Page 77 of Along Came Amor
She dropped her hands and cast around for an idea. “I don’t know... how about ‘inappropriate touching’?”
“I think the way I touch you is very appropriate, considering I haven’t done anything you haven’t asked for.”
He could see that she wanted to refute that, but didn’t dare. He’d realized early on with Ava that the only way to get her to open up and stay in the moment with him was to make her explicitly say what she wanted and liked. There was no way she was getting away with claiming any of it had beeninappropriate.
“Fine, no touching at all.”
“What if you trip?” he asked innocently. “Should I just let you fall?”
“Oh my god.” She rubbed her forehead and it took all of Roman’s self-control to keep a straight face. “No sexual touching. Is that clear enough?”
“Crystal.” He decided they’d had enough fun with this one and moved on. “Any other rules?”
She scowled. “No more stealing my panties!”
He gave her an affronted look. “I didn’tstealthem.”
She held out her palm. “Then give them back.”
“No.” He placed a hand to his chest, covering the inner pocket where her underwear resided. “You abandoned them. They’re mine.”
Her lips twitched like she was trying not to laugh. “Fine. You get temporary custody. For now.”
He loved that she was being playful with him, but when she turned back to her planner, he narrowed his eyes. “Are you writing all this down?”
“Of course I am.”
“Let me see.”
She reluctantly passed him the binder. He slipped on hisreading glasses and sure enough, she’d jotted down her rules in neat script, under the heading “Rules for Roman.”
No LOOKS.
No sexual touching.
No panty stealing.
He heaved an exasperated sigh. “Ava, this list makes me sound like a pervert.”
She snatched the planner back. “No flirting either.”
“No.”
Her gaze whipped to his in shock. “What do you mean,no?”
“Forget it. I’m not going to pretend I haven’t seen every inch of you naked and flushed with—”
“No dirty talk!” Her face was red as she scribbled furiously.
He sat back in his seat. “I’m not agreeing to that one either. Besides, I think you like it.”
Her voice was prim and she refused to look at him. “That’s neither here nor there.”
“Is that it for your rules?”
“I’ll let you know if I think of any others.”
“What aboutmyrules?”
