Page 52 of Fake It For Him

When my ears finally stopped ringing, I gently extricated my arm from under her head and sat up to look at her. Naked on my kitchen floor, her skin was flushed and glowing. The misery of before had been wiped off her pretty face, and instead, there was a lazy smile on her lips now as she blinked her eyes open.

“You don’t happen to have any ice cream, do you?” she asked as she propped herself up on her elbows.

I laughed, surprised but more than willing to indulge her. “Actually, I do. Mint choc chip.”

“Mint choc chip?” Her black eyebrows inched up. “Why did you buy the equivalent of frozen toothpaste?”

“Frozen toothpaste, huh?” I let out a disappointed sigh, grinning. I shook my head. “Well, I guess it’s all mine then. Enjoy your craving while you watch me eat it.”

Ella groaned, but then she sat up too and pushed her hair off her face as she gave me a teasing smile. “Try it. I dare you. Frozen toothpaste or not, I need ice cream.”

I chuckled, leaning forward to press a hot, hard kiss to her lips. Then I wrenched my mouth away from hers and stood up grabbing the condom along the way to dispose of it and wash my hands. “I guess it’s a good thing we ate dinner before I burnt the shit out of it. I’ll share my frozen toothpaste with you on one condition.”

“What’s that?” she asked, looking around.

I strode to the freezer and glanced at her over my shoulder, enjoying the sight of her pale, creamy skin and full figure all bare on my floor. “You stop looking for your clothes and eat it naked.”

A fresh glow rose to her cheeks. “What? Why?”

I shrugged and winked at her before I opened the freezer. “I’m too lazy to get dressed and it would be ungentlemanly of me to be naked if you’re not.”

“After everything you and I have been through together, this is what you think would be too ungentlemanly?”

“Yep.” I pulled out the tub of ice cream and stopped on my way back to her to grab us each a spoon. “Besides, I like it when you’re naked.”

She flushed. I dragged my gaze deliberately over her body, taking in her round, heavy breasts and the dusky pink nipples that were still half hard. As soon as I handed over the spoon, she used it to whack me on the forearm.

“Ouch. What was that for?”

She arched a brow at me. “You know what. It’s embarrassing when you look at me like that and it’s not in the heat of the moment.”

I chuckled, pried the tub open, and set it down in front of her. “Embarrassing? Why? Neither of us have anything to be embarrassed about. Plus, I’ve seen it all and then some. A few times, at this point.”

“Calan,” she groaned, covering her face in her hands and shaking her head before peeking up at me between her fingers. “Where are you going?”

“Just getting the wine.”

“Perfect. Frozen toothpaste and stupidly expensive wine. It’s a pretty awesome dessert.”

I chuckled, finding that the sound was coming easier and freer now with her than it ever had before. With anyone. Even my family. “True. What’s wrong with mint choc chip, though? Why do you keep calling it frozen toothpaste?”

“Because that’s what it tastes like,” she said playfully.

I turned with our glasses in my hands and she got a full frontal view, the humor melted out of her eyes and her teeth sank into her lower lip.

“Well, you definitely don’t have anything to be embarrassed about,” she said. “Except your taste in ice cream.”

I rolled my eyes at her as I handed over the wine and then sat down again, spoon in one hand and glass in the other. “Mint choc chip is my guilty pleasure. I refuse to apologize for it. It’s fresh and chocolaty at the same time. Nothing there to apologize for.”

Ella laughed, lifting her gaze to mine and pretending that she hadn’t been staring at my body all this time. “Let’s just agree to disagree.”

She stuck her spoon into the tub, brought it to her mouth, and wrapped her tongue around the frozen treat in a way that made me wonder if it was too soon to kiss her again. I didn’t think so, but she seemed so happy and relaxed—which she’d never been in my presence—that I didn’t want to ruin it.

Strangely, I was happy just sitting here with her, laughing, eating our ice cream, and drinking wine. It felt like she’d come out of her shell a little bit, and maybe the same was true for me. We’d pushed past each other’s prickly exteriors and that made it feel like there was a bit of trust between us now.

It felt surprisingly good. I wouldn’t say I’d let her all the way in, but I wasn’t opposed to feeling something other than passion for her or resentment from her right now.

“What’s your guilty pleasure, then?” I asked as I stuck my own spoon into my side of the tub. “What flavor do you like? I’ll make sure I have it for next time.”