and pointed at him. “No, if we’re gonna do this, let’s do it right. You want to start dating again, you need some help, some gentle nudges back onto the lady scene—let me be your crash test dummy.”

Frankie narrowed his eyes. “You want me topracticehow to date with you?”

“The last time you dated casually cell phones didn't even have internet. There’s been an entire revival of women since then, and not all of them are falling for your broody pilot act.”

“Act?” He scoffed. “I’m a fucking retired fighter pilot. I’ve seen shit, Ophelia.”

“You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen a millennial on Bath and Body Works Candle Day.”

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