If the Sun Never Sets - Ana Huang Page 0,23

hers. It made her painfully aware of how long she’d gone without sex. One year. The last time she’d been with a guy hadn’t been all that great either. She’d faked her orgasm with a few halfhearted screams, not that the guy had noticed.

She also tried not to remember the way her heart jumped when she spotted the jealousy in Blake’s eyes earlier that night. Yes, Farrah had been riling him up by flirting with Justin—though she hadn’t been lying when she said Justin was H-O-T—and she hated that she cared. Hated that she’d wanted to make Blake jealous, even though jealousy didn’t mean anything in the grand scheme of things. Some people got jealous when their partners paid too much attention to the cat.

Still, it’d been gratifying to see Blake’s face darken when she complimented Justin. What that said about her, she didn’t want to know.

“Yeah, but out of all the interior designers in the world, he chose you.” Blake’s silky voice brushed over her, a satin cobra waiting to strike. “One might even say it’s fate.”

“It’s coincidence. I don’t believe in fate,” Farrah lied.

Another bedroom playlist-worthy song came on. Farrah grit her teeth. What was the DJ trying to do, induce another baby boom?

Blake pulled her closer; his arousal pressed against her thigh, thick and powerful, and Farrah’s mouth went dry. Her mind hazed over with both memories and fantasies—his hands tangled in her hair, his mouth pressed against her core, her body bowing beneath waves of pleasure.

Liquid heat flooded between her thighs, and she prayed her knees wouldn’t give out from under her.

“If this is making you uncomfortable, we can stop.” There it was. The challenge. She heard it in his voice, saw it in his eyes.

“I’m not uncomfortable.” They were so close her lips almost brushed his when she spoke.

“Good.” Blake tightened his grip on her hips, and her pulse jumped. “Because you’re shaking.”

Farrah pressed her pelvis against him, smiling when she saw his throat bob with a hard swallow. “I’m not the only one.”

This wasn’t them. Not the Blake and Farrah she knew. But time, heartbreak, and secrets had twisted them into darker versions of themselves, ones that resorted to playing games like this. Their banter at The Egret earlier that night seemed like a lifetime ago. By now, Farrah had lost track of how they got here or what they were doing. They sure as hell weren’t dancing.

Blake dipped his head, and she felt the faintest touch of his lips against hers. Not a peck, not even a brush, but a whisper of a promise.

Farrah’s chest clenched with fear and anticipation. Her body wanted this. Her brain did not. As for her heart…well, it didn’t know what it wanted.

He’s a client.

He’s an ex-lover.

He broke my heart.

He can make my body melt.

It’s too risky.

What’s life without a few risks?

It would be so easy to give in. Farrah’s apartment was a five-minute walk away, and Olivia had to be asleep by now. She could sneak him in without her roommate ever knowing.

Blake’s heart beat in time with hers.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Their mouths moved another millimeter closer.

Warning sirens screamed in Farrah’s head as the inferno in her body raged.

She had two seconds to decide.

Appease her body…or protect her heart?

Blake’s lips parted, and she shoved him. Hard.

Farrah ripped herself out of his embrace, her heart skidding at five hundred miles a minute. The fog in her head cleared enough for her to realize they’d smashed past the boundaries she’d insisted they adhere to.

She’d deal with that later. Right now, she needed to get out here.

“I’m leaving.” Her voice sounded far away to her own ears. “It’s late.”

Blake nodded. He’d won—she’d backed down first—but for a victor, he looked awfully defeated.

Farrah grabbed her belongings and hurried out the door. Her feet hit the cracked pavement, and she didn’t stop running until her red brick building come into view.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

By running away, she’d showed her hand. Despite what she said, she wasn’t over Blake. An irrational, primal part of her still wanted him, and now they both knew it.

Farrah could’ve stayed and played the game through to the end, but that wasn’t an option.

She had too much to lose.

Chapter Twelve

“We have you fully booked for media in the two weeks leading up to the grand opening. In fact, Mode de Vie wants to do a big lifestyle feature on for their October issue. The interview will be in June, and they requested a photoshoot at your apartment. Is it going