Page 57 of Getting Down to Business

“Penises are handy to have around.”

“Truth. But this penis knows there’s no chance of us ending up together in some kind of happily-ever-after.”

“You know, you still never told me why you don’t want a happily-ever-after.” She’d never told anyone. The only person in her life who knew was her mother and they had silently agreed to never speak of it.

For a moment, Alyssa considered telling Kenley her story, but she wasn’t ready.

She couldn’t go there. She couldn’t dredge it all up.

“I can tell by the delay you are not going to tell me now.”

“No. I can’t.”

“That’s okay. You will when you’re ready, and I’ll be here to listen.”

She didn’t think she’d ever be ready.

* * * *

Due to a demonic formula haunting his client’s spreadsheet, Gray got home after Alyssa.

“Honey, I’m home!” he called.

She came out of the bathroom wearing the shorty shorts and tight T-shirt that drove him mad. She said they were comfortable, but he found them to be the opposite. Every time she wore them, his pants grew uncomfortably tight.

“Honey? Really?”

“It was a joke. Would you relax?” It wasn’t as if he could force her into a relationship.

“The last time you told me to relax was when you forced me to go to the doctor’s office.” Right. He’d forgotten about that.

“Since you insisted on keeping it all business at lunch, I didn’t get a chance to tell you earlier. I heard back from the doctor’s office today with the results from the screening.”

“And you couldn’t find a way to fit it in the conversation?” Alyssa put her hand on her hip.

“Apparently, you have bitchy blood. The symptoms include using sarcasm to keep people at bay.”

“Wow. That was some test,” she said as she popped the cap off a beer and handed it to him. “To bitchy blood and the fact that it’s Friday,” she toasted as she tapped her bottle to his.

“Other than being bitchy, your blood was perfectly fine. So was mine.” He leaned down to kiss her neck, right under her ear. It was one of his favorite places to put his lips. He could smell her vanilla-scented hair and feel her heart beating.

The beer wasn’t the thing he wanted.

In one quick movement, he pulled her shirt over her head and began walking her backward down the hall to her room.

He unhooked her bra and let her shorts slide down over her hips. No panties. He moaned at this development. Normally he was quite fond of panties, but for some reason finding none was wicked hot.

She climbed back on the bed and he followed as soon as he got his own clothes off.

Kissing his way down between her breasts, he stopped to suck each of her nipples before continuing on his journey. After circling her navel with his tongue he moved lower, and lower until—

“You don’t have to do that,” Alyssa said as she shifted to get away.

“I know I don’t have to. I want to. It’s a perk of passing your test.” He smiled up at her and ducked down again, only to have her squirm away.

“You really don’t need to.”

“What’s the problem here? I said I want to.”