“Gonna come soon,” he growled. “Come over here and kiss me. And then I want your pussy on my cock. I want to come inside you.”

She nodded and released his cock with a “pop” of her lips that made him groan anew, and then she moved up to kiss him. Her tongue slicked over his, and it felt . . . weird.

She was losing it. Oh, no. She needed to go back to that mindless state. So she moved to slide down him again, to take his cock back in her mouth.

“No, baby, up here,” he said, and jerked hard at the handcuffs. “I want to touch you.”

Chelsea’s breath quickened, and she sat up, feeling threads of panic. His wrists were red and chafed where the cuffs were digging into his skin, and she knew she should release him. But the thought of that made her arousal die a quick death. “I . . . I don’t think I can do this.”

Immediately his expression changed, his body tensing. “Derby? Pillow?”

“Those are my safe words,” she said, a shy smile on her face.

“Yeah, but you looked like you needed to say them, so I’m going to save you the trouble.” He gave his arms a little shake in the cuffs. “If you’ll take these off, I swear we’re done. I promise.”

“But what about . . .” She gestured at his cock, still proudly thrusting into the air. The head of it was beaded with pre-cum that had returned in the few moments her mouth had been away from his skin.

“It’s not about me. I can get my rocks off at any moment, remember?” Sebastian’s smile quirked. “Even to The Notebook. But it’s about you and you feeling safe and in control.” He wiggled his hands in the cuffs again. “And did I mention I’m losing feeling in my fingers?”

“You . . . you’re not going to pounce me the moment I uncuff you, are you?”

He looked shocked, then pissed. “Fuck no. I’m angry you’d even think that.”

“Even though I’m being a cock tease?” Her voice wobbled.

“You’re not a tease. I’m telling you to stop.” His voice was vehement, his body tense. “I would never force you to do anything you don’t want to do.”

For some stupid reason, she felt like crying. She’d hurt his feelings with her accusation, but . . . she was messed up. She knew she was. “Can we go back to cuddling? I like that.”

“We can cuddle so damn hard it’ll wear a hole in the blankets.”

She gave a teary giggle at that, and moved to undo the handcuffs. “I don’t think that’s how you cuddle.”

“Fuck it. We’ll make our own rules. Just don’t cry, all right?”

Chelsea nodded and sniffed, and when she released him from the cuffs, he opened his arms. She went to him, burying her face in his neck, and sighed with contentment when his hands began to stroke her hair and her back. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

His hands paused. “Why are you sorry? There’s nothing to be sorry about. I got an awesome three-quarters of a blow job.”

Her mouth edged into a faint smile. “Yeah, but I’m sorry I couldn’t go all the way. That I freaked out again.”

He squeezed her in a hug, her breasts pressing against his bare chest. And somehow, that wasn’t weird. Maybe it’s because his touch was so comforting, so soothing. “Are you kidding? We did a lot more than I thought. Should I have shut up? Did I ruin it?”

She shook her head against his shoulder. “It’s just me.” It was always her and her stupid brain. The panic that she couldn’t shut off. “But . . . I had fun for a while.”

“So did I. We should try it again sometime.”

“Maybe so,” she agreed.

He rubbed her arm. “I have to say, though, I’m down with you running around the house topless.”

She laughed, and it turned into a small sigh as she thought of Mrs. Cabral’s judgy expression. “I guess your mother was right about me.”

He stiffened and sat up. “Wait. My mother? When did you run into her?”

Chelsea rolled onto her back, her hand going to her forehead. Ugh. “Earlier today when I was out with Gretchen. It wasn’t pretty. She ambushed me at lunch and had Lisa along for the ride.”

“Fuck. I’m so sorry.” Sebastian slid out of bed and hitched his pants up around his hips. “I’m going to fix this.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to get my mother on the phone and tell her—”

“No, please,” Chelsea said, and patted the bed. “Just come back here and cuddle for a bit, all right? I don’t want to think about your mother tonight.”

He looked down at her in the bed, his expression torn. “I don’t like that she’s bullying you.”

“Then we’ll do something about it tomorrow. Tonight I just kind of want to relax, okay?” And maybe get a bit more snuggling in. She was getting addicted to the feel of his hands on her body. Not in a sexual way, but just his soothing, comforting touch. Knowing he was there and would be there for her.

She craved that.

Sebastian hesitated for a moment longer, then return to bed with a bound. She squealed as he tackled her and pulled her against him in a bear hug, his body spooning hers. “All right, you talked me into more of this.”

Chelsea laughed and held his hands against her skin. His hand slid to her breast and cupped it, and she held it there. He wasn’t squeezing, wasn’t trying to “persuade” her to change her mind. He was just holding her. And as he nuzzled her neck, she gave a small sigh of pleasure.

“Maybe my safe word should be ‘Mother,’” he commented. “Nothing shrivels my cock faster than that.”

She snorted with laughter. “I’m sorry I mentioned it. I did walk out on her.”

“She probably loved that. It’ll make a dramatic promo.” He buried his face in her hair. “You always smell so good. I love that you’re so into soaps. I don’t suppose you could brew up something stinky for my mother that we could give her as a gift?”

“Skunk soap?” Chelsea laughed at the thought. “I could, but the house would reek of it for a while, so it might be a double-edged sword.”

“Hmm. We’ll put that on the back burner, then. But tomorrow, I’d like to visit my family, if that’s all right with you?”

“So you can talk to your mother? I don’t want to start trouble—”

“No, so I can show my mother that no amount of her interfering is going to make us part. That she needs to end this story line with Lisa.” He thought for a moment, and then added, “And visit my father and my other brother and sister. You’ll actually like Dad. He’s normal. I sadly cannot say the same for my siblings. They’re very into the show.”

She grimaced at the thought. “Should we call in advance, then?”

“Oh, hell no,” he said, and she heard the smile in his voice. “We’re going to use one of my mother’s favorite tactics and drop in unannounced.”

Oh, boy. Chelsea couldn’t help but worry that his life was a lot simpler without the addition of a fake wife. What was she going to do if he came to the same conclusion?

Chapter Eighteen

Early the next morning, before the start of rush hour traffic and when dawn was still a mere suggestion in the sky, Sebastian and Chelsea headed out to confront the Cabrals.

The Cabral family lived in a spacious penthouse in a big old building on Madison Avenue over on the Upper East Side. Of course they did. Tree-dotted Lenox Hill was one of the priciest—if not the priciest—neighborhoods in Manhattan. And in the swanky, expensive building? The Cabrals owned several floors. The bottom one, Sebastian explained as he held the door open for Chelsea as they entered the lobby, was for the camera crews and makeup people.

As they entered the quiet building, Chelsea was glad she’d worn something tame and attractive. Not that she felt the need to prove herself to Sebastian or his family, but just being inside the marble-floored building with the white, modernist design made her feel somehow small and gauche. She’d worn a cute floral skate dress that went to mid-thigh and topped it with a white cardigan and matching white strappy sandals. Her legs looked awesome (well, if you ignored the bruises) and she knew from Sebastian’s appreciative looks in her direction that she looked damn good. Her hair was pulled into a loose ponytail that hung over one shoulder in a riot of big curls.