Page 35 of Hidden Ties

When Sal caught a glimpse of her looking at him, she started fanning her face while holding the controller with her other hand. “You’re right; it is hot in here. You should turn the air conditioner a bit colder.”

Fanning herself faster, she tried to think of a way to get herself off the bed and back downstairs. Fuck the game. If she didn’t get out of here, she was going to start licking Sal as if he were a popsicle.One time, she had eaten five popsicles in a single sitting to curb the smoking cravings, so he was in for a real surprise if it came to that.

Sal’s fingers started moving on the controller. “Breathing cold air isn’t good for you.”

“That isn’t true,” she scoffed, wishing his fingers were playing her instead of the controller, which couldn’t appreciate his nimble fingers.

“It’s a scientific fact.”

She had a scientific fact that she was going to fucking hit him if he didn’t turn the air conditioner down or put his shirt back on.

“Why are you trying to bug me?”

“How amIbuggingyou?” He said it in a way that he knew exactly what he was doing to bother her.

Sassily, she snapped her fingers in front of his face. “I’m hot. Turn the air down.”

“Fine, you win. I’ll turn it down.” Nonchalantly talking while he took his cell phone from the nightstand, he scrolled through his apps. “Are we going to play, or what?”

Oh, she wanted to play, just not the same game he wanted to. “Yes.”

“Well, then pick who you want to be already.”

Harassed he wasn’t moving from the bed to turn the air down, she chose Yoshi while he, of course, picked Toad.

Sal plunked his cell phone back down on his nightstand. “There. Satisfied?”

“No?”Am I losing my mind?she thought, giving him a crazed look. “You haven’t even moved from the bed …”

His steady gaze studied her. “I did it through my thermostat app.”

“Of course, you did,” Valerie grumbled, looking around at his place. The rich asshole was taking his life in his hands. If she didn’t hate jail so bad, she would strangle him.

“You finally ready to play?”

“Mmhmm,” she lied, hoping the game would take her mind off licking or killing him.

She and Yoshi were kicking his and Toad’s ass in the game … until Sal shifted on the bed and raised one of his legs, keeping the other one straight. The gray sweatpants tightened at the crotch, showing Sal had a better asset than an apartment she would die for.

“Don’t you want to put your shirt back on? The room’s cool now.”

“Nah, I’m good,” he commented lazily.

It honestly didn’t even look like he was even trying, and that alone drove her crazier. How couldhebe better thanher? She wanted to cry.Hard—Don’t say hard!she screamed at herself.

How could she want to have sex with him? If he hadn’t ever helped her with her groceries, he wouldn’t be the type of guy who cared if his sexual partner got her cookies off before he got his.

When she lost the game, a string of curses escaped her lips. To be fair, it was hard to concentrate with Sal sprawled out next to her.At least, that was what she told herself.

“This game doesn’t count. I’m just getting warmed up.” The fact that Sal was, too, didn’t matter to her.

When he restarted the game with a smug fucking grin that she wanted to wipe right off his face, she untangled her legsand scooted closer to him until she was practically on his lap. Thinking,Two can play this game, she tried to even the playing field … right up until he shifted again, moving his leg to give her more room, causing Valerie to fumble the controller from trying to get more eye candy.

Yoshi swerved into a guardrail, leaving devastation behind.

“Valerie …”

Him calling her name had her reluctantly dragging her gaze away from his crotch. She lifted her hot gaze to his, noticing for the first time that his eyes were, in fact, not black like she had thought. They held a deep shade of blue in them, reminding her of the blueish-black shade she liked to dye her hair in. “Yeah …?”