Had he truly been serious? Had he really asked me to use him to get off—outmy frustration?
I blinked. “Use you?”
He laughed, the sound bubbling out both amused and exasperated. “Jesus Alta, stop repeating whatever I say. You’re making me feel crazy.”
“That’s because youarecrazy!” I said. “First you want to give me ball growing lessons and then you want me to, like, strangle you when I have a bad day or something?”
Harper’s head bowed, his forehead leaning against both my shoulder and the wall behind me.And he laughed.Full, body shaking laughs in a low, almost silent rumble.
I found myself smiling too as I looked at his neck. “What?”
“The insanity that just left your mouth right now,” he said, voice still laced with amusement. “It’s baffling.”
“Me!” I giggled. Braving up a bit, I pressed gentle hands into the plains of his stomach. “I’m not the crazy one here. You want me to hurt you and that’s scary.”
“Damn you’re sweet,” he said wistfully, almost as if it were just a passing thought. He lifted his head to meet my eyes. “Butsoviolent, I’m learning.”
“What! How?” I squeaked.
He shook his head. “Like I said before, I don’t want you to hurt me, I want you touseme.”
“Use youhow?”
He raised an eyebrow, his stare so dry that suddenly I knew.
Oh…oh! He meant?—
I squirmed.
“That wouldn’t work,” I dismissed quickly, cheeks flaming.
“You’d be surprised how much it would,” he said, voice dark.
“Harper.” I shook my head. “I don’t even know how I’d do that.”
“No?” he asked, taking a step toward me. “So you’re requesting my wisdom already?”
“Yes.”
He smiled. “That was rhetorical, Alta.”
“Oh,” I said, blinking. Why was he joking at a time like this? “I still don’t…”
“What? Believe me? Try it out then.”
“Try it?”
“You’re repeating my words again.”
“You’re talking crazy again.”
“Try it, Alta.”
My eyes fluttered along with my stomach, my mind reeling with all that he was presenting me. My fingers tingled with the excitement of touching him, even though my hands were still pressed into the muscles of his abs.
I looked up at him, my voice coming out in a hesitant whisper. “How?”
“Kiss me.”
