Page 31

31

JAMIE

Blakely wrings the steering wheel in her hands for the millionth time and makes another right turn in the parking lot. It’s tight, the wheels nearly scraping on the curb, but I don’t give a shit.

She can give all four of my tires curb rash as long as I get her in my lap afterward. If it meant she could hop up sooner, I’d instruct her to do it.

The SUV lurches when she presses too hard on the brake while pulling crooked into a parking stall. She puffs out a breath and jerks us to a stop before shifting into Park. The steady hum of the engine fills the cab, neither of us making a move to speak.

If I do, I’ll be making demands that I’m not in any place to make. My mind may be made up when it comes to my wife, but she’s not there yet. That much is obvious.

“I’m terrible at this,” she admits, releasing the steering wheel.

“Terrible at what? Driving?”

Her glare is white-hot. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

“No, I don’t. So either you tell me now, or I’ll be spending the rest of the time we have before Nate’s out of school guessing what you did mean.”

She doesn’t soften her glare. If anything, I think it gets more intense as the seconds pass. The only change is that now, I’m not the only one she’s mad at.

“You’re infuriating, Jamieson Bateman.”

I blink, leaning back in my seat to gawk at her. “Me? I’m the infuriating one?”

“Yes! God, I’m losing my mind around you.”

“I would feel sorry for you, but I’ve already lost mine.”

“Don’t start with your teasing. I can’t take it right now,” she snaps.

“It’s not teasing. I’m being honest with you, Blakely. This is me being open.”

“You’re being confusing, not open.”

I swipe a hand down my face and unbuckle my seat belt, not needing the restriction right now. “Confusing is the last thing I’m trying to be. If you want me to clarify something, just tell me. I’ve always been an open book with you.”

“And what if I don’t want clarity? It will only complicate things,” she argues, stubborn as all hell.

“So let them get complicated. Do you think things aren’t going to get that way regardless?”

Blakely lets her head fall back against the seat, groaning angrily. “I was supposed to make sure you weren’t dead and then steal your Xbox. That’s all.”

It’s impossible not to laugh. I palm her thigh, needing the contact. She focuses on where we touch and bites her inner cheek, a silent battle in her eyes.

“I’m grateful that it was more than that,” I murmur.

“You have no idea what you’re asking for right now.”

“No, I think I have a pretty good idea, wife. It’s you that doesn’t know what I’m asking.”

“What are you asking, then?”

She brings her torn gaze to my face, and I palm the back of her neck, threading my fingers through her soft hair. It’s a firm, warm touch, something that I hope helps communicate how serious I am right now .

The air is thick with desire, both hers and mine. I’m greedy with my inhales, unafraid to drink it in.

“I want you, Blakely, even though I know it’s messy.”

“Very messy,” she whispers.

Sweeping my thumb along the thin skin behind her ear, I add, “The way I see it, we have two options. Either we continue to pretend, or we don’t. I’m not saying that this won’t end in disaster because it probably will, but I have feelings for you, and I’m already struggling to keep that from affecting our friendship.”

“You don’t care if we crash and burn? It won’t be pretty.”

“ If by the end of the contract, we hate each other and everything we’ve built burns, then I’ll at least be grateful that I had the chance to have you for a brief time. It’s better than the alternative.”

“What exactly is the alternative, Jamie? Things are going fine right now.”

“Fine isn’t all that ideal for me, baby. If we continue to pretend that we’re not one breath from fucking each other blind half the time, we’re going to lose our minds. I only have a month and a half left with you, and I don’t want to spend that time tiptoeing around each other.”

“If this is an elaborate scheme to get in bed with me, Jamie, I swear?—”

I lean over the console, bringing our faces close as our eyes lock. “Tell me point-blank that you think that’s the kind of guy I am, Bandit. Tell me that you genuinely believe I’m telling you this to fuck you, and I’ll take us up to see Graham so we can call this off right now.”

She shudders, lips parting on a sigh before she whispers, “Don’t be so dramatic.”

“If you want dramatic, I can give you dramatic,” I warn, dropping my tone.

“You talk such a big game, but we both know that’s all it is. A game . You want to win, but I’m not a ball that you can catch. ”

With a low laugh scraping up my throat, I drag my mouth across hers and playfully dig my teeth into her bottom lip. She blows a sigh into my mouth, and I tilt her head back just enough that I can make an example of how easily she bends for me despite her sharp words.

It might be possible for her to keep a straight face and play coy most of the time, but there’s no hiding the pink on her cheeks or the quickening of her pulse. Yeah, it could be simply physical for her, but my gut tells me a different story.

She might not be as in as I am, but I’ve got time to get her there.

With our breaths mingling and sparks alive beneath my skin, I lay it all out for her.

“If you’re a game, then I’ve already won. It’s not about the final score with you, Blakely. It never was. All I want is to keep learning about you while having permission to touch you like this without anyone around. There’s no pressure here. Just a timeline we have to follow. I’m open to riding out the weeks with no assumptions. Just have fun with me, baby. I promise I’ll make sure you enjoy yourself.”

“And if you fall in love with me? You’ll still let me go if that’s what I choose?”

The sting from her question is easily ignored by the blast of excitement that follows. It’s the closest she’s come to agreeing thus far, and that’s a win in my book.

“Will I want to? No. But if I don’t have another choice, then yes. What if you fall in love with me?”

“The only person I’m capable of loving is Nathan.”

“You’re wrong. There isn’t a limit set on how many people you can love,” I correct softly.

Her eyes soften. “We’ll see.”

“Is this you agreeing?”

She gingerly covers my hands with hers and holds them in place. It’s a simple gesture. Something that could even be construed as friendly if coming from anyone but my wife .

From Blakely, it’s acceptance.

“I have feelings for you too, Jamie. You’ve done more for me than anyone ever has because of the kind person that you are. Your heart is so big and accepting, and Nate and I are lucky to have you in our lives. Regardless of what comes next, I want you to know that you’re appreciated and deserve a lifetime of good things.”

I swallow. “If you’re only agreeing because you want to pay me back, I won’t accept it.”

The firm press of her lips on mine is her answer to that.

I take the offering in stride and lower my hand from her neck to unbuckle her seat belt. She twists in her seat immediately, keeping our mouths parting on kisses that grow more frantic by the second. I help guide her out of her seat and over the wide console, both of us too busy staring at one another to pay attention to the things clattering to the floor.

It’s a really fucking tight fit, but once she collapses on my lap, I’m delving both hands into her hair and hauling her against me. She digs her fingers into my shoulders, leaning over me with her knees on the seat.

“Is this what you meant by having fun with you?” she asks, abandoning my mouth to plant kisses along my neck.

I tip my head back to give her space and tighten my hold on her hair. The blood pooling in my groin has me hard and throbbing, half-wild at the thought of her dropping to my lap and feeling me between her legs.

“It’s one of the benefits,” I grit out when she sucks hard on the skin beneath my jaw.

“How do I find another?”

I shift and grab both of her round hips, enjoying the softness beneath my palms. She retreats from my neck and blinks down at me, waiting.

All it takes is one quick jerk of her hips and she’s losing her balance, her ass hitting my thighs. A gasp fills the cab, but it’s gone as quickly as it came. With my hold steady on her hips, I rock her forward.

The breathy moan that escapes her is nearly too much.

“You said your dick isn’t the gift you had for me.”

I tip the corner of my mouth in a lazy smile. “It isn’t. You can have my cock anytime you want, wife. Not just in the car.”

“You’re such an ass.”

“Is that why you’re grinding down on me?” I rasp, staring at where she’s rocking forward all on her own.

The press of her against my shaft is a tease more than anything else. It’s too small in the SUV for anything more than that.

She hums, scraping a hand through my hair. “I’m just trying to make a guess at something.”

“What’s that?”

I’m not ready for the hand she drops to grip me with. It’s so hot that I can feel the heat through my shorts. The widening of her eyes doesn’t help calm me.

“Fuck, baby. What are you doing?” I grunt, shoving a hand up beneath her shirt to grab at her bare waist.

She watches me innocently while starting to drag her hand up and down my length. “I’m trying to see how big you are.”

Her fingers curl along the edges of my cock, taking as much of a hold of it as she can through my shorts. I toss my head back and squeeze my eyes shut, thrusting into her hold as lightly as possible.

“You could have just asked,” I groan, pleasure spiking up my spine.

“Where’s the fun in that?”

My eyes roll back when she starts stroking me. “You won’t get a good measurement through my shorts.”

“Are you sure? I think I could make it work like this . . .” she mumbles, scooting an inch down my thighs. “But if you’re sure.”

I somehow manage to lift my hips at the same time she reaches for my shorts and pulls them down in the front, just enough to free my cock.

Blakely gapes at it, and I throb in response, terrified that if she touches me bare, I’ll come.

“This might be a problem,” she says on a breath.

“Why’s that?”

Cautiously, she brings her fingers to my shaft and runs a nail along the top. “It won’t fit.”

Her pupils expand when I take her hand and bring it to the base, encouraging her to grip it again, this time with nothing in the way.

“I’ll make it fit. My wife can take her husband’s thick cock, can’t she?”

“I want to make you come, Jamie,” she tells me, her speech becoming slurred with desire.

“Go ahead, Blakely. Make me cover the same hand that wears my ring with my cum.”

It’s enough motivation for her. With determination swirling around the lust in her eyes, she tightens her grip on me and starts to jack me off.

“How do you like it?” she asks, her head dropped forward to watch her work.

“Spit on it. Get it wet,” I moan.

My muscles are straining so much they’ll be sore by tonight. Showing restraint with Blakely is the greatest test I’ll face in my lifetime. Her hand is tight and smooth, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t imagining her mouth in its place.

She spits onto her fist and spreads it over my shaft before starting to stroke again. “What else?”

With the lube in play, I’m a few flicks of her wrist away from coming already. My balls draw up tight, and I spit a curse between us.

“Kiss me,” I beg.

She doesn’t make me repeat myself. In a blink, our lips are meeting, the sweet taste of her exploding in my mouth. Her tongue swipes along my bottom lip, and once I part for her, she’s taking control.

The grip on my cock grows tighter, and the strokes speed up, coaxing out my orgasm. I break away from her mouth long enough to warn her.

“Coming,” I grunt, sucking in a sharp breath at the force of the pleasure.

Throbbing in her hold, I come hard enough to see stars. Rope after rope of cum flies from the tip as I groan and watch her swap from her right to left hand through fuzzy vision.

She lets me come on her fingers, and once I realize that she’s made an effort to get it on her ring . . . Jesus Christ. The milky gleam on the diamond and over the band is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.

Scratch that.

I worry I’ll pass out when she lifts her hand to her mouth and uses her tongue to swipe up the cum from the diamond before looping it beneath the band and sucking the entire ring into her mouth.

“Not bad,” she murmurs, slowly bringing her eyes up to me.

“Not bad,” I echo incredulously, staring at her hand again. “In that case, you’ve missed some.”

She watches as I circle her wrist and bring the cum-slicked fingers to my mouth. One at a time, I glide them between my lips and spend too long sucking them clean.

“Jamie,” she breathes out.

“Blakely.”

“You just did that.”

I push forward and kiss her, letting our tongues play for a few moments before pulling away. “I told you we’d have fun.”

“Is this what it will be from now on?”

There’s a vulnerability in her voice that sets off warning bells in my mind.

“I don’t only want sex from you. What I feel for you goes far beyond the physical. ”

“Me too,” she reveals softly.

Cupping her cheek, I bring our foreheads together. “We’ll go with the flow. Listen to what we want and take it. I don’t care if that’s massaging your head while watching a romcom or stroking your pussy on the kitchen counter. Being with you is what I want.”

“At least let me make the tacos next time,” she teases lightly.

“Anything you want, just ask.”

“What about the gift you taunted me with earlier? Can I have that?”

“They’re in the back seat.”

She curves a brow. “They’re? As in multiple?”

“Just look behind me and find them, Bandit,” I push, smiling at her excitement.

Without needing another push, she leans past me to get a look in the back seat. I know the minute she notices the bag because she reaches for my shoulder, needing the stability.

“When did you get these?”

“Yesterday.”

“Jamie, I can’t repay you for these. They must have cost a fortune.”

“They’re a congratulatory gift for getting the job today.”

“But you didn’t know I was going to get it for sure.”

She sits back in my lap empty-handed. Concern spikes before I realize she probably didn’t want to unroll a set of sharp-as-hell chef’s knives in my lap.

Her glistening eyes choke me, and I reach for her, smoothing her hair out of her face.

“I knew, Blakely. And you deserve these. The only thing I want in return is for you to stay in my lap for a minute more, okay?”

My heart throbs so hard it’s almost painful when she nods and folds herself against my chest. Her steady breathing stabilizes me as it becomes even clearer that it won’t be her falling in love with me that’s the problem.

It’ll be me falling in love with her.