Read Online The Marriage Agenda by Sarah Ballance - Free Book Online

found her tongue…and, in looking at him, a thousand things she’d rather do with it than continue this no-win conversation. “I bet you can’t wait long at all for sex.”
    “Are you serious?” He didn’t present any of the indignation the words suggested. He looked more like an animal circling its prey—an animal with a serenity of expression that indicated he knew he’d already won.
    Um, no? “Of course I’m serious.”
    “You’re on.”
    Uh-oh. “On what?”
    He laughed, but he didn’t sound as if he was joking. “You don’t seem to think I can last for an extended period of time without sex, and I don’t think you’ll last the week. You’re on. First one to beg for it loses.”
    Chloe pasted on a grin, though inside she was undulating at the knowledge of what he could do to her. She was in it this deep…and it didn’t sound much like a bet anyone would lose. At least not without winning. “That’s a bit open to interpretation, don’t you think? I think we need something a little more concrete.”
    “What do you have in mind?”
    “You can beg all you want… It’s the orgasm that decides it.”
    His brow lifted.
    “ Any orgasm,” she clarified, shooting a pointed look in the direction of his man parts. “Keeping your hands to yourself won’t help you this time.”
    He returned the carnal focus, and she’d swear she heated under his appraisal. “That’s cute,” he said. “It’s also fundamentally unfair.”
    “Why?” I’ll match you coy word for coy word, buddy. “Do you have such a hard time controlling yourself?”
    “Around some people.”
    Good to know . Some people, her ass. He’d better learn to control himself around all people. “Which brings me back to my point. You can’t make it without sex.”
    He didn’t back down. “Not exactly. My point is you can pretend your orgasm didn’t happen. Mine are…unmistakable.”
    She shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
    “Wait a minute. I didn’t say no. What’s at stake here?”
    “If I win, you get to dress up in your tux and take me out for tacos.”
    “That’s not much of a deterrent.”
    “Clearly you didn’t see your face last time I mentioned it.”
    He grinned crookedly. “Fine. When I win, you sign up for a culinary class—one where they teach the minimalistic art of plating.”
    “You’re on. And by the way, that will never, ever happen, so prepare to beg.”
    “Knox?” A woman’s voice called from elsewhere in the house.
    Chloe jumped, but Knox didn’t flinch. “Who is that?” she asked.
    “My mother.”
    Chloe looked down at her packing-and-moving sweats and back to Knox. Great. Exactly how anyone would dress to meet the queen. “You’re in here talking about sex,” she hissed, “and your mother is here?”
    He shrugged from behind one of those boyish, lopsided grins. “You have that effect on me.”
    “That’s just what I want your mother to know. Ever heard of a first impression?”
    “I wanted you then, too.”
    Chloe stared at him, her jaw unhinged.
    “Knox?” His mother sounded closer now.
    “Get out there before she finds us,” Chloe said. “I need five minutes.”
    “Yes, dear.”
    Chloe rolled her eyes and nudged him through the doorway. She stopped short of pushing the door closed all the way—she didn’t want news of his mother’s visit to be met with that noise, of all things—and made a mad dash for the Biggest Closet on Earth. Her meager wardrobe looked to be even less so in the massive space, but that didn’t make it any easier to find something to wear. Fortunately, the clothes she had hanging in her apartment had been brought over on their hangers. She quickly found a simple maxi dress and ditched her sweat pants and tee, brushed her hair, and slipped into a comfortable pair of sandals.
    Mother-in-law. Somehow that particular phrase hadn’t entered the vernacular of the marriage talk.
    She swung open the door and followed the sound of voices to the kitchen. Great.