Standby (Open Skies Book 4) by Becca Jameson (popular e readers .TXT) 📕

happy to call it a week, skip dinner, and try out your mattress.”

Jake groaned. “The number of ways I’m going to punish you tomorrow for tormenting me all week is growing by the hour, sweetheart.”

“Ooh. I’m intrigued. How about we end the charade tonight instead? It’s just twelve hours.”

“Nope.”

“Why not?” She slid from the stool and started unbuttoning her blouse as she sauntered toward him.

“Not a chance.” He shuffled down the counter and rounded to the other side of the island out of self-preservation. “Go change.” He pointed toward the hallway.

She continued to strip, slowly easing each button through its hole. When she pushed her bottom lip out in a fake pout, his cock jumped.

“Shayla…” he warned. “We are not having sex tonight. If I let you talk me into it, I’d never hear the end of it for the rest of our lives. It would become the naughty dinner-table talk in front of all of our friends. You’d never let me live it down.” He smiled at her but he knew he was right. He altered his voice to imitate a future Shayla. “Remember that time when we were dating and you couldn’t go a whole week without sex?”

She giggled. “But it’s been so very much fun trying to tempt you.”

“Well, that’s not how it’s going to end. It’s going to end with you tied to my bed tomorrow, spread eagle, while I torment you for hours as payback for teasing me all week.”

She shivered. He could see the goosebumps that rose on her arms from the other side of the island. “Promises, promises.”

Before he could respond, she spun around and skipped from the room. It took him a full minute to shake visions of her from his mind enough to return to the stove and stir the sauce. If he lived through the night without jumping her bones, it would be a miracle.

Tomorrow, she was going to pay, he mused with a smile. And she was going to love every second of it.

While she was gone, he finished dinner and set the table. He was relieved when she walked back into the room in a tank top and shorts. Granted, since the woman never wore a bra around him, he could see her amazing tits perfectly well through the thin material, but at least she wasn’t naked. He wouldn’t have put it past her to show up buck-naked, slide onto a chair, and act like nothing was amiss.

He filled her plate with spaghetti and salad and then his own.

“This is delicious,” she said after she took a bite. “You’re spoiling me.”

“Like I said, it’s a bait and switch. Don’t fall for it.”

“You shouldn’t advertise yourself like that. It’s not the best way to convince a woman to go out with you,” she teased.

“Do you need convincing?” He lifted a brow.

“Nope. Like I said, I’m a sure thing.” She smiled as she tossed his own words back. “Maybe change your game plan up for the next girlfriend though.”

He paused, his fork midway to his mouth. His gaze went to hers. “Are you already trying to get rid of me? We haven’t even had sex yet.”

She chuckled. “No. Just being realistic.”

He set his fork down on the plate, the bite forgotten. “Realistic?”

“No big deal. I’m just making small talk.” Another shrug, but she didn’t meet his gaze.

“I don’t think you and I are on the same page here.”

“Why do you say that?” she asked, taking a sip of wine.

“If you’ll recall, the reason I didn’t want to sleep with you the first night we got together is because I’m pretty damn interested in you and I didn’t want to start off our relationship with sex. I wanted to give it a bit of a foundation first. I was thinking long-term here, Shayla.”

She bit into her bottom lip and then released it. “Okay. I didn’t mean to sound flippant. I’m just not used to men having any thought past their next good lay.”

He winced. “Besides Hawke, it sounds like you’ve dated some real assholes.” His concern was rising. It suddenly didn’t seem like she wanted what he was asking for. What he’d been imagining for them for a week.

She cringed. “You make it sound like I’m a horrible judge of character.”

He rubbed his face. “Sorry. That didn’t come out right. I didn’t mean to imply anything of the sort. I know you’re a strong woman who doesn’t ordinarily get stepped on. You can’t even count that asshole Hawke because you left him.” Shit. This was going poorly.

She met his gaze. “Look, I know I act all tough and put together, but the reality is I’ve never actually had a serious boyfriend before. I even referred to you as my boyfriend today when I was talking to Renee. I was startled when the word slid off my tongue. I’ve dated guys. Hooked up. But no one has asked me for more, so I’m a little surprised about the way you look at this.”

His heart was beating fast. “I’m asking you for more, Shayla.”

She nodded. “Okay. I hear you. I’m not even opposed to the idea. But forgive me for not fully wrapping my head around what that means or trusting it entirely.”

He forced himself to remain calm. She wasn’t rejecting him. She was simply guarding her heart. “What it means is that I think about you when I’m not with you. I miss you when we’re not together. I want you in my bed. I’m not going to share you. And yes, I believe this is something that will last long-term.” Hopefully, he wasn’t scaring her. How had it not occurred to him that she wasn’t fully grasping his intentions?

“Okay. I can work with that. Be patient with me though.”

He didn’t like this conversation. It felt like she was withdrawing from him which was so contrary to their week of flirting; and hell, they’d even shared an incredibly intimate masturbation session. It didn’t get more intimate than that. Did she think it