Page 29 of Addicted

“This is good,” she said, placing my glass in front of me.

I grabbed a slice of pizza to prevent my fingers from tangling in her hair and drawing her to me. The idea of sipping the rare bourbon right from her lips, the potent and unique taste of her mixed with the oak and hints of caramel. I bit my cheek to stop the moan that was on the tip of my tongue.

We had our game. I had to play my part.

She took a seat beside me and popped a pepperoni into her mouth. Sighing in contentment, I felt that same pressure in my chest form. It wasn’t just lust and desire, I wanted her to be happy and content. I was willing to do whatever it took, even letting in the old version of myself, to make sure she stayed that way. I just didn’t know if she would be okay with that when she found out about my past.

My phone buzzed and I looked down at it. It was Grams. After I’d followed up her question mark text by telling her that Denise would be coming with me tomorrow, she sent a series of hilarious emojis.

“Grams is excited to meet you.”

“I’m—huh?” She blinked up at me.

“You know Grams and I do dinner on Sundays.”

“See, I’m following that. I just.”

“Did you expect me to leave you behind?” I raised my eyebrows and watched as she sputtered.

It was a trick question. I wanted her to meet my Grams so she would. I knew Denny would love her. There was nopoint in arguing, I’d just let her brain work it out while I sat silently watching.

I grabbed her thigh after a minute, and she blinked away whatever line of thought she’d been stuck in.

“Well, no. I mean, I didn’t—”

“Good. She’s excited to meet you.” I paused while she stared at me. “I’m excited to meet her too.” My voice went up an octave. I bobbed my head up and down with my words. She gasped and kicked at me with her socked foot.

“Obviously, I would love to meet your grandmother,” she said, rolling her eyes and taking another sip of whiskey.

I grabbed a slice of pepperoni pizza and put it on her plate.

“Eat,” I said.

I waited until she took a bite before I touched mine.

“Good girl,” I said, smiling at the way her breath quickened at my words.

The woman was so easy to read, she craved praise as much as she craved punishment and I was more than capable of feeding both of those desires. I watched her eyes grow hungry and pinball around from my face to my arms and finally to my dick and thighs.

We ate in silence for a bit, me relishing her enjoyment of the food. Her, watching my neck and fingers when she thought I wasn’t looking.

I flipped on the TV, mindlessly navigating to my watch list and clicking on the show I had hoped to binge this weekend. Her eyes were burning a hole in the side of my head, and I looked over at her. She was mid-bite, sauce dripping past her mouth.

“What?” I asked. I was confused by her confusion.

“I—this is a choice.” She giggled and I rolled my eyes. Yes, it was a British period drama, and yes, I watched it religiously. This woman.

“The new season starts in a few weeks.” I opened the show’s page and it showed that I’d already watched every episode all the way through. Her eyes scanned the TV before returning to mine. She looked at me for a second before dabbing the sauce off her face.

“How do you even have time to watch all of these? You beat me to work every morning and you’re always there when I leave.” There was a bit of awe in her tone.

“I don’t sleep well. Watching TV helps.” I shrugged, answering honestly and crossing my legover my thigh to get comfortable.

“Interesting. So. The Duke?” She was giving me a look like it was a test.

“Trash.” My answer was immediate and honest. That guy was a dick. Sure, he got himself together by the end of the second season, but that woman didn’t deserve him putting her through all of that. Denise smiled and nodded.

“That’s the right answer. Are we starting from the beginning?” She leaned back and crossed her feet in front of her, sitting her plate on her lap.

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