Page 105 of Sugar

“I can pass you the decorator’s info.” I gripped her hips and turned her to face me. “Fair warning, though, she’ll charge a fortune for a bunch of ugly shit you’ll be stuck with.”

“That’s tempting.” She tipped her head to give me an exaggeratedly haughty sneer. “But I think this might be a little too much for my tastes. It’s practically a technicolor circus in here. I mean, off-white with eggshell? How indulgent.”

“I should’ve asked her to tone it down.”

“Next time.” She patted my chest before leaving her hand to rest there. “Seriously, though, why don’t you change it if you don’t like it?”

“I only sleep here.” My gaze went behind her.

And jack off on that couch while I think about you.

I pushed the thought down since my control was already hanging by a frayed thread. “Let’s get you to bed.”

For once, she didn’t argue as I guided her upstairs and around the corner to my bedroom. She meandered along the perimeter of the only room in the house that showed any life. Picking up a pair of glasses from my nightstand, she turned them in her hold before carefully setting them back down next to a book. “I didn’t know you wore glasses. I’ve never seen you in them.”

Because they make me feel like an old fucker.

“I don’t need them all the time,” I said instead.

She murmured something I missed as she continued her subtle exploration. While she did, I grabbed one of my tees and tossed it on the bed for her before going to the en suite bathroom to find a spare toothbrush. I left it on the counter and came out to find her standing near the door.

Fuck, she’s pretty.

Like she could hear my thoughts, she gave me that smile. The genuine one that wasn’t driven by my money or power or faked for our arrangement. The one that hit me in the dick, gut, and chest.

My voice came out harsher than I intended. “Wait here.”

I backtracked through the house to the kitchen. Grabbing a water and some pain meds, I returned to find she’d listened and hadn’t moved a step.

Not trusting myself, I stayed in the hallway as I handed her both.

“Thanks,” she whispered.

After she took the pills, I gestured down the hall. “I’ll be in that room if you need me. The door will be cracked.”

“I don’t want to kick you out of your own bedroom.”

“It’s fine.”

“But—”

“Madeline.”

“But it’s fine,” she rushed out, though she didn’t look like it was fine. She looked adorably fucking disgruntled.

And I needed to get the hell away.

“Good night,” I forced out before starting down the hall.

“Wait.”

At the urgency in her voice, I turned back.

She disappeared out of view and returned without the glass in her hand. Even then, she hesitated in the doorway for a beat before moving. Her steps were slow. Cautious. She approached with the same apprehension as someone nearing a wild animal.

Good instincts as always, pretty little guppy.

She stopped in front of me. “I know you had a billion more important things to do than hang out with my friends at a crappy bar. And Ireallyhope it doesn’t bite you in the ass that you ditched the party.”