Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 63068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 315(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 315(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
“Your turn,” she said, smoothing back her dripping wet hair. “Tell me something.”
“I haven’t kissed as many women as you probably think I have.”
“How many?”
I considered. “Maybe eight?”
She laughed. “You mean seventy-eight?”
“I’m serious.”
She opened her mouth to say something, but hesitated a moment too long and cleared her throat. “Are you glad you came here? If you could do it over again, would you make the same choice?”
“Yes to both. What about you?”
“I think I’d do it again. I knew when I agreed to it that this would be about more than trying to win the money. Just getting the experience and all. But I didn’t truly get what that meant until I lived it. I won’t take small things like bathrooms and restaurants for granted anymore.” She yawned and covered her mouth with her hand. “I don’t know why I’m sleepy. I slept so much today.”
“Why don’t you lie down? I’ve got an idea.”
I took the tarp we’d tried to use as a blanket and wove some twine we’d gotten with our supplies into the grommets at the corners, then tied the twine to the four posts I’d used as supports for the shelter. When I put the tarp at an angle, it did a decent job of deflecting the rain.
“Move to the middle,” I told Lauren. “That’s where it’s driest.”
She scooted over to the center of the shelter. “What about you?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Archer, we can share the middle.”
After our kiss earlier, there was no way I could be that close to her and not go out of my mind. I tried to think of a reason to decline, but I came up empty. Why would anyone prefer to get rained on if they could be dry?
I stretched out next to her, hands at my sides and eyes on the tarp. Though I could have used a couple more shots of whiskey, I closed my eyes instead, willing sleep to come, but doubting it would.
When I woke up, the rain had stopped. I blinked a couple of times and looked over at the spot Linda and Nutter filmed from when we were sleeping. It was empty. That meant it was between one and five in the morning, our only camera-free time.
Lauren was snuggled against my side, her leg trapped between mine and her arm draped across my stomach. Her head was resting against the floor. I moved my arm, hoping to get it beneath her neck without waking her up.
Slowly. I had to move very slowly. I got my arm around her, but as soon as I tried to lift her head onto my arm, she stirred.
“Hmm.” She opened her eyes. “Hey.”
“Sorry. I was trying to get your head off the floor.”
I saw awareness dawn on her face in the moonlight. She realized her arm was on my chest and her leg was between mine. When she went to move her leg away, I put my palm on her thigh to stop her.
“You don’t have to move, Lo.”
Having her this close was like being on the brink of heaven and hell, but I didn’t want it to end. I reached up to cup her cheek, and she leaned into my touch. I rubbed my thumb over her cheek and when she closed her eyes, her lashes brushed lightly against my skin.
When I ran my hand down and traced a finger over her lips, she inhaled deep enough that I could feel her chest rise against my side.
This wasn’t come stranger; it was Lauren, the only woman in the world I knew so well we didn’t need words to communicate. I ran my hand down her to her chin, to her neck, and then to her chest. Her hand found my thigh, pushing up beneath the hem of one leg of my swim trunks.
She got as far as she could, her hand brushing my erection through the fabric, and then she moved. In an instant, she was between my legs, tugging on the waistband of my shorts.
I sat up and reached for her, our mouths crashing together frantically. She moaned softly as I gently tugged her lower lip between my teeth, her hands still working to get my swim trunks off.
I untied her bikini top and tossed the scrap of fabric aside, immediately bringing my mouth to one of her nipples to lick and suck it.
“Oh my god.” She breathed the words and they flowed into every nerve ending of my body.
Our years apart made every touch feel brand new and achingly familiar at the same time.
We’d learned the steps to this dance together, but we knew it better now. The clumsy teenager who had marveled at every inch of her body was now a stronger, wiser man who knew the pain of losing her.
She put her hands in my hair, pulling as she kissed me like her survival depended on it. I tugged at her bikini bottoms, but with her legs wrapped around my waist, I had no hope of getting them off.