Glancing up into the dresser mirror, her eyes catch my reflection and she laughs.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asks.
“It’s like you found every little thing he said or did fascinating.” I lean back, slipping my hands under my head and staring up at the walnut-stained beams that accent the vaulted ceiling. “He’s not that fascinating. Trust me.”
“Sensing a little jealousy over there.”
Yeah.
I was fucking jealous today, and I’m not the jealous type.
“I don’t get jealous,” I say. “But today … yeah … seeing you so engaged with Alec … it did something to me.”
Turning, she comes to the bed, climbing in and lying down beside me. Resting on her side, she places her hand under her chin and smiles.
“That’s cute,” she says. “Do you think I have a crush on Alec?”
Her eyes search mine, and I hesitate. “A crush? Like a schoolyard crush?”
“I feel like you think that.” Mari bites her bottom lip.
“Does it matter if I think that?”
She rolls her eyes. “Yeah, it does. Because you shouldn’t care.”
“You’re right. I shouldn’t care,” I say. “But I do.”
“Then stop caring.”
“It’s not that easy.” I look away, pulling in a deep breath and letting it go. “I like spending time with you, Mari. I thought it would feel like work, like a job. But it doesn’t. It’s effortless. I’ve never had that with anyone else.”
“Hudson, stop.” She chuckles, rolling to her back and folding her hands over her upper stomach.
The two of us lie in silence for a minute, staring at the ceiling, deep in thought.
“This is a job,” she says a moment later. “This isn’t real. It may feel real from time to time, but that’s because we’re good actors. It’s easy to get caught up in this, but we … just can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Why not?” she repeats the question as if it astounds her.
“Yeah,” I say. “Why can’t we get caught up in this? If it feels right, maybe it is right?”
“It’s not right,” she says. “A month ago, Hudson, I couldn’t stand you. I literally hated your guts, and I almost spat in your coffee one morning. You’re lucky Tiffin from HR walked in when she did.”
I shake my head, rubbing my thumb and forefinger along my eyes.
“I probably deserved it,” I say.
“You did deserve it.” I feel her turn my way. “I’m having fun with you, Hudson. More than I thought I would. But we’re not together, not in the real sense of the word. Only on paper. And for the record, I do not have a crush on Alec. I think he’s nice. That’s all.”
I fight the pleased smile trying to claim my lips and reach for her, pulling her over my lap until she’s straddling my hips.
“What are you doing?” she asks as our fingers interlace. “You’re really bad at taking ‘no’ for an answer.”
“So you’re saying you don’t want to be with me?” I ask. “If there was no contract and all we had was the last few weeks …”
“Don’t play the ‘what if’ game.”
“Yes or no, Mari. Just answer the fucking question.”
She rolls her eyes, biting her lower lip as she stares at the ceiling. “I don’t know.”
“You do know. You just don’t want to say.”
“I think we’re having fun pretending, and we’re not thinking of the reality of this,” she says.
“Which is what?”
“I don’t belong in your world, and I probably never will,” she says, her gaze falling to mine. “And I’m fine with that. I just don’t think we have much in common other than enjoying each other’s company.”
“Isn’t that the only thing that matters?” I ask.
My hands release hers before settling on her hips and sliding down her outer thighs. A thin silk camisole covers her bra-less breasts, and while I’ve been trying to be a perfect gentleman and not stare at the pointed buds piercing the pale fabric, I still know they’re there, and my hands are aching at the thought of touching them.
“You’re trying to find every excuse you can not to let yourself fall for me, Maribel,” I say, my voice soft and low as my fingers graze the soft flesh of her belly. “I’m sure I could come up with a list myself if I tried, but I don’t want to do that. All I want, Mari, is you.”
Her expression fades, and she’s still concentrating.
“I’m falling for you,” I say, as if it weren’t already obvious.
“You’re making a big mistake.” Her voice is a cracked whisper.
Sitting up, I pull her closer into my lap, wrapping her legs around my lower back before cupping her pretty face in my hand.
“Do you want to be with me?” I ask. “Logic and rationale aside?”
I hear her swallow and watch as her tongue skims her bottom lip before she nods.
“Yes.” Mari sighs.
My heart hammers in my chest as I claim her mouth, and my hands tug at the hem of her top, all but tearing it off of her.
Falling back onto the bed, she lays on my chest, sliding her hands down my stomach then farther, beneath my waistband, until she palms my throbbing cock. Sliding down my body, she unzips my shorts, freeing me and taking me in her mouth, inch by inch.
Her tongue slides around my tip before she teases the length again and again.
My body is reeling, every inch of me alive as she pleasures me.
“I knew you had a mouth on you, Mari, but fuck.” I’m breathless, cock growing harder by the second.
She stops, staring up at me with a drunk-in-lust smirk before going back for more.
Mari licks and sucks and swirls until I can’t take it any more, bringing me to the brink and back more times than I can stand, and when I’ve had enough torture, I reach for her and pull her over top of me. She giggles, pulling my shirt over my head before pressing her body against mine.
Her bare breasts are warm on my skin, and the faint scent of gardenia evaporates into the briny air around us.
Tugging at her shorts, I ease them down her hips until she rises and kicks them off. Straddling me, her wet pussy glides against my cock.
“You’re all about tormenting me tonight, aren’t you?” I tease.
“It’s the least I could do after all the ways you tormented me the last couple of months,” she says, hips circling.
“What can I say? I like being in charge.”
“You think you’re in charge now?” She laughs, grinding harder.
Reaching into my shorts, I retrieve my wallet and slide out a spare condom.
“You’re going to fuck me,” I say, voice low. “You’re going to come all over my cock, and I’m going to watch.”
Handing her the condom, I slip my hands behind my head and let her do the honors.
“You get off on this, don’t you?” she asks, sliding the rubber down my shaft as slow as humanly fucking possible.
“I get off on beautiful women named Maribel fucking me, yes,” I say.