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“Did I stutter?” I say, and he bursts out laughing.

“I see you like to give as good as you get.”

“Mm, that’s not actually true,” I say softly.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I like to receive. I don’t really like to give that much.”

He pauses. “Did you insinuate what I think you were just insinuating?”

“I mean, if you didn’t understand, let me be very clear. I like for a man to go down on me,” I say softly, “but I don’t love going down on a man.”

“Was that you asking me to?”

“That’s not me asking you to anything,” I say quickly. “I just think you should know that. We both know that you’re going to continue with the sexual innuendo and try and frighten me or make me feel nervous or put me off balance, but that’s not who I am.”

“What do you mean, that’s not who you are?”

“I’m not some scared little girl. I’m a woman, and I’m very confident in my sexuality. I’m very confident in my body and what I want and who I want to be with, and if I want to be with you, you’ll know it. I don’t play games.”

“I see,” he says. There’s a pause. I can hear my own heart racing as I wait for him to speak next. “You’re saying that if you wanted me, you would just let me know.”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“Elisabetta Franco, do you want me?”

I pause for five seconds, and then I speak softly. “Maybe a little bit, but you see, the thrill of the chase isn’t there because I already know I could have you, Liam Gallagher. I already know that you probably woke up rock-hard this morning, thinking about me. You’re going to go to bed, and you’re going to have a shower tonight, and you’re going to jack off in the shower thinking about me because you want me way more than I want you. I want a guy that’s not that desperate. You know what I mean?”

He bursts out laughing then. “You’re cocky, eh?”

“I’m not cocky. I just speak the truth. I think we both know it’s the truth, don’t you?”

“One thing you don’t know is that I just got out of the shower. I just finished jacking off, and it was to you, so you got some of it right.”

Chapter Six

Liam

“Get this sorted within the next two weeks, and we have a deal.”

“This is going to be more complicated than I thought.” A slight wave of anxiety hits me as I stare at the email on my phone and ponder if I should respond. I don’t know how to respond to the message, so I decide to head to the breakroom to grab a coffee before sending anything I regret.

I feel as if I’ve made a big mistake here, and I’m not really sure what I’m going to do. Elisabetta is not the coy, coquettish woman I initially thought she was, and while I don’t hate the fact that she’s very clear about her feelings, it does make me pause.

I didn’t anticipate being attracted to her or that she is enjoyable to be around. I’ve barely spent any time with her, yet I can’t stop thinking about her. She’s the sort of woman who’s confident in her beauty and loves to give as good as she gets, and, unfortunately for me, I find that a turn-on. Which is not how I want to react to her in this situation.

“Hey. Good morning, Liam. How's it going?” Remington strides into the break room with a stack of folders in his hands. I give him a small nod, hoping to avoid conversation with him. I just want to be alone in my thoughts right now.

“Just grabbing some coffee. How are you this morning?”

“I’m good,” he says. He looks me deep in the eyes, and I can tell he wants to ask me something, but I don’t make it easy for him. I grab a cup and hold it up to him. “Would you like one?”

“Thanks.” He takes it from me, and then I grab another cup. He clears his throat, and I look over at him again.

“You want to say something, Remington?”

“No, I guess I just wanted to wish you good luck.”