Perfectly Toxic (Sterling Shore 9)

“I have to be in at seven.”

“Then I’ll make sure you get a little sleep,” he says with a smug grin.

I don’t even argue or bring up the fact that I never sleep over until I’m in a real relationship. I guess I’m breaking all my rules.

“If you’re lucky,” he adds with that same smirk, “I’ll even make sure you can still walk.”

He peels my shirt off, tossing it aside, and he slides his hand up my back, unhooking my bra when I barely even lift up. He’s definitely a pro at that, but I try not to think about it.

I know nothing about him, other than the fact he’s driving me insane in every possible way. When my bra is gone, he stares, biting down on his lower lip as he studies me too intently. My breasts used to be bigger before I started running. Now I regret that morning cardio regimen.

Instead of letting him continue to stare, I lean up, and he doesn’t fight me when I tug his shirt off. Now there’s something to stare at.

His body is a chiseled piece of art that my body never stood a chance against. Hell, I’m only human. But I know that’s not what landed me here tonight.

It’s the fact I’ve been wrong about everything there is involving Ethan. And I’m tired of finding reasons to stay away when there’s so many reasons to take a chance.

“You can keep checking me out, or you can help me get my jeans off so I can fuck you a little slower this time,” he says in that deep, sexy voice that has me trying not to shudder.

I roll my eyes instead of dissolving like an idiot, but the second I bend, he thrusts, and my breath catches in my throat.

“Never mind. I’ll lose the jeans before round three,” he says, thrusting again.

How is he even hard? I know he got off.

My mind turns to mush when he sets an agonizingly slow rhythm, and his lips come down on mine, catching the sounds before they can escape from my mouth.

There’s no turning back now.

r /> Chapter 22

ETHAN

“So you took over your dad’s business after his heart attack, but he’s okay now?”

“He’s okay as long as he doesn’t have any major stress. Trust me, that company was nothing but stress,” I explain, running my hand down her bare back.

Round two was fucking incredible, but it turned out to not be the fuck-a-thon I wanted after she fell asleep on me before round three could start up.

Now it’s four in the morning, and she’s wide awake. Just like me. The only difference is that I never went to sleep. Instead of trying to get that round three in, I’ve been telling her how I went from high school graduate to CEO of Noles Holdings.

“Why do you wake up so early?” I ask her.

She shrugs. “I actually usually wake up even earlier than this. Sorry I crashed so early. That’s the way it goes. I crash early, but wake up a few hours later and can’t go back to sleep.”

“But there’s no reason?” I ask her, as she slides her lips over my chest.

“Don’t laugh, okay?”

I don’t mean to, but a puff of laughter slips out.

“You’re already laughing,” she groans.

“Sorry. That’s just the rebel in me doing what I’m told not to. Go on. Tell me why you can’t sleep.”

She groans, but she finally peers up at me, even though it’s still dark and I can’t fully see her eyes.

“So, it’s been just me and Allie since we were eighteen and she got pregnant. The first house we lived in was not in a good neighborhood. No one ever broke in or anything, but I was constantly worried about it happening and me sleeping through it. I think I’ve just kept that in the back of my head ever since, and I wake up after only a few hours, ready for anything. It sounds stupid, I know. But I can’t help it. Ray Capperton even put in this insanely awesome security system, and I still can’t sleep.”