The Engagement Gift An After Dark Standalone Romance - Lauren Blakely Page 0,11
going to try to give Lily her fantasy, she wouldn’t want a threesome with a stranger. She’d want someone she could trust. She was a private woman, and naturally, she’d want a third person who’d keep the secret of her desires. She trusted Jake. She trusted my friendship with him. She knew the man would go to the ends of the earth for me.
And Jake? He was a good contender. No strings attached to anyone else.
Clearly, he thought Lily was hot. No surprise there.
Not to mention he was a kinky bastard. Hell, he was an everything bastard. The man once said he was an omnivore when it came to women.
But I’d have to find a way to broach it with Lily first.
So I’d bring up the idea in a setting with the right lubricant.
The toy shop.
We left the house together. “You look beautiful,” I told her, unable to take my eyes off my woman.
She gestured to her tight skirt. “Your favorite kind. Skintight.”
I grinned. “It’s like you know me so well.”
She smiled back as I opened the car door for her. “I do know you well.” She set her palm on my chest, tilting her head, her eyes inquisitive. “And I love knowing you.”
My heart thumped harder, as I wrapped my arm around her waist, bringing her close. “There is nothing I love more than being known by you.”
She leaned into me, sighing contentedly. “Sometimes I think about how lucky I am that I was in that bar that night.”
I laughed. “And I think how lucky I am that that receiver had slippery hands.”
“What would we have done without one of the worst plays ever in football to bring us together?” she teased.
I let go of her waist and shuddered. “Don’t speak of something so terrible. Just be glad for the non-catch catch.”
“Always. But I also like to think I’d have found you still.”
“Baby, you and I were meant to be.”
“We were. We are.”
She slid into the vehicle, and I shut the door, heading to the driver’s side. As I hopped into the car, I reminded myself of how lucky I was in so many ways. Because this deep connection, this intense bond we had, was the foundation for our life together, but our hot-as-sin nights too.
Without this openness, we wouldn’t be able to play the games we played.
To talk the way we did.
And to shop for toys.
This was Lily’s favorite kind of shopping trip.
Maybe it would help me too—help me with my obsession.
Or maybe I needed to set it aside. After all, she spent most of the car ride chatting about wedding details. Who was coming, the appetizers we’d serve, the music she wanted.
Maybe fantasies had no part in the life we were building.
But wasn’t sex part of our life?
As we walked into our regular store, she glanced toward the register, where a dark-haired guy worked behind the counter.
“I didn’t know Penn Badgley worked at Eden,” she joked.
“Got a little celebrity crush?” I asked.
“Aww,” she said with a that’s so sweet grin. “You know who Penn Badgley is. Just admit it now—you’re a closet Gossip Girl fan.”
“Smartass,” I said, smacking her rear for her impudence. “I’ve seen You on Netflix, and I also saw Horrible Bosses. So there. No need for Gossip Girl.”
She tilted her head. “He wasn’t in Horrible Bosses.”
“That is true, but Jennifer Aniston’s character invoked his name when she said”—I cleared my throat and tried on a feminine voice—“I fingered myself so hard to that Penn Badgley guy, I broke a nail.’”
Lily shot me a naughty grin, laughing. “Jennifer Aniston’s character has good taste.”
If I were a jealous guy, I’d say something like, As long as you don’t finger yourself to fantasies of the guy at the register, we’re all good. Instead, I said, “Feel free to break a nail later while you play with yourself in front of me.”
Her shoulders straightened, and she snapped her gaze to me, like I’d shocked her. “You’re such a bad boy.”
I brushed my lips against her neck, whispering in her ear, “And you love it.”
She shivered. “I absolutely do.”
As we strolled through the shelves of vibrators, she grabbed a blue dolphin and pretended it was a mic, adopting an infomercial tone. “And now, may we present the dolphin. Twelve speeds, fluttering nose, and when you use it, you’ll come, singing its praises under the sea.”
A grin tugged at my lips as I handed her a butterfly, ready for her comedy routine. “Why don’t you tell us about this guy?”