Page 207 of The Faking Game
West
Fight it out amongst yourselves.
CHAPTER62
WEST
I lean against the banister of the main staircase and wait for Nora to come down. Darcy’s sprawled in a sunspot on the marble floor, tail flicking, yellow eyes locked on mine like he’s trying to outstare me.
I don’t blink.
Neither does he.
“Are you two having a staring contest?” Nora asks, coming down the stairs.
“No,” I reply, still watching the cat. “We’re reaching an understanding.”
“You can’t be competitive with a cat.”
“Watch me.” He hasn’t been my biggest fan, and I don’t blame him.
Nora is infinitely preferable.
But the other day, he spent an hour sleeping beside my desk while I worked, and that was progress.
Nora reaches me, and I immediately lose the staring contest.Damn.Her brown hair is loose around her face, now brushed with the sun and freckles from the first week of summer.
She’s in a long-sleeved shirt and a skirt that’s shorter than she usually wears, leaving her long legs on full display. Sunlight clings to her skin, hugs her.
“Hello, gorgeous.”
She smiles. “Like it?”
“I like you.” I look at the pendant resting around her neck—the one I gave her on one of our first dates.
A necklace. A bracelet. And I can’t wait to give her a ring, too.
“You’re so damn pretty.”
“It’s pretty short. This skirt.” She tilts her head and smiles. “I have a surprise for you. A challenge, really.”
She’s enjoying this—teasing me, pushing me. God, I love that look on her face. “A challenge?”
“Yes. You once told me that if I did this again, there’d be consequences.”
It takes me a second. “You’re not.”
“I am.” She takes a step back, her eyes alight. “Ready to go?”
“Absolutely not.” I bend and lift her up over my shoulder, a hand on her ass over the skirt. Nora shrieks, but it turns into a pealing, half-huffed breath of laughter that makes my stomach tighten.
I walk into the conservatory. She hangs off my shoulder, hands gripping my shirt.
“I’m going to check,” I warn her.
There’s a small room adjacent to the conservatory once used for planting. No windows and total privacy. I kick the door shut and set her down.
She grins. Her top is askew now, revealing a sliver of her taut stomach. “What’s my punishment?”
