Andre got most of that along with most of the talent.”
“That’s definitely not true.”
“Maybe a little. Fortune smiles on some of us more than others.”
She suddenly looks sad. “You don’t have to tell me that. But fortune smiled on you, too. There’s no way the Lavin brand would have gotten so big without your input also.”
“Know a lot about business, huh?” I ask teasingly.
“I know a little something. My father owns one of the biggest investment firms in South America.”
My eyebrows lift at this bit of unexpected news. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. Apparently he’s kind of a big deal. That is, when he’s not too busy feuding with my mom or trying to send me checks as a substitute for his attention.”
“I’m sorry you had to deal with that. But I’m grateful they were together long enough to create you.”
She smiles sheepishly. “The irony is the reason they hate each other is because they’re exactly alike. They’ll both do anything for money. I’ve always been the referee in the middle of their battles. It’s gotten old, this year in particular.”
“Someone once told me families are complicated.”
“Using my own words against me. I deserved that. But immature as my father can be, he’s a mastermind at business. He used to always say a smart man hires men who are smarter than he is.”
“Sounds like good advice.”
“I’m just saying, you have a different skill set from your brother. No offense to Andre, but he’s not the most approachable person ever. You have this way of making every person you meet feel like a friend. I bet that comes in really handy doing your international whatever it was you said you did.”
By the end of her speech, her eyes are fiery.
“You’re the roommate,” I blurt suddenly.
She looks confused.
“Last year, Andre thought he’d lost Casey for good. There was this tabloid thing… Anyway, he said her roommate yelled at him. That she told him he’d fucked up and then slammed the door on him.”
She makes a face. “Guilty.”
I crack up. “I should have known then it was you.”
“Being a bitch is kind of my brand.”
“You were being protective. It seems like you take care of a lot of people. Your friends. Your parents. Your patients. Who takes care of you?”
She picks at a loose thread on the corner of the couch. “You think you’ve got me all figured out.”
“No, not even close. But I will get there.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” she whispers.
A quick glance at my watch proves it’s later than I thought.
“I should probably go so you can get back to whatever you were doing before.”
“A whole lot of nothing.”
When I look over, it seems like she’s closer than she was before. She’s curled her feet up on the couch and one of her toes is brushing the side of my leg. I grab her foot and tickle the bottom.
She shrieks with laughter. “No! I can’t stand being tickled.”
“That was just your subtle way of asking for a foot rub then?” My hands stop their feathery movements and start massaging instead.
Ariana sighs. When I look over a minute later, her eyes are closed. Then she moans.
I bite the inside of my cheek. It’s torture listening to this while she’s wiggling all over the couch next to me. She made those little sounds when I kissed her that night, too. Soft little whimpers and sweet little sighs that make a man imagine how she’ll sound while he’s inside her.
My hand inches up her leg, running over the smooth skin of her calf. I close my eyes. She’s so damn soft.
Stop thinking about how soft she is.
Definitely don’t think about how wet she is.
When I open my eyes, Ariana is watching me with a knowing little smile. She's on her back with both her legs stretched into my lap. While I watch, she lets her legs fall open. The shorts she has on are loose enough that I can see her black panties.
I groan and Ariana pushes her foot harder into my lap. I squeeze her ankle in warning. “You just can’t resist starting trouble, can you?”
“That doesn’t look like trouble.”
“Doesn’t it? Feels like it to me.”
She bites her lip. “It looks like it would feel good.”
I release her legs and climb across the couch until I’m nearly straddling her. She lets out a soft murmur as our bodies touch.
“Why can’t I stay away from you? You really have cast a spell on me, haven’t you?”
Her hand curls behind my neck and pulls me closer.
“I just want