Falling For The Wrong Twin

Leash

Gia

I clenched my eyes shut, heart racing, my mind spiraling.

Maybe if I closed my eyes, the last few seconds would simply undo themselves. The ache pulsating in my core, the eye contact—it would all disappear.

Then Maverick’s hand loosened around me, dropping to the bed and I was grateful for the relief that crashed through me. I was just going to roll away and forget the shame currently heating my cheeks. Before I could completely slip off, his hand curled around my stomach, my eyes snapping open as he yanked me back against his broad chest.

My heart pounded so hard that I could hear it thrumming in my ears like a war drum.

A low, rasping groan scraped from his throat, his breath warm against my ear as he whispered. “You don't get to escape when you crossed the line first,”

I swallowed, blinking hard.

“So much for creating a pillow wall when you enjoyed cuddling with me,”

My cheeks flamed again.

His erection ground against me, arousal lurching in my stomach like a tsunami and surprisingly, I remained there, caving into my body’s betrayal.

Everything that happened in Massachusetts had messed with my head.

I had to get laid.

That would be the only way to solve all this s****l reawakening.

I shifted, cheeks red as I avoided his gaze, biting the corner of my lower lip awkwardly. “I am the type to sleep on a king-sized bed and find myself on the floor the next morning,”

I heard him smirk. “That's where the ‘Gia doesn't like sharing the room with people’ comes from?”

I lowered my gaze. “Yes. I’m sorry about that,” my voice dipped low. “I thought you were my pillow. I would fix the hammock and—”

“Tumble to the ground the second time? You can spoon me however you like, Gia. I’m not complaining,”

I met his eyes and a strange calmness washed through me.

“Slept well?” I asked.

“I did. It was the best night of my life—”

I closed my eyes, a smile slipping through my face as I reached for a pillow and pushed it into his face. “Get away from me,”

Maverick finally released me, moving from the bed. I watched him carefully as he reached for a robe, and even with his tousled hair, he looked like a freaking demi-god.

I shouldn't be checking him out.

What exactly was wrong with me?

What was happening to me?

Don't look. Don't look.

My gaze slid down his chest, to the erection tenting his pants, and a gasp almost slipped past my parted lips. He was so huge. Damn!

He caught me staring, shooting me a wink while I quickly shifted my gaze.

Nah. Something was wrong with me. I had to get my head checked.

The moment he left, I grabbed my phone off the nightstand, texting my cousin. ‘I think I’m going through a life crisis. This isn't me, Oona.’

Her text came back in before I could return my phone.

‘Exactly.’

I scoffed, dropping my phone when Maverick’s phone lit up with a barrage of texts that definitely caught my attention.

‘You can't do this to me!’

‘This isn’t fair!’

‘Who the f**k is she?’

‘Can’t wait to get married to her?’

‘You’ve got to be kidding me. I was yours first, Maverick. Yours!’

‘I swear to God that I’ll f*****g kill you.’

I held my heart, alarmed at the influx of texts that kept rushing in. I rose to my feet, grabbed the phone, and rushed towards the bathroom.

I pushed the door open and his gaze immediately snapped on mine. He stood in front of the mirror, his jaw covered in thick white cream as he tilted his head, eyes landing on his phone in my grasp.

“You might want to see this,” I said, inching closer to him.

Maverick took the phone from me, fingers scrolling through the screen with a bored and nonchalant look on his face.

“Who is that?”

His eyes locked with mine through the mirror. “An irrelevant fling,”

“She is threatening to kill you,”

“Threats are just threats. Nothing more” he slipped his phone into his pocket.

I let out a slow breath, watching as he calmly returned to shaving, as though whatever was happening on his phone wasn’t serious enough to warrant a trip to the police station or a restraining order. He was calm. Too calm.

“Fling. How many exactly?”

“Curious to know the number of women I’ve slept with?”

I rolled my eyes.

“I don’t keep count of flings and random hookups. I’m too detached from them to give an exact number,” he lifted his chin, dragging the razor slowly along his jaw like he had all the time in the world.

Disbelief swirled in my eyes.

“Maverick Delwanosky, have you stopped to think of what this could cost us? What if these flings come back, expose our lies, and ruin everything?”

A dark and amused look crossed his face. “I didn’t know you cared for me that much,”

“I don’t. I only care about what I stand to gain at the end,”

He tipped his head back and rasped out a throaty laugh. I watched as he opened the faucet, cupped his hands under the running water, and splashed it over his face, rinsing the remnants of the shaving cream.

Then he took his time drying his face with a clean face towel before deciding to look at me.

“Gia.” He turned to me. “There’s a reason news about my private life never makes it to the media. Every woman who has ever been in my bed, has always left with a non-disclosure agreement. What happens within the confines of my space stays buried there. Anyone foolish enough to violate that agreement will find themselves welcomed into a lifetime of litigation and endless legal battles.”

He said it with the absolute patience of a man who had not a care in the world.

“If you made them sign an NDA? What about me?”

Something dark sparked in his eyes, a smirk ghosting his mouth as he dropped the towel and took slow predatory steps towards me.

“What about you? You haven't made it to my bed yet. Are you that impatient to sleep with me?”

I barked out a scoffing laugh, despite the flames of arousal that currently lit up in my stomach at the rawness of his words.

I cleared my throat, lifting my chin high despite my faltering confidence. “You are the last person I want to sleep with. As a matter of fact, after we return from the beach house, I’m going clubbing and hooking up with some rando!”

The chuckle that left his mouth was dark. Humorless.

“My apologies, Gia. I forgot to add this. The premise of our relationship being fake doesn't make it an open one. Until it ends, you will be exclusive to only me,”

My face was drained of color, pulse stuttering.

“What?”

“You hook up with women and—”

“That ended from the moment you walked into my home and accepted my offer. I have deleted and blocked numbers. So, let’s not make this hard for each other. I’ve told you. If you want me, you have to beg for it,”

“And even when you finally make it to my bed, you wouldn't be required to sign an NDA like the other women. I already have you on a leash. No need to waste paper,”

I was seething by the time he finished.

To infuriate me further, he pressed a kiss to my cheeks. “I’ll see you downstairs for breakfast.”