Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 55599 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 278(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55599 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 278(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
His hands stop around my hips, gripping them as he puts his face between my thighs, his warm breath on my skin forcing the air from my chest. I press my forearms to the mattress and arch my back up, trying to get closer to his mouth.
I can’t seem to talk in this dream. If I could, I’d beg him for more. I’ve never felt as much as I do right now. As much...what, I’m not even sure. I can’t see clearly and I can’t hear a thing, but what I feel is magnified many times.
The thought of him taking his hands away makes me ache. Even if this is all I get, I want him to stay. I want this closeness.
I’m awake. I breathe slowly and deeply, trying to sink back into the dream.
No luck. I’m awake now, though still aroused. The urge to go to the bathroom forces me to toss the covers aside and get out of bed.
We’re in Dallas, ending the road trip that started in Chicago. The fallout from Abigail’s social media posts has been minimal because several witnesses who were in the deli came forward to defend Dane and say that she was rude to him. Still, it’s felt like a grind to me. I don’t like the way the Mammoths’ PR people roll their eyes over Dane and assume the worst.
Just because he’s been a pain in the ass in the past doesn’t mean he never gets the benefit of the doubt. I think the entire PR department needs a dressing down about who brings in the money that pays their salaries.
That’s not my concern, though. I slowly make my way to the bathroom, running my hand along the TV stand since I can’t see anything.
Dane and I have an ongoing disagreement about leaving the bathroom light on with the door cracked. I say it keeps us from tripping over things in the middle of the night when we’re in a different room every time and need to use the bathroom; he says he can’t sleep unless there’s complete darkness. So we go back and forth.
My big toe hits a desk leg. I cringe and mutter, “Fuck you, Dane.”
I’ve had a bruise somewhere on my body since I started this gig as his overseer. I run into chairs, desks, tables and, worst of all—the legs on bed frames. Those things hurt my toes like a mother. I lost a toenail to one.
I go into the bathroom and pee, wondering why I can’t have erotic dreams about a sensible man like Lucas, who would probably have no problem with leaving the bathroom light on. After I wash my hands, I of course leave the light on and crack the door, finding my way back to bed without issue.
When I glance over at Dane’s bed, the covers are pushed back and it’s empty. I do a double take.
Empty.
What the actual fuck?
I walk over to the lights on the wall between the beds and switch one on, verifying that he is, in fact, not in bed.
I turn into that red guy from Inside Out, flames shooting from my head. I’m going to end his life with my bare hands.
When I pick up my cell phone to make sure there’s not a text about an emergency with one of his teammates, my hand is shaking. He could have woken me up if there was an emergency.
There’s no text.
I get dressed, not knowing where I’m going or how I’ll get there. All his talk about my cute nose and how beautiful I am. If I find him with another woman, I’m going to...
My eyes well with tears and I laugh bitterly. Not that. I will not cry if I find him with another woman.
Get it together, Josie. Do your job.
That’s the problem. I no longer know where my job ends and my personal feelings begin. I do know I’m on such thin ice with Jane that if Dane gets any bad publicity, I could easily get fired.
I can’t afford that. Whether or not I deserve to be at the top of my aunt’s shit list, I am.
The Mammoths players often hang out in hotel lobbies or bars when they return after going out from games. I’ll go down and see if anyone has seen or heard from Dane.
I check the time on my phone on the way out the door, 2:48 a.m. That’s very late for anyone to be hanging out, but it’s the only idea I have. If I don’t find anyone, I’ll start blowing Dane’s phone up with texts.
If he’s not on the team plane in the morning for the flight home, it’ll be both of our asses.
When the elevator doors open into the hotel lobby, a man mopping the marble floor steps aside to make way for me.