Cheesy on the Eyes: Fake Dating Romcom (Slice Book 5)

by Teagan Hunter

  “Is everything okay?”

  She looks up at me, and for the briefest of moments, I see it—fear.

  The kiss scared her.

  She pastes on that same fake smile she did for her brother and says, “Yep. Why wouldn’t it be?” She rises to her full height. “Come on. I want to stop at Daisy’s on the way back. I could really use another coffee.”

  She brushes past me, heading for the truck.

  She’s not the only one worried about what that kiss might have done.

  Slice Eleven

  Thea

  Fine, I admit it—I’m avoiding Sully.

  I haven’t shown up to his boat in days. I’m not mad at him for what happened on the beach, though…quite the opposite.

  I’ve always prided myself on my willpower, have always been able to find ways to keep myself under control and away from the things I want that I know are bad for me. Take my whole thing with working at Slice, for example.

  As such, I’m extra pissed at myself for not being able to control my urges and for kissing Sully, breaking one of our rules.

  I’m not hiding because I’m embarrassed, but I am avoiding him because it’s the only thing I can think of to do to keep myself from giving in.

  I know if I spend my nights working next to him, I’ll kiss him again, and if I kiss him again, I won’t want to stop. It’s not just because of the way his lips felt beneath mine, like it was right where they were meant to be, but also because of the way he makes me feel.

  Like I want to leap into the unknown all over again.

  With him.

  I can’t allow my heart to get caught up in that. The pain last time…it was like a thousand tiny incessant stabs to my chest that would flay me open, heal a bit, and then cut me all over again. It fucking sucked.

  So, yeah, I’m a big chickenshit, running away from my problems and from the unknown, but it is what it is. I’ve done it for almost two years now. There’s a chance I’ve missed out on some great things, but I also missed out on a hell of a lot of heartache, and I’d rather feel lonely from time to time than deal with that pain ever again.

  If I have to hide to avoid jumping Sully’s bones, I’ll hide.

  “All right, peanut, I’m heading out.”

  “Dad,” I hiss, lifting myself out from underneath the hood of the car I’m working on. “I told you no calling me peanut at work.”

  “I’m the owner—I can do what I want. Besides, it’s after hours. This doesn’t count as working.”

  I open my mouth to argue but think better of it. It’s a futile effort. Besides, I’m not up to arguing right now. I’m usually all snark and sass, trading barbs, but lately I’m just…blah.

  “Okay, that’s the third time today you’ve bitten back a sarcastic retort.” He leans against the doorjamb. “What gives?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Althea Jane Schwartz.”

  Sighing at his use of my full name, I set my rag down and face him, leaning against the car. “I’m just…preoccupied.”

  “Want to talk about it?”

  Sure, Dad. I’d love to chat about how I kissed my fake boyfriend and now I can’t stop thinking about kissing him again.

  “It’s complicated,” I say instead.

  He shoves off the door, standing tall, chest puffed out. “That new boyfriend of yours we’ve only met once treating you okay?”

  I roll my eyes. “Yes, Dad. Sully’s treating me well.”

  And it’s the truth.

  Sully does treat me well.

  He’s patient, kind, and attentive. Though he says he can’t read me, in the short time we’ve known one another, he’s somehow come to understand me better than anyone else ever has.

  He’s even helping me out when I know putting on a show and conning my family is slowly killing him because of his trauma with his father.

  Yeah, Sully’s good to me. He’s too good to me.

  It’s why I can’t get involved with him beyond the capacity I already have. I’m asking too much of him as it is. I can’t ask for anything else. It’s too big of a risk for us both. I need to step away, need to stop hanging out with him so much to make it easier for everyone when this charade is over.

  “I just…I’m not ready to talk about it, but everything’s fine, okay? Can you trust me on that?”

  My dad studies me, looking for anything that’s going to give away the true turmoil building inside me.

  I must be getting good at lying because he backs down.

  “Okay, but if you need me—for anything—I’m always here, peanut.”

  I smile at the nickname. “I know, and I love you for it.”

  “Good. I’m gonna head home, see what trouble your mom’s getting Frankie and Jonas into with their wedding plans.” He raps his knuckles on the doorframe. “Don’t stay here too much later. I don’t want you wasting your Saturday night at work. Plus, you need rest. You’re working too much lately. You’re going to turn into an old, grumpy man like me if you don’t take a break every now and then.”

  “Dad…”

  “Direct order from owner to employee. Take a break. You hear me?”

  I stand up tall and salute him sarcastically. “Yes, sir.”

  He shakes his head, walking out the door and muttering something about me being a smartass.

  When I hear the front door creak closed, I blow out a breath and turn my attention back to the car I’m working on.

  It’s for an out-of-towner who wants a tune-up before making the trek back to whatever mountain he came from. I promised we’d have it in tip-top shape by eight AM tomorrow, and I just need to finish putting his air filter on and topping off his liquids, then he should be good to go.

  I hear the front door open a few minutes later, and I chuckle.

  “Forget something, old man?” I call out.

  “No.”

  “Holy…” I squeak, jumping around to face the intruder. “Shit! What are you doing here?”

  “I, uh, ran into your dad outside. He let me in,” he says, pointing over his shoulder. “I don’t think he likes me much.”

  I snicker. “He doesn’t like any guy who tries to date me. Not since the last ordeal…” I trail off, but Sully knows I’m referring to my ex.

  He nods like that makes sense as he stands in the doorway with his hands shoved into his pockets, looking as hot as ever. His jeans hug his long legs in just the right way. He wears a plain gray t-shirt like a fucking runway model, and his trusty ball cap is sitting backward atop his head. A five-o’clock shadow covers his jawline, and an ache settles between my legs as I imagine how it would feel sliding across my center.

  I drag my eyes to his, and I’m surprised to find him staring at me so intently. His dark blues look nearly black, and I can’t decide if it’s due to anger, desire, or both.

  Swallowing the lump that’s formed in my throat, I drop my gaze to the floor. “What are you doing here, Sully?” I repeat quietly.

  “I’m here because you’re here.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I miss you.”

  He says it with such certainty, such honesty, and I like that.

  His truth, how real he is.

  I know what I’m getting with him. I trust him.

  But I’ve trusted someone before, and it got me nothing but hurt. That’s why I need to keep Sully at arm’s length.

  “You shouldn’t.”

  His eyes harden. “Well that’s too fucking bad, Thea. I do.”

  Suddenly he’s standing before me, having crossed the room in a flash. He’s so close I could reach out and touch him, but I don’t.

  Just like I don’t take a step back when he eliminates the distance between us, even though I know I should.

  His chest brushes against me, his hand coming up to cup my face. He caresses my cheek, coaxing my head back until I’m looking up at him.

  “I miss talking to you,” he continues, eyes boring into me. “Having you around. Hearing you laugh
or demand sweets. I miss the smell of apples and vanilla lingering when you leave even though I don’t want you to go.” His gaze lingers on my lips. “You kissed me.”

  I jut my chin out, not backing down. “I did.”

  “You broke a rule.”

  “I did,” I say again.

  “I think it’s only fair that I break one too, then.”

  Without warning, he swoops me off my feet and I wrap my legs around him on instinct.

  He walks us backward until my ass is sitting on top of the workbench. He settles between my legs and heat seeps into my core, heart hammering with anticipation.

  One hand slides into my hair, which is pulled back with a clip—my go-to hairstyle when I’m working—and he pulls the piece of plastic free.

  “That’s better,” he mutters, massaging his fingers through my short locks, dropping his mouth to a spot right beside my lips.

  He places soft, slow kisses along my jaw, all the way up to just under my earlobe, then back to the edge of my lips. He repeats his actions on the other side, and I swear his lips are made of fire with the way my skin is burning beneath his touch.

  “Sully…” I breathe. I don’t want to break the spell, but I know I need to. “The rules…”

  “Fuck the rules,” he says, voice rough and strong and sure. “The rules are horseshit.”

  “But we need them. I need them. We shouldn’t be doing this. Lines are going to blur…”

  “Then let’s blur them together.” He runs his nose along my neck. “You smell so fucking good, so goddamn sweet.” He breathes me in. “I bet you taste sweet too.”

  His words vibrate against me, going straight between my legs where I am dying to feel him.

  As if he can hear my thoughts, he drags his hand up to the zipper on my coveralls and inches it down.

  I let him.

  “What are you doing to me?” I whisper, letting my eyes fall shut, falling into his touch.

  He pulls his lips from my throat, and I can feel him watching me.

  I peel my eyes back open, meeting his heated gaze.

  “I’m going to kiss you,” he tells me. “And then I’m going to fuck you.”

  I swallow back my moan.

  “Right here on this workbench. I’m going to fuck you. Hard. Then I’m going to take you back to my place, and I’ll do it again. And again.” His grip tightens on my hair, just enough for it to hurt in all the right ways. “We’re not going to think about rules or what it means. It’s just sex, just relieving the tension. We’re gonna leap, and we’re not going to overthink the fall.”

  I blink up at him, my body humming with need.

  Not with want.

  No, I need Sully, need to feel his mouth on me, his hands. I need to feel him inside me.

  I need to feel him more than I’m scared of what this is going to mean in the morning, what it’ll mean later. We’re adults. We can have casual sex. And if we can’t, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.

  I can’t keep denying myself what I want.

  He loosens his grip, massaging away the sting he created from his hold. “What do you say, Thea?” he whispers in my ear. “You in?”

  I gulp…and leap.

  Slice Twelve

  Sully

  I push all doubts racing through my mind away and vow to not ruin this by overthinking it.

  It feels too damn good for it to be wrong.

  Placing kisses all along her neck, I slide my hand inside her coveralls, pushing them off her shoulders and down her arms with ease.

  I trace my fingertips back up the bare skin, and though my touch is simple, I know she feels it everywhere, goose bumps breaking out across her flesh. Her nipples poke through her thin shirt, and I reach for one, pinching the hardened bud between my thumb and forefinger hard.

  I want to see how far I can push her.

  She gasps at the pain, her sounds quickly subsiding into pants. I do it again, this time applying more pressure, and she arches into my touch, itching for more.

  I want more too.

  I kiss a path down her chest, straight to her nipple, and close my mouth around it. She lets out another soft gasp at the contact. I suck and nip, adding more pressure with each assault. I take my time licking at her breasts, loving how heavy they feel in my palms.

  I play with her until I can’t stand it, needing to feel her bare.

  As I grab the hem of her thin gray tank, she lifts her arms, letting me pull it over her head, tossing it I don’t even know where.

  She sits before me in nothing but her coveralls around her waist and a bra I have a distinct feeling isn’t her I’m about to fuck bra.

  And yet, she looks fucking incredible.

  There’s a slight hesitation as she sits so exposed in front of me, but I won’t have it.

  She needs to feel like the goddess she is.

  “You’re perfect, Thea,” I tell her, my hands going to her boots. I untie them, then throw them off to the side, not giving a shit where they land. “But I bet you’d look better in nothing at all.”

  I haul her off the workbench and set her on her feet, hands squeezing at her hips because I almost don’t want to let her go, fearful she’s going to wise up and realize this is a bad decision.

  “Take it off.”

  Her pupils dilate at my command, and she rubs her legs together like she can’t stand the ache forming there.

  Who would have guessed Thea has a submissive side?

  I step away from her, watching with rapt attention as she reaches behind her and unhooks her bra. She tosses the material to the floor, then puts her hands on her hips, pushing her coveralls down to her ankles and stepping out of them.

  She stands before me in nothing but her underwear, and my balls start to grow heavy with anticipation of what’s to come.

  “All of it.”

  Fuck. My voice sounds rough even to my ears.

  She hooks her fingers into the waistband of her panties and slides them down her legs…slowly, like the torturous wench she is, and I watch the fabric shift inch by fucking inch like the masochist I am.

  “Now you undress,” she tells me.

  I smirk. “Oh, Thea. That’s not how this works.”

  I stalk toward her, pressing into her until her back hits the bench. I ghost my mouth along her cheek until my lips are at her ear as I skate my hand up her body, pausing to pinch her still-hard-as-hell nipples. I crawl my fingers up her body until I’m curling my hand over her throat, applying just enough pressure to let her know who’s in charge.

  “I’ll be the one calling the shots here. You’ll listen. Got it?”

  I have a feeling she’s not normally one to be pushed around in bed, but something is sparking to life inside her, and she acknowledges my command with a nod.

  I slide my hand around the back of her head, wrapping her short locks around my fist and pulling her in for a hot, hard kiss. Sweeping my tongue into her mouth, swirling it around hers, I can feel her knees begin to tremble, and I know she’s longing for more.

  I glide my free hand down her body in soft, unhurried touches. I know it’s killing her, her heart pounding in her chest as it moves rapidly up and down…and up and down again. She wants me to hurry, but I won’t give in that easily.

  I brush my fingers over her mound, and she arches onto her tiptoes, throbbing for more.

  I pull my hand away and she groans, her heels falling back down to the ground.

  With a snicker, I return my teasing hand.

  Slowly, I inch downward, sliding one finger along her heat and oh fucking hell. She’s so soft…so needy. I bet her pussy tastes just as good as the rest of her.

  Unable to resist a taste, I bring my finger to my mouth, licking her off my digit as she watches with wide, lust-filled eyes.

  I slip my hand back between her legs, brushing a finger over her sensitive clit. She nearly falls to her knees, and I have to hold her to me tighter to keep her from falling.

  Wanting to
watch as I enter for the first time, I pull my mouth from hers, resting my head against her temple but keeping my grip on her hair.

  I look down as I rub a finger over her clit in small, agonizing circles. I can feel the precum starting to leak from my cock, and a part of me wants to toss her onto the bench and fuck her senseless, but the other wants to make her sweat a little longer.

  “P-Please,” she whimpers.

  I give in, pressing a single digit inside, and she sighs with relief.

  “You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?” she asks, her voice dry and cracked as I stroke her gently.

  “Maybe.”

  “Sully—”

  She cries out when I pull my finger from her core, but I silence her with a kiss as I lift her back onto the bench. She curls her arms around my neck, pulling me close.

  I don’t break our connection as I work to undo my jeans, pushing my pants down just enough to free my aching cock. Wrapping my hand around my length, I stroke myself a few times, rubbing the precum around my head.

  Wrenching my mouth from hers, I drag Thea to the edge of the bench and pull her arms from around me, laying them flat against the bench on either side of her legs.

  “Those stay there. No matter how hard I’m fucking you, they stay.”

  She looks up at me, her eyes glassy with want, and she nods.

  I step into her, and she wraps her legs loosely around my waist as I grip my cock and press against her eager pussy.

  She tosses her head back as the head slips in, but I can’t look away, wrapping my hands around her waist, holding her steady and watching as she takes me bit by gradual fucking bit.

  I don’t rush it, relishing the feeling of her warmth.

  And she’s really fucking warm.

  Almost too warm.

  “Fucking fuck. Shit. Fuck,” I curse, stopping myself from pressing into her any farther before I lose control.

  “What?” she grits out, sounding just as stressed as I am. “What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t have a condom.”

  “Shit. Fuck,” she echoes.

  “I know. I wasn’t exactly planning this.”

  None of this was planned—not meeting her at Slice, not running into her a second time, and certainly not getting roped into fake-dating her.