Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 74211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
We just were.
Chapter Forty-Three
Melissa
“I can’t believe you’ve never been here before.”
“Wow. I can’t believe it, either,” I said, looking around the diner in wonder. It was right out of the 1950s, in the best possible way, with black and white tiles and brightly colored Formica booths and counter. They even had a little jukebox at every table. Cute didn’t even begin to cover it. "We didn't really get into town much. This place is great."
"Just wait until you taste the food," Nick said with a grin. He seemed more relaxed now. Warmer. Less . . . I guess less like he was on the verge of ripping my clothes off all the time. Nick was definitely a man and he definitely looked at me like a woman. Not a little girl. Not a chubby girl with a hopeless crush. He looked at me like I was pretty. Desirable, even. Maybe even like I was . . . beautiful.
It was hard to miss the way his eyes constantly skimmed my body. I felt a newfound sense of power. I did that to him. Me. The only virgin in the entire dorm. I hadn’t understood that he really wanted me until last night. But now I did. I felt different. Less like a girl and more like a woman.
I blushed, remembering how I’d taken him into my mouth in the shower. He was staring at my lips as I took a sip of coffee. Maybe . . . maybe he was thinking about that too?
“Hi, I’m Dana. Can I take your order?”
I smiled at the pretty waitress. I noticed that Nick was polite but not drooling over her, even though she was gorgeous. He was looking at the menu and at me.
“She’ll have the Belgian Waffles with strawberries and vanilla ice cream, a side of bacon. I’ll have the ‘everything’ omelet with hash browns. Sound good?” he asked me. I nodded slowly. He hadn’t been joking, apparently. He wanted to fatten me up.
“Desert for breakfast?”
“Why not?” he asked, his eyes serious.
“Nobody has ever ordered for me before.”
He nodded as if he knew that.
“Next time, you should try the blueberry pancakes with a side of sausage. I just wanted you to have something extra delicious this morning. Since I already did.”
My mouth opened. I thought he meant . . . Nick grinned and there was something just . . . filthy in his smile. Filthy, but sweet. He did mean what he’d done to me with his mouth on the rooftop. I looked away, feeling shy again.
“Is that Drake?” I asked with a frown, noticing a couple of bikers hanging in the parking lot. Drake was leaning on a brand-new SUV. It was very elegant, with a medium-grey finish and a tan leather interior. “I thought he was looking after the horses.”
“Oh, he is. He just brought over my ride.”
“That’s . . . yours? I thought you only had a motorcycle.”
“I did only have a motorcycle. I picked up the SUV yesterday. Been meaning to get it for a while.”
“Oh. I didn’t know you believed in four-wheeled vehicles,” I joked.
He cracked a smile and took a sip of his coffee.
“I didn’t. I didn’t need one until now.”
I wasn’t quite sure what he was getting at so I gave him a small shrug and finished my coffee. It was good. I needed it today.
I hadn’t exactly gotten a lot of sleep the night before.
“I can’t have you on the back of my bike all the time.”
“What? Why not?” That familiar fear that Nick wouldn’t want to be with me reared its ugly head. I was the duckling, not the swan. But Nick didn’t see me that way, I reminded myself.
“Because it’s not safe in bad weather. And I like it when you wear skirts,” he said, sounding distinctively wolfish.
“Oh,” I said, chewing on my lip. “You didn’t have to do that for me.”
He sighed and shook his head.
“I did have to do it for you. And I did it for me. I want more out of life. I want to fill a house and a home. I want a family.”
“Oh,” I said, this time with a completely different tone. Was he saying that he wanted those things with me?
“I know you’re still young, but I have to tell you, that is what I want from you.”
I nearly spat out my coffee. He did mean me. He wanted . . .
“You want . . . babies? With me?”
He leaned back in his seat and gave me a lazy smile.
“As soon as you’re ready. I want as many as you want. Probably more.”
“But you’re . . .” I was going to say a badass. I didn’t expect someone who looked like him to be all about being a dad.
“I’m what?” he asked softly. Was I imagining it, or was he holding his breath? “Too old for you? Too counter-culture? What, Melissa?”