Page 102 of The Stranger

“I’m asking you to stop pretending your body didn’t tell you something your head refuses to hear. You’re not broken, Primevère. And you deserve to know the joy of sex.”

“That sounds dangerously convenient, doesn’t it?”

“You’re right.” My admission catches her off guard. “For us both. A month where we know exactly where the boundaries lie. We’re attracted to each other, and sex between us is…” My gaze wanders down her body, lingering where I long to touch. “Outstanding. But we know that what’s between us can only be temporary. It can’t go anywhere beyond these walls.”

Her expression flickers through a dozen things.

“I’m not the man for you. I have my children, my business. Responsibilities. And you have a job and a life waiting for you in another country. There’s no way we could or should want to make this work.”

“Just say it—you’re talking about fucking.”

“I’m not biting, darling. Not this time.” I brush my thumb across my mouth, not wanting to smile.

“You’d better not.”

“You’re not the only one marked by last night’s experience,” I say, loosening the buttons at the front of my shirt. A frisson of something dances through me as I pull the linen aside and her eyes fall to her own mark. I run my fingers over the bruise and suffer the sensation like a throb.

“You make it sound so simple.” Her voice is softer, like the fight has slipped from her.

“It’s the opposite of simple. But it is real. So I propose we stop pretending we’re immune to each other. That we enjoy something that’s already happened. Again.” And again and again.

“For practice?” she snipes, folding her arms tight. “Are you proposing to give me lessons?”

“Intimacy isn’t something you practice. It’s something you enjoy. Let me help you discover that.”

“So magnanimous.”

I chuckle—I can’t help it. She’s so fucking stubborn. So beautiful.

“And absolutely nothing in it for you, then.”

And delectably feisty. I’ll enjoy fucking that out of her. “You, Primevère, you’re in it for me.”

Her mouth flattens. “Stop calling me that.”

“Let’s build on last night. Or to use your words, fuck. In our downtime.”

“Because you saw something on Porn Hub one time?” she taunts.

“Really,” I gently chide.

“Maybe Felix picked up the habit from you. What is it you’re into? What’s your flavor, huh? Dominant Dad turns Naive Nanny Nympho?”

I smirk. Her mind is a curious place. “That’s quite the tongue twister.”

“Is that what she said?” With a huff, she swings away. “Is this why you can’t keep a nanny?” she demands as I turn and watch her pace around the room. But she doesn’t leave, and that in itself is telling.

“I am a paragon of virtue around my staff. Ask Emmy if you don’t believe me.”

She scoffs. “That doesn’t mean getting it on with the nanny isn’t what floats through your head during your alone times.”

“Do you think I have a lot of those?”

“I can’t work out if you’re bigging up your sexual prowess or asking me how many times a day I think you interfere with yourself.”

I wipe my hand across my mouth, but my humor won’t be concealed. “Well, now I’m doubly curious what you think.”

“Is it the power dynamic?” She presses her hands together in what I presume is meant to be an angelic pose. “The young, inexperienced girl and the older, dominant man just itching to teach her a few things?”