Page 100 of Pretender

“So sorry, I completely forgot they were arriving today.”

“It’s okay. Do you have plans with them tonight?” I brush a strand of hair behind her ear, letting my fingers trace her neck on the way down.

“Mmm.” She tilts her head towards where my hand just was. “We were just going to stay here and catch up. Chat, drink wine.” She shrugs, her eyes on my mouth.

“You should do that. I’ll just get the mattress and … see you tomorrow?”

Linnea bites her lower lip, and I just want to suck it back out. Fuck, those lips are the most delectable ones I’ve kissed. I don’t want to kiss any other lips for as long as I live.

“Umm, or you could stay?” she whispers.

“You don’t want to catch up with your friends alone?”

“I… I just don’t want you to go.”

I step flush up to her, and she melts against me, wrapping her arms around my neck, pulling me with her into the bedroom. Without hesitation my lips are on hers, and this time it’s more desperate. We know we only have a few minutes and have to make the most of it. She arches her back, pressing herself against me, and I’m about to burst from the way she mewls.

“Fuck, Linnea, those sounds,” I rumble into our kiss. “I want to feel all of you.”

“Aiden,” she whispers onto my lips. “I’ve fantasised about you touching me.”

Fucking hell, if I wasn’t ready to erupt earlier, her saying that makes my cock throb hard for her. My mind races. What does this mean to her, though?

“Not like this,” I whisper, pulling back. “Not with your friends downstairs.”

I don’t want to hold back. I want to make her scream.

“No,” she agrees, leaning against my cheek, her breath warm on my skin. “You’re right.”

“I’ll come back tomorrow. We can talk some more?” I ask, and she pushes back and scans my face.

I brush her hair off her forehead and trace down her temple and cheekbone before hooking her hair behind her ear again. A very warm ear. It makes me smile. How many times have I seen her ears blush in the past weeks, and it’s because she’s been flustered about me?

“Okay, tomorrow, then. It’s probably for the best.” She blows out a breath. “I’ll catch up properly with my friends tonight.”

“What will you tell them about us?”

“Hmm, I’ll tell them the truth.” She runs her hands down the front of my torso, following her touch with her eyes.

“What is that now?”

“That it was fake, and now…” She knits her brow, glancing back up at me through her eyelashes. “I don’t know yet. It’s something?”

“It’s something, for sure,” I say and press a kiss to the worry crease on her forehead. “I won’t pressure you, but I just ask you to be honest.” I talk against her skin, loving how soft it is against my lips. “I like you a lot, Linnea. More than a lot.”

She hums, brushing her hands up my arms.

“So,” I say, before she feels the pressure to make up her mind right away. “Let’s get that mattress, shall we?”

LINNEA

Sophie leans across the table with the bottle, the red wine sloshes around in the large glass in front of me as she pours. She keeps pouring until the last drop and Jamie boos, waving her empty glass.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get another one,” Sophie says and blows a raspberry at her wife.

Jamie’s loud, wonderful laugh sounds through the conservatory, echoing off the glass ceiling. Even the inordinate amount of plants I have in here can’t muffle her.

Sophie’s voice sounds from the kitchen. “How do you not have any snacks? Have you turned into a robot?”