Nick kissed the inside of my opposite thigh.

My lip quivered and I hit buttons on my screen.

I put the phone to my ear.

Dustin answered on the second ring.

Nick lapped at me.

My voice was throaty and strained as I made up some excuse I forgot what it was seconds after it came out of my mouth, ending things.

I did note, albeit vaguely, Dustin sounded disappointed and it seemed he was going to push it but instead he asked, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. You’re a good man and saying things like this to a man I respect isn’t easy,” I replied, then swallowed the noise I wanted to make when Nick sucked deep at my clit. I forced out to finish, “And I’m coming down with a cold.”

Dustin said more and it was nice because he was a nice man.

But mostly, I hurried it along so I could get him off the phone and I could concentrate on Nick going down on me.

I managed this, hitting the button to end the call and tossing the phone to the bed beside me, my other hand moving to Nick’s head to hold him to me.

But he lifted away.

I got up on an elbow to look down at him to see his eyes on me.

“It over?” he asked.

“Yes,” I answered impatiently.

His face got lazy as he whispered, “Good, baby.”

Then he rolled, doing it clamped on to me, forcing me with him so we ended with him on his back and I was up, straddling his head.

He yanked down on my hips.

I rode his face.

It wasn’t a lie I’d told Dustin. Breaking things off with a nice guy wasn’t easy.

It was just, for the first time in my life, as luck would have it, doing something not easy led to a reward.

A really good one.

And that led to another reward.

Sleeping next to Nick Sebring.

So for the first time in my life, it was worth it to do something not easy.

It made me feel almost happy.

Except for the part that I feared down deep in my bones that it would end for both of us in misery.

Chapter Nineteen

Clean Up on Aisle Five

Nick

8:03 – That Next Monday Morning

Nick barely got to his desk in his office before his man Curt was at the door.

“A minute?” Curt requested.

Nick caught the look on his face and lifted his chin.

He didn’t take his seat behind his desk while Curt moved in and closed the door.

He walked to Nick’s desk and stood opposite it.

“Georgia Shade ordered a sweep of their offices this weekend,” he reported.

The itch that was beginning to creep up Nick’s neck stopped.