Stacy Kestwick - Wet

“No sex. But if you ask nicely, I might go for a cuddle.”

“Why no sex?”

He hesitated and ran his hands down my arms and back up again. “You’re different. You make me want to do things the right way with you.” He leaned his forehead against the back of my head. “But I’m also a selfish bastard, and I want to go to sleep knowing you’re in my arms. Knowing I get to wake up to you.”

I melted farther back into his chest, nuzzling against him. “A sleepover sounds good.”

He smiled against the back of my head.

“You know you’re too good for me, right? That I don’t deserve you.”

My answer was muffled against his pectoral muscle.

Hugging me to him, he scooped me up in his arms and lifted me off the bed before yanking the covers back with one hand and depositing me on the mattress. “Lady’s choice. Which side do you want?”

Picking the same side I woke up on before, the one closest to the door, I settled stomach down onto the bed and flipped my wet hair up onto the pillow while he went around to the other side. “Hey, West?” I whispered. “Pretty please, with a cherry on top, can I have a snuggle?”

“Fuck, yes,” he breathed, spooning against my back. He wrapped an arm around my waist, slipping his hand under my borrowed shirt to rest against my bare skin, and wedged one of his thighs between mine.

His warmth and scent surrounded me. His breath pulsed against the back of my neck. I’d never been more comfortable than I was at that moment, tucked tight against his body. It felt right, like I belonged there.

I was just drifting off to sleep when I thought I heard him whisper, “Damn, I could get used to this.”

So could I.

On Saturday morning, Rue and I relaxed in our sunroom, sipping mango smoothies and eating our way through a mountain of strawberry-topped French toast triangles. She was home after the successful social media launch of a new bike rental company based in Charleston and Savannah, and I was flying high from the revival of my photography company. I’d gotten three jobs scheduled in the last two days, all referred by Aubrey.

The last one, a wedding, made me a little nervous. I usually needed a photography assistant for a job that size, but after my last assistant had turned up naked under Asshole, I wasn’t keen on the idea of hiring another. The frantic bride had explained it was a small, intimate wedding, only sixty guests, and her scheduled photographer had backed out last minute due to a medical emergency. The wedding was next weekend, and the amount she offered to pay me made me forget any lingering doubts I had. A sixty-guest wedding was doable for a single photographer. I’d be busy, but I could make it work.

And I’d make some serious bank while I was at it.

The other two jobs were pretty standard. One was an engagement photo shoot and the other was new headshots for the agents of a nearby real estate company. I’d asked for more money than I normally would, and neither party balked in the slightest at the price. There were definite perks to working in a wealthier town.

The fact that all the jobs came from Aubrey… Well, I still wasn’t sure what to think about that. I wanted her to be the bad guy. She kept trying to blur the lines.

Rue stretched and patted her stomach. “God, I’m such a heifer,” she said, groaning. “I’m going to end up like you and have to run.” She said the last word with a shudder and made a face.

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, you’re massive.”

“Whatever. What’s up with you and West? Anything going on there?”

“Maybe. What’s the story with him and Aubrey? I’ve been meaning to ask you.” I was curious if she knew anything more than Theo.

Rue rolled her eyes. “Aubrey’s been trying to land him for years. Ain’t gonna happen. You know my parents are friends with both of their parents, right? Anyway, her parents keep pushing for a match, and West kind of humored them or some shit for awhile to keep his parents happy. Took her to high-profile events or whatever. I’m sure they screwed around some too. I mean, come on, they’re both freaking gorgeous! But I don’t think it ever meant anything to him. I do know Aubrey was super humiliated when he broke it off with her. The football player thing was an attempt to show him she could do better.” Rue waved her hand dismissively.

God, I was so attracted to West, but I did not want to deal with Aubrey. I snagged another piece of toast.

“Anyway, tell me about the pierced dude,” I said, redirecting the conversation.

Rue closed her eyes and purred. “Yeah, that totally lived up to the hype. I might be ruined for regular cocks now.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Seriously?”

Rue nodded. “Yeah, it was… mmm, mmm, good.” She shivered at the memory, her lips curved into a satisfied smirk.

“Did you see him again?”

“Nah. He snores. Like a fucking freight train.”

I shook my head. It was always something.

* * *

When West picked me up at noon, it wasn’t in the banged-up pickup truck he’d been driving before. It was in a shiny, white extended cab dually with a company logo on the side, and his bloodhound was sticking his head out the window, drool dripping down the door.