Page 84 of Learn Your Lesson

I snorted at that. “Oh, of course. A five-course meal with a guy I met on Tinder, and then hitting the club with my girls.”

Will frowned a bit, like he wasn’t sure if I was joking or not. I rolled my eyes.

“I have a half-finished puzzle and a true crime podcast cued up,” I said. “You?”

“Nothing.”

I nodded, heart spiking a bit at the implication behind that one word. Chef had already gone for the day.

We really would be alone — just the two of us.

The last time that was the case, I’d dry humped his thigh.

“Um… did you want to talk anymore about the plans for Disney?” I asked when he didn’t budge from where he stood. “Before I go over to the pool house?”

“I think the plans for Disney are pretty set.”

I nodded again.

He still didn’t move.

Scratch that — hedidmove, but not out of the way. He stepped toward me, his eyes flicking between mine as the space between us slowly evaporated.

“Think your puzzle can wait another night?”

“Uh…”

“Because I find myself in quite the teaching mood.”

He punctuated that last word with a final step in front of me, his body towering over mine, eyes alight with a tease and a dare and a promise.

The scent of him was intoxicating, the warm spice of his body wash mixed with faint hints of leather and rope. I wondered if that was from his hobbies in the home gym or if there were more exciting lessons than I anticipated waiting for me.

My heart had gone from a steady beat in my chest to an erratic, wild animal thrashing against the cage made by my ribs. I wondered if he could see my quickened pulse when his eyes dipped to my throat, if he could sense my excitement the way a lion might sense its prey.

It had been over a week since we’d had sex. Honestly, it had been over a week since we’d looked at each other for longer than two seconds without one of us breaking the gaze. I’d felt a bit like walking on eggshells, unsure of if I was welcome inside any more for fear of crossing one of his boundaries.

I’d agreed not to divulge our little secret to anyone, and so I’d made sure not to speak of it to the girls — even though I desperately wanted to. I debated using the whole “Noah from school” storyline to work around the rule, but I was a bit worried one of them would see right through me.

Maven was wicked smart. Livia was observant as hell. Grace, though she was on the go, seemed to be the kind of girl who could sniff out the truth without trying.

And I was pretty sure Arushi was already onto us, so Ireallyneeded to keep it together around her.

Fortunately, myRedditfans were all too eager to share their advice. They were now immensely invested in my story, and while there was still a good portion of them rooting for us to fall in love — a laughable impossibility — the vast majority of them were rooting more for me to get my back blown out.

And they hadfantasticadvice for how not to catch feelings, starting with the number one rule Will had already put into place. No kissing.

Still, I’d had a hard time acting normal around him ever since I’d had his tongue between my legs. Any time we were in the same room without anyone else present, I’d find an excuse to leave. I didn’t want to impose on his boundaries, and I also didn’t know how to just go back to casual conversation. Besides, he’d made it clear he couldn’t be my friend… so what was there to even talk about?

But now, we were alone again — and every nerve-ending sparked at the thought of what that might mean.

“Is that so?” I asked, trying to tease him but failing when the words came out all breathy and desperate.

The corner of his lips tilted up just a fraction of an inch as he stepped even closer. My chest brushed the top of his abdomen, and when he removed his hands from his pockets, one reached for my hip and tugged me into him as the other confidently traced the slope of my neck.

God.

How did he do that? How did he turn it on so fast, so effortlessly?