His brows knit. He smoothes it, as if trying to hide his disappointment.
I point at the night stand.
He pulls open the nightstand drawer. Then he gives a soft laugh as he pulls out a package of condoms.
“It is the honeymoon suite,” I say. “Fully stocked, apparently. And we wouldn’t want them to go to waste.”
“We would not,” he says, setting the box on the night stand as he slides into bed with me.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Thirty-two
We aren’t sleeping. Just lying in bed, quiet and breathing, legs entwined. Connolly has his eyes shut, and I’m running my fingers over his chest, bending to inhale the smell of him, still there, faintly lingering, even after a shower and bath.
“I can stop if you want to sleep,” I say.
“Absolutely not.” He opens one eye halfway. “Everything’s all right?”
I smile. “Everything’s definitely all right. I’m just taking advantage of an opportunity.” I run my finger down his biceps. “Have I mentioned you’re hot?”
He smiles. “Once or twice.”
“Should I stop that?”
“Certainly not.”
“That’s the first thing I thought about you, Aiden Connolly, when you walked into my shop.” I trace my fingertips down his forearm. “Damn it, why do all the hot ones have to be such assholes?”
He chokes on a laugh. “I will take that as a compliment.”
“The hot part or the asshole part?”
“Both, of course.” He half opens the other eye. “For the record, I will provide equal attraction-related compliments in due course, along with equally intent physical explorations. However, to say them now would make them seem obligatory. As for any reciprocal explorations, to attempt those now would not be in my best interests. I’m going to exercise my asshole right to be selfish, lie here and enjoy.”
I ease my fingers down his stomach and stoke the inside of his thigh. “You do that.”
He inhales sharply as my fingers move. A low groan, and he reaches for me. I take his hand and push it back onto the bed.
“Uh-uh,” I say. “You’re lying there and enjoying it, remember?”
“I can manage both. Enjoy and reciprocate.”
“Nope, you claimed ‘lie there and enjoy,’ so that’s what you’re doing, whether you like it or not.”
He sputters a laugh. “I rather think that would defeat the purpose.”
“Whatever. It’s the rules.”
His eyes dance. “Is it?”
“It is.”
“Are you sure?”
I shift my hand, and he groans. “Absolutely sure.”
“Well, if you insist then I suppose I have no choice but to—” He grabs me around the waist and flips me onto my back.
“Hey!” I say as I laugh. “What are you doing?”
“Following the rules,” he says as he kneels between my legs. “With a necessary amendment.”
“Uh . . .”
“One of us has had a much rougher evening than the other. That rough evening is, regrettably, the fault of the other. That other is a selfish asshole with a tendency to think of himself first, and so you must indulge him.”
“That makes no sense, Connolly.”
“Of course it does. I feel terrible about what happened earlier. I want to make amends. Therefore, you must indulge me.” He crouches over me, grinning down. “Now, lie there and enjoy it, whether you like it or not.”
I do like it. I like it very much.
* * *
It’s almost dawn and we’re still wide awake, lying there again, catching our breath. Into the silence, I say, “The answer is obvious. Blackmail.”
He glances over at me. “If that’s a game, I’m in, but I need at least ten minutes of recovery time.”
“Oh, I think I need more than ten minutes. Which is why I’m changing the subject. You need to blackmail your parents. At least your dad. I’m still undecided regarding your mother.”
“Aren’t we all? Dare I ask what you mean by blackmail?”
I lift onto one arm. “You know their secrets. Use them to get out of the contract.”
“That is . . .”
“Too much?” I sigh. “I know.”
“No, I was going to say it’s an excellent idea.”
“I was joking,” I say. “Mostly.”
“Perhaps, but now you’ve planted the seed. I’ll need to see what I can do with it. The biggest problem is that, if I successfully blackmail them, it will impress my father, which I’d rather not do.”
“I think the more important thing is getting out of that contract.”
“That is the most important thing.”
When he reaches for me, I catch his hand and twine his fingers in mine. “I need you to do that for you, Aiden. Not for me. Not because of me. It must be one-hundred percent because you want out of the contract, whether I’m in your life or not. Otherwise, that’s a very bad way to start.”
“Agreed.” He slants a look my way. “So is this a thing?”
“A thing? Why Aiden Connolly, are you asking me to have a thing with you?”
His cheeks color.
“Have I mentioned how hot you are when you blush? And when I say that, you blush even more. So hot.”
He makes a rude gesture.
“Did you just swear at me, Aiden Connolly? First, you ask me to have a thing with you. Then you start cursing me out.”
“I was ensuring we are on the same page. Avoiding any misunderstanding.”
“Are you asking me to go steady with you, Aiden?”
He sighs. “You aren’t going to make this easy, are you?”
“Fine. Are you offering an informal contract to enter into a monogamous committed relationship with you?”
Another sigh. Deeper.
“If you are, I accept,” I say. “For five thousand a month.”
“I thought it was ten?”
“Nah. You’re really good in bed, so that gets you a fifty percent discount.” I consider. “Unless you’re willing to replicate the experience at least twice a week, with an equivalent level of expertise. Then your discount rises to 99.9%.”
“You want ten dollars a month?”
“You must be a math whiz or something. I want a cupcake a week. That’s my price. Take it or leave it.”
He leans over to kiss my shoulder. “I believe I’ll take it.”
“Whoo-hoo. I have myself a sugar daddy who’ll pay in actual sugar.” I waggle my brows. “Both the literal and figurative varieties.”
He sighs and thumps back onto the bed. I prop up on my elbow beside him, hand on his chest.
“We need to talk about the paintings,” I say.
He winces. “I’d rather talk about my family, and that’s saying something.”
“I know.” I trace my fingers over his pecs. “We don’t have to talk about it now. We don’t need to talk about either the paintings or your parents now.”
“Except we do,” he says. “Because both are threatening you. Let me take care of my parents.” He meets my gaze. “They are not going to hurt you again. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure of that.”