Read Online The Problem with Paddy (Shrew & Company) by Holley Trent - Free Book Online Page B

his lips as she clamped him tight, every gasp he sucked in, every grind of his teeth.
    She felt good. So good, and watching her face as her body received him was going to send him over the edge fast.
    God. The intimacy. The closeness. The emotion. And there was a lot of that. She not only wanted him, but he could see in those far-too-knowing eyes of hers that she needed him, too.
    Now it was his turn to want to close his eyes and stave off the torrent of what was coming, but he didn’t. He counted all the beer brands he knew from memory in his head and thought about the week’s pub payroll. That’d buy him a couple of minutes, at least.
    Finally, when her eyes began to water and her breaths became more ragged, he freed his hands from beneath the pillow and cupped her face between them. “Go on,” he whispered.
    He hoped she would, because he didn’t have much left.
    She cried out his name and held him tight, and she obviously understood what had happened, because suddenly there was confusion on her face, followed immediately by resignation. She wasn’t used to vocalizing it. He could tell.
    “Just enjoy it, sweetheart,” he said, and he came too, eyes wide open, whispering her name.

CHAPTER SEVEN
    Dana wasn’t sure if she should be ashamed of what she and Patrick had done. She didn’t do casual sex. Never had so much as a one-night-stand. The way she saw it, sex was a complication she didn’t need in her life, because it always came with strings attached. And Patrick? Patrick definitely felt like he had a lot of strings, and maybe some hooks, too. Perhaps a few of those hooks had already gotten under her skin.
    She lay there in the dark, listening to the sound of the wall clock in the kitchen tick off seconds, and Patrick’s slow, even breaths as he slept. Even in his sleep, he was tending to her. He lay on his belly with one arm and one leg slung over her body. She’d always been annoyed at that in the past—having her personal space invaded—but didn’t mind so much with him. He wasn’t just trying to take up space on the bed. He was trying to be in her space specifically.
    She liked him in her space.
    “I can’t do this,” she whispered into the dark. Her fingers stroked the top ruffle of his messy hair, twining strands around them.
    “Can’t do what , sweetheart?” he whispered back.
    “You heard that, huh?”
    “Cat thing, I guess.”
    “If I go outside and shake a bag of kibble, will you come running?”
    He chuckled and pulled her a little closer. “Sweetheart, if it’s toward you, I’ll always come.”
    Her cheeks burned and she was glad he couldn’t see them in the dark.
    She’d been sweet-talked by a player or two in the past, but this was different. She knew it down to her gut that when Patrick blew smoke, it’s because there was a fire. He wasn’t trying to trick her, set her up for a bait-and-switch like so many others had. Humiliate her.
    He wanted her as she was, the idiot.
    She sat up. “Patrick, you do understand I’m a very difficult person to get along with, right?”
    “I have a well-honed sense of self-preservation,” he said, and she imagined him grinning because there was a smile in his voice.
    “I’m serious. Everyone tries to change me and they all fail. I’m warning you now.”
    “I have no interest in changing you. I’m sure your personality suits you well in a lot of ways, especially as a businesswoman. But, I’ll say this…”
    It felt like he was trying to sit up, but couldn’t manage it. The bed shook as he dropped his head back onto his pillow.
    “Ugh,” he grunted.
    “What’s wrong?”
    “Nothing, just feeling a little tight. Worked a few muscles I haven’t taxed in a while, I guess. Anyhow, I’m the type of man who’s kind to people who are kind to him. If you try, sweetheart, I’ll reward you for it.”
    She drummed her fingers on her thighs as she considered the words. Sounded almost like positive reinforcement in a way. She was a lab