Page 137 of Scandalous Contract

I met his gaze, memories of the night before flooding back. "You were very helpful, Mr. Cattaneo," I said, my gaze dropping to his lips.

He grinned and licked his lips. I crossed my legs to keep my pussy from pouncing onto his plate and screaming,eat me next.

"What if I wanted to continue being your research buddy?" he asked, leaning back in his seat, the muscles in his stomach flexing as he moved.

My gaze narrowed, his words surprising me. But he looked serious.

“Seriously?” I asked.

He nodded.

“Is that why there are suitcases in my bedroom?” I questioned.

He nodded again.

“So, you already planned on me saying yes, huh?”

He shook his head. “If you said no, I’d still bring my suitcases.”

“Why?”

“Because I plan to be here for a few days.”

“You do, huh?”

“I’m not a one-night stand kind of guy. Since you let me in, that must mean you want me around, at least for a little while.”

Red flag.Yet, I was smiling. I did want him around. I was just too nervous to ask him to stay.

"If you want, I can be your research buddy. Just for the summer," he added. "Just so you can get the story out of your head. I'll be the inspiration for the hero in your romance novel. I'll be at your service. When you need me, I'll be here for you."

The idea of having Julian by my side, supporting me as I pursued my dream, and feeding me dick whenever I had writer’s block, sounded amazing.

“I just have one condition,” he told me.

Uh-oh.I should’ve known this was too good to be true.

“What is it?” I asked.

“If you agree to let me be your research buddy, you have to also agree to let me be in complete control of what we do when we’re behind closed doors.”

“What?” I frowned. “Aren’t you already in control when we’re fucking?”

Oops, did I really just say that?

“I said when we’re behind closed doors. My place or yours, wherever we are, when we’re alone, you’re mine. And I get to be in control.”

Control. He wanted me to hand over control to him. I swallowed and stared down at my plate, reminding myself that he was not Archie. That this was not the same type of situation. I had to remind myself that even on his best day, Archie hadn’t compared to Julian.

Even during our good days, which were the days before we got married, Archie still hadn’t treated me with the same kindness Julian did or stared at me the way Julian did. Archie tossed around the word love like it was pocket change, but his actions never matched his words.

Though I believed Julian truly had feelings for me, because of Archie, the thought of releasing control again was scary as hell. I had a firm grip on every aspect of my life. Letting it go, even for a little while, was beyond daunting.

It had me wanting to tell him to leave, that I couldn’t do this, that I was wrong for calling him over in the first place. I blinked when I felt his hand against mine. My gaze rose to his just as he placed his other hand on my face, his thumb swiping across my cheek.

It was only then that I realized I was crying. Silent tears. The kind of tears I’d gotten used to shedding because I’d never wanted Archie to hear me crying and risk angering him.

“I’m sorry,” I murmured, leaning away from him to wipe my face and pull myself together.