"Stop. Seriously!" Delaney reaches one more time for the book, and I slip my finger under the edge of her towel, watching it fall to the ground. Then, satisfied, I return the book back to her. She groans her frustration, and when she bends over to pick up her towel, I make sure to get an ass-smack in.
"Goddamn, I'm not going to get tired of slapping you on the ass like that," I say.
When she stands up, her eyes are flashing. "What the hell was that for?" she asks. "You really are twelve years old, aren't you?"
"You liked it before."
"That was different," she says, bringing the towel back up around her, but I wrench it away from her.
"Stay naked," I tell her. "I like you uncovered better." It's true. Shit, this girl makes me wound up, just looking at that curvy ass and tits. I'm not sure what the hell I'm still doing in her room, except that I don't want to stop touching her. Not yet.
Delaney squirms away, grabbing the towel from me and wrapping herself up again. As if I didn't just have my hands all over that naked body of hers. As if I weren't just inside her.
She sits down against the pillows on the bed, setting her book on the bedside table. "Do you think our parents are home?"
I shrug. "Who cares?"
"You don't think they heard anything, do you?"
"In this house?" I ask. "No. Are you worried?"
"Aren't you?"
"Nope," I say, lying down beside her on the bed. "Not in the least."
"Your boot is off," she says.
"You're just noticing that shit now?" I ask. "Seriously?"
"I noticed before," she says. "But that was upstairs when we were…"
"Fucking?"
"You have a way of making everything sound so….crude."
"Sorry," I say, but I'm not. "I'll say making love instead."
Delaney giggles. "Oh my God, I think I'm going to vomit."
"Make loooooovvvve," I say, dragging out the words, my voice sickly sweet. "That's what that novel of yours would say, wouldn't it? I'd make love to you with my throbbing manhood?"
"Stop," she says, rolling her eyes as she swats me on the arm.
"Hey, I'm not the one reading it," I say.
"At least I can read," she says. I make a meowing sound and a pawing gesture at her, and she sticks out her tongue at me. "What are you doing here, anyway? Don't you want to go back to your room?"
"And miss out on the chance to bug you?" I ask.
"Seriously," she says. "Isn't that your thing? Casual sex?"
"Yeah, so what?"
"Doesn't that involve not hanging around afterward?"
"Delaney Marlowe, are you treating me like a one night stand?" I ask, putting my hand on my chest. "I'm hurt." Okay, I'm being sarcastic, but I am kind of surprised. I mean, come on, usually I'm the one who's out the door as soon as I can get away with it afterward, but Delaney's acting like she's the one who wants me gone. I'm more annoyed than hurt.
"That's what this is, isn't it?" she says. "I mean, upstairs….and, um, in the shower, that can't happen again, Gaige."
"So when you handle me in Japan, you're not going to handle me," I say. "Is that what you're saying?"
Delaney blushes. Score one for me. "Absolutely not," she says, her voice firm. "This cannot happen again, Gaige. We're going to be under scrutiny in Japan and I'm representing the company there. So are you. There would be so much blowback if that –"
"Yeah, yeah, got it," I say, cutting her off. Leave it to Delaney to be wound so tight when it comes to stupid company policies.
"This can't leave this room, Gaige," she says, her voice panicked. "Promise me."
I turn toward her, swallowing my irritation. "Trust me, sweetheart, I have no interest in anyone else finding out about this."
For a second, I think the expression that flits across her face is hurt or disappointment, but it's gone so quickly I can't be sure. "Exactly," she says quickly.
"So we'll agree. It will just be one night."
"Right."
"Then it won't hurt to do it again, will it?" I ask. "I mean, one night, right? It's best to get everything out of your system."
She rolls over onto her side, facing me, her head resting on her hand. "One night and that's it. After tonight, we stop."
I nod. "Absolutely."
Like hell we're going to stop. I only just started with this girl.
"And it stays between us."
"I'm not taking an ad out in the newspaper," I say, running my hand up her thigh.
Delaney wrinkles her nose. "Do people even do newspaper ads anymore?"
"I don't care," I say, sliding my hand up farther. "Are we going to talk about newspapers, or are we going to make love?"
Delaney slaps me on the arm. "Ugh. Stop using that phrase."