Page 95 of The Temptation of Truth

Mabel’s lips curve downward, and mine follow.

“That’s not normal, is it.”

“Actually, unfortunately, itispretty normal.” I feel relief for a split second before she adds, “But it doesn’t have to be.”

My eyes widen. “It doesn’t?”

It might be my imagination, but I swear her pupils widen as she leans even closer. There might also be a slight flush coloring her cheeks, a deeper red than the shimmering pink blush she uses. I fist my hands in my lap and turn toward her a little more, until our thighs barely touch.

“Sex feels good—reallygood—if you’re with someone who knows what they’re doing. If that person cares about your pleasure as much as they care about their own.”

The back of my neck prickles with sweat, and I fist my hands tighter in my lap. She’s said next to nothing, but I can already feel my heartbeat pulsing between my thighs. Suddenly, my clothes feel too tight, and the air feels too thick.

I shouldn’t ask any questions. I shouldn’t continue this conversation, IknowI shouldn’t, but I want her to keep talking—something inside meneedsit—so I do it anyway. I exhale slowly, releasing my words with it.

“What do you mean?”

Her plump pink lips curl into that smirk that does strange things to my insides, and when she speaks next, her voice is a purr, so sensual and sexy that chills dance over my heated skin.

“A good partner wants you to feel good, Aurora. They take the time to learn your body. Pay attention to your reactions so they know what you like. So they know how to make you come.”

“Wh-what kind of reactions?”

“All kinds.” She scans my face with those amber gems, bouncing between my eyes and my mouth, then to my rapidly rising and falling chest. “There are physical signs. You pupils dilate. Your breathing accelerates. Your skin erupts in goose bumps. Bodies talk, Roar. A good partner listens.”

Oh God.

My nipples pebble against the fabric of my bra. The spot between my thighs grows damp. My muscles ache, and I wonder if she knows. Can she tell? Is my body talking to her right now?

My throat tightens, and I have to swallow twice before I can get words out.

“Are you a good partner?”

Her grin is positively wicked, and she sinks her teeth into her bottom lip as she nods slowly.

“I’m averygood partner, Aurora, because I’m averygood listener, and I won’t stop until I’m certain I’ve wrung every last ounce of pleasure from your body.”

My breath hitches. “Me?”

She shrugs slowly. “If I were the one in your bed.”

I picture it. I don’t even have to try. The image is immediate and as crisp as a movie scene. She and I, tangled in bedsheets. Touching. Kissing.

Our moment at the club flashes once more in my head, and I relive all of it. Her lips. Her tongue. Her hands. Her body. The way she tasted. The way she smelled. The way she made me feel.

I want it all over again, and the pull between us is so strong that I almost close the distance. I almost kiss her for a second time, but when I lean a fraction of a centimeter forward, my weight shifts on the mattress, and suddenly, I become very aware of where I am.

I’m in a bedroom—on a bed—with Mabel Rossi.

Mabel Rossi, who just told me in no uncertain terms that she’s a sex goddess who could make me orgasm until I black out.

I would let her, and I would enjoy it.

Terror seizes my chest, and I shoot to my feet.

“You, um, you can take this room. I’ll, uh, I’ll be down the street. Or the house. The hall. I mean the hall. I’ll be down the hall. Okay, uh, thanks. Bye.”

I’m out of the room before I even finish talking, and I swear I hear her chuckle as I pull the door closed behind me. I don’t breathe until I’m opening another door and tucking myself safely inside the next bedroom. I close my eyes, lean my forehead on the door and shakily fill my lungs with air.