I was about to make their dreams come true.
All except for Morticia, who glared at the bottle as if she wanted it to explode into a million pieces.
Unable to put it off, I drained my spiked hot chocolate, the warm alcohol burning my throat. Then I reached out and spun the bottle, the light glinting off the gold foil label as it rotated. I held my breath as it slowed, did one more rotation, then stopped, pointing straight at Morticia.
29
Morticia
When Jonathan had spun the bottle, I had willed it to land on me. When I was younger, I liked to pretend I was Matilda and that I could move things with my mind. It was what had helped me survive through my mom fighting with her boyfriend du jour.
I never could make a deck of cards fly around the room or even a door swing shut. But now I willed the bottle to land on me, though it was more of a wish. I didn’t know what I would do if the bottle actually landed on me. It had been years since I had kissed a guy, and he hadn’t been even ten percent as hot as Jonathan.
But now I was staring down the end of the empty bourbon bottle.
“You can’t kiss her,” Keeley said, reaching for the bottle to spin it again. “She’ll give you a disease.”
I waited for the humiliation to descend, for Jonathan to sneer and say of course not. He stood up and reached for the bottle.
Of course this is happening.
But instead of spinning it, he picked it up then extended a hand to me.
“Rules are rules,” he said, face serious as he set the bottle on the coffee table. Large hand on my waist, he guided me to a room off of the hallway and softly closed the door.
I was reeling and barely registered that he had taken me into his study.
Jonathan left me frozen by the door as he went to a small bar off to the side to pour a drink. “Bourbon?” he offered.
I shook my head.
Jonathan sauntered over to me, the gray sweatpants slung low on his hips.
My mouth was dry. “Actually.” I swallowed. “Actually, I think maybe I will have one.”
He extended the glass to me, and I downed it.
“You don’t have to…”
Jonathan tilted his head slightly.
“You know…” I made a motion in the direction of the living room.
But Jonathan stepped closer, circling one arm around my waist. “Rules are rules,” he whispered, leaning forward, his mouth inches from mine. “But you have to tell me you want it.”
I want it! my body screamed.
I hesitated. I wanted him to kiss me. But my thoughts were spinning.
“You know,” he said, smile crooked, “you don’t have to actually like someone to fuck them.”
“I thought we were just talking about kissing,” I croaked. I couldn’t take my eyes off of his mouth.
“Were we?” he said mildly. “Oh, that’s right.” Then he pressed his mouth to mine.
His lips were soft, and I moaned against his mouth as his other hand came up to cup the back of my head. His hand tangled in my hair as he kissed me harder, his tongue insistent as it danced with mine. My hands groped wildly then landed on his bare, muscular back.
It was suddenly too much. The sensation of his bare skin, soft and warm, shook me out of my stupor. “Holy shit!” I gasped, pushing Jonathan away.
He leveled his gaze at me. He wasn’t smiling.
“Guess we should rejoin the party.”
“And you just left?” Emma shrieked.
We were down at the bar at the bottom of the Hillrock West Distillery office.
“You just left him after he said he wanted to hate fuck you?”
“Girl,” Lilith said, shoving a drink in front of me, “what happened to exorcising your sex demons? You had the perfect opportunity.”
“Not to mention we still have to work with this guy,” Emma reminded me.
“So I should have slept with him to keep him from firing us?”
“No!” Emma said. “You should have slept with him because he was hot and half naked.”
“There were other people in the apartment,” I hissed.
“Then take a rain check, don’t just push him off then duck out. Finish your drink, then go up there and salvage the situation,” Lilith ordered.
“Salvage? I’m not sleeping with him,” I hissed.
“No one said you have to sleep with him,” Lilith told me. “Just smooth things over—maybe take him a dessert.”
“I could take him some more cinnamon rolls. He really liked those,” I mused.
“Well, not those. There