Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 61100 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61100 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a man so attractive. Certainly, my insides have never reacted this way.
“I’ll have mine,” the man says, reaching a hand out toward me.
I’m confused for a long moment, until I remember that I’m holding a delivery. Suddenly, it feels much too warm in here for anyone to want hot coffee.
“I … don’t want to … intrude.” I’m stammering, and I’m not sure if it’s the woman’s partial nudity or the man’s complete magnificence that has me flustered. My eyes flicker over to the woman, who’s staring back at me with an assessing look. Both of her hands are free, but she doesn’t make any effort to cover herself.
The tattoo artist is eyeing me like he’s imagining my bare chest, and my nipples harden instantly, despite the fact that I’m overheated. “Macchiato,” he says, his deep voice perfectly suited to his masculine looks.
With a shaky hand, I manage to extract the cup that’s his without dropping the entire carrier, but I nearly fumble it when I move closer to him, his hand touches mine, and sparks shoot up my arm. His long fingers are also covered with intricate markings.
“Is one of these yours?” I ask the woman. I need to avoid looking at the man or I might combust.
She shakes her head, her dark-lined eyes not blinking. “I ordered a muffin, though.”
“I’ll take it.” The man’s tone is impossibly gruff. “She’ll have to wait for her break.” Again, his fingers touch mine, and again, my body’s response is strong and immediate. Parts of me tingle that haven’t tingled in many months.
Even after he takes the bag, he continues to stare at me, and I’m left not knowing what to do. I swear his eyes are removing my clothing, item by item, and I find that I don’t want to stop him.
He’s not giving me any directions for the rest of the coffee orders, so I assume I’m meant to wander around and find the other recipients.
“Okay … well … hope you enjoy it,” I say, slowly backing up even though I feel like he’s got me trapped in a tractor beam. “Thank you for your order.”
The man says nothing, and he doesn’t return my smile. He’s exactly the intimidating type of man I imagined when I pulled into the lot, and he’s not at all friendly, so why am I reluctant to leave him?
2
HUTCH
The melodic sound of a woman’s voice catches my ear.
“Excuse me a minute,” I tell the man in my chair whose leg I’m tattooing. Turning, I find a beautiful blonde, so delicate and pretty that I have to blink. We get a lot of women in here, but none as lovely as her.
“I’m here with coffee from Island Java,” she says, her voice light and sweet like spun sugar. She looks out of place here, as if a fawn has just wandered in from the forest.
“We’ve got the two black coffees.” I tilt my head toward my client, never taking my eyes off of the young woman, who’s nervously smiling back at me.
She removes a cup and hands me the cardboard tray with the two remaining coffees. “Are the pastries yours too?”
I shake my head and then lean out toward the hall. “Zipper? Mace?”
The woman’s eyes go wide, but she keeps smiling like it’s her job. After I hand one of the cups to my client, I take a sip from the other, the nutty bitterness exactly what I’ve been craving. “That hits the spot.”
“I’m glad you like it,” the woman says, her shoulders relaxing. She turns to look in the direction of Mace and Zipper’s stalls, and it occurs to me that I’m not ready for her to leave.
“I didn’t realize you offered delivery directly,” I say. “We’ve been using a service or doing pickup, but your shop owner mentioned it the last time I was in.”
“That’s my brother, Patrick,” the woman says, her thick dark lashes fluttering as she casts her eyes downward.
Her golden hair falls to her shoulders in waves, and her plump lips are a natural shade of pink that makes me wonder what shade other parts of her body might be.
“And you do the deliveries?”
“Among other things. We don’t actually make a lot of deliveries anymore, because of those other services you mentioned, but it’s something we still offer to businesses who place bigger orders.”
If she’s the one making the deliveries, I’m going to start ordering every day.
I realize that I’ve seen her before, but only from the back. Once, when I was at the coffee shop, I noticed a woman with blonde hair working at the back counter, but I didn’t get the chance to see her beautiful face. If I had, I’d have been returning to the shop regularly.
“What’s your name?” I ask her.
“Rose.”
It’s the perfect name for her. I’ll bet she smells great, too.