Wright with Benefits (Wright Series #8) - K.A. Linde Page 0,27

a family of four.

“Pick your poison,” he offered.

After loading up a plate with sesame chicken, Mongolian beef, lo mein, fried rice, and two egg rolls, I retreated to the enormous dining room table. My eyes widened with relief. Nothing like the tiny space I’d been using the last three years. I could probably fit all of my notes here.

I set my plate down and dug out my computer, books, and notes. Jordan ate silently across from me, scrolling leisurely on his iPad.

“What are you working on?” I asked him after downing half of my plate in a feverish haze of hunger.

“Soccer complex,” he muttered, not taking his eyes from the screen.

My heart skipped. Isaac had told me about this, but it had slipped my mind. Wright Construction had gotten the contract to build an outdoor stadium for a new soccer team coming to Lubbock. It was our first professional sports team, and everyone was pretty excited. My brother was especially excited to be the on-ground project manager.

“What do you have to do for that?”

Jordan glanced up once with an amused look on his face. “I thought you had to study.”

I glowered at him. “I do.”

“Why’d you decide to show up?”

“Free food.”

He snorted. “Doubtful.”

“Jennifer is using the table for edits, and my room is still a mess from the flood,” I admitted. “I was worried that I wouldn’t get anything done.”

“So, here and not the library?”

I gestured to the Chinese food again with a smirk. “Like I said, free food.”

“I’m doing everything for the soccer complex,” he admitted. “I was the one who reached out to the team to suggest a site to build.”

“Whoa,” I whispered. I hadn’t known that. “How did you know they were looking?”

He smirked. “That’s half my job. I can do all the things that Morgan and Austin and David do, but my strength really lies in making connections, pinpointing new contracts, and negotiations.”

“Huh. Like how you convinced me to study here.”

He managed to look smug instead of sheepish. “If you get the studying done, then does it matter?”

I laughed. “Mildly manipulative.”

“It’s not…manipulating. It’s negotiations, love,” he said with a wink and then returned to his scrolling.

I just shook my head at him and went back to my own work. I didn’t mind the “negotiations.” Not really. This was actually peaceful, and I felt locked into my work. Soon, the Chinese was cold and forgotten, and I was deep, deep into my studies. My eyes could barely stay open by the time I looked up from my stupor.

“Oh God, is it already midnight?” I muttered, rubbing my hands over my eyes.

Jordan had retreated to the couch at some point and was typing furiously into his laptop. “It is.”

I yawned. “I should head home.”

“Take the guest bedroom.”

I closed my laptop and walked around to where he was sitting. His dark eyes drifted up to mine, and he quirked an eyebrow in question.

“Are you going to bed?”

He shrugged. “Soon.”

A part of me knew that I should go to the guest bedroom. I’d seen it before. It was lush and probably nicer than my own bed anyway. But he’d done exactly what he’d said he’d do. He’d gotten Chinese and left me to study. I felt better prepared for tomorrow than I had in weeks…maybe months. We’d been…friends. Just like he’d said. I’d been skeptical, and he’d proven me wrong.

I reached out for his laptop, moving it to the coffee table. Then I straddled him, settling my weight down onto him. His hands moved to my waist and slid to my hips.

“This is not studying,” he teased.

“It’s late,” I reminded him before my lips dipped to his.

He kissed me back hungrily, as if he’d barely restrained himself from kissing me all evening. The control behind that kiss revealed everything I needed to know. He wanted the benefits from this arrangement as much as the friends. And he was willing to forgo this to make me comfortable.

“Come to bed,” I murmured against his lips.

He didn’t need to be told twice. He stood, lifting me into the air. I wrapped my arms and legs tight around him, and then he walked me to his bedroom. No guest bedroom necessary after all.

13

Jordan

Annie started studying at my house almost every evening.

She didn’t stay the night every night. Sometimes, she actually finished her work at a decent hour and went home to spend time with Jennifer. On rare occasions, she had study sessions with other fourth years, and I didn’t see or hear from her