Page 40 of The Husband Contract

“Wow. You hiked Kilimanjaro?”

“Just once.” He laughs.

“One more time than me.”

“I did Machu Picchu, as well.”

“Wow. In Peru?”

He nods. “Ever been?”

“No, not yet,” I say wistfully. “But one day.”

“One day soon,” he says.

I grin at him, though the truth is, I don’t see any international travel happening for a long time. Every spare penny I have is going into a joint account with my friends so we can actually buy our own hotel. But I’m not going to tell him that. I don’t want him to think that dating him has anything to do with money.

I’m sure plenty of women have tried to use him. I don’t want to be one of them. And if he has to believe I already have money, then so be it. I want to get to know him. I want to see if this is real.

“Sebastian, I do have a compliment for you.”

“What’s that?” he asks, raising one silky dark eyebrow.

“I like your voice. It’s deep and confident, and it has this soothing sound. You’re the sort of guy who could narrate audiobooks and make me fall asleep at night.”

“Are you saying you want my voice to be the last thing you hear before you go to bed?” His voice deepens, and he winks.

I swallow hard and nod softly. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

I grin, because it’s fun flirting with him, and I’m going to let myself enjoy whatever this is.

“What about my voice?” I ask. “Would you want me to read you a story?”

“No,” he says, leaning in closer. “The last thingIwould want to hear before we go to bed is your moans. Loud, clear, and screaming my name.”

“Oh…” I blush, and he chuckles.

“So,” he says easily, “I think I’d like to reserve my room for a couple more nights, if that’s okay.”

“Sure,” I squeak out. “How many more?”

“I’m not sure yet.” He grins. “But for now, put in three. You can charge it to the same credit card.”

“Okay,” I say, surprised by how smoothly he changed the subject, and grateful for the change. Because how could I even respond to what he just said? I mean, I could sayLet’s go to your room right now so you can hear me moaning your name, but I’m not that confident. Even if I wish I were.

“And hey,” he adds with a sexy smile. “What about tomorrow?”

“Yeah?” I ask. “What about tomorrow?”

“You want to go for a hike with me? I’m looking forward to our second official date.”

“Our second official date?” I repeat, licking my lips nervously.Why did I say I like hiking? Fuck!

“Yeah. And who knows? Maybe by the evening, we’ll go on our third.” He grins. “Or maybe our third date will be inside.”

“Inside where?” I lean forward, staring into his eyes.

“Inside my room.” He presses his lips together, and I watch his eyes trace up and down my body. Then he takes a step back and fans his face.