Provoke: A Seaside Pictures Novella by Rachel Van Dyken

Author:Rachel Van Dyken [Van Dyken, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Seaside Pictures, Rachel Van Dyken, 1001 Dark Nights, contemporary romance, musicians
Publisher: 1001 Dark Nights Press
Published: 2020-04-13T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Braden

Damn, I was losing my mind.

I woke up thinking, hey, we should see where this incredible thing between us goes, only to be totally shut down when I realized that this was temporary. Duh, what did I think? That she’d fall madly in love with me? Possibly stay after the twenty-one days were over? I mean, shit, we were already past the five-day mark!

She was attracted to me, I knew it. I also knew she was nervous about crossing lines. But what if I invited her to do just that? I eyed her again. I wasn’t giving up, not now, not ever. When I wanted something, I went for it one hundred percent. And I wanted her.

I hated that she’d gotten distant. So, in pure jackass form, I did the same. Until I teased her again and realized I’d rather have twenty-one days of teasing, laughter, and kissing than nothing at all.

Hadn’t the incident reminded me of that?

I shuddered.

I could still feel the texture of her skin on my tongue, and damn, she’d tasted sweet. I zeroed in on the coffee table and told myself to cool the hell down. I took a deep breath and walked outside with my coffee. I needed to literally cool my body so I didn’t propose sex instead of life coaching.

“All right.” Piper nearly sent me over the edge of the balcony with her sudden appearance. She had on a black sundress with a leather jacket, paired with short black boots that were tied loosely around her swollen foot.

Adorable, but not proper beachwear at all.

I eyed her up and down. “Are we going to a seance?”

She ignored me and pulled out a terrifyingly large—you guessed it, black—purse, then threw it over her shoulder. “We’re going to go have some fun, converse in large crowds, and then I have a really cool surprise for you.”

My eyes narrowed as I pointed at her. “Yeah, that smile right there is a bit terrifying. It’s almost like you’re plotting to take over the world but do it in an evil way because you’re dressed like you’re headed to a funeral.”

She rolled her eyes. “Put a shirt on. Let’s go!”

I pouted. “But I like my abs.”

“Yes, so does everyone else. If you want to get mobbed, by all means.”

“Solid point.” I grinned. “Hey, does everyone include you, Coach?”

She bit her lip.

“Don’t be embarrassed. I’ll let you touch a bit more. Nobody has to know…”

“Not tempted.” Her cheeks flashed red. “But thanks.”

“Yeah you are. Come on, one hand on the ab, one hand squeezing the pec, a million times better than your scone.”

“Pretty sure even I don’t have the self-control to squeeze a pec and an ab at one time and not change our plans.” She grinned. “Shirt. Now.”

“So you’re saying I tempt you.” I winked. “Good.” I breezed past her back into the living room, then went to my room and pulled down a black graphic T-shirt and added a black beanie to match.

When I got back to the kitchen, she looked like she wanted to say something but didn’t.

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