Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 93301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
I laughed as he strode with long legs past the dining room table toward the stairs at the front of his house. He had a beautiful home, not super stylish or anything, but immaculately clean and full of warmth. Briefly I wondered if Xander would eventually have a home and family like this, but when I looked at him sitting at the dining room table, I experienced such a fierce longing for him that my chest ached. I was jealous of this future wife, this woman who would get everything.
His sunny afternoons on the boat and his rainy days on the couch. His lazy smile over coffee in the morning. His Denver omelets and sizzling bacon. His Sunday dinners with extended family. His boyish laugh and his possessive growl. His wide, strong palms on her stomach. His beard prickly on her thighs. His voice deep and gravelly in the dark. His camera focused on her as she luxuriated in warm white sheets on a soft Sunday morning. His time. His attention. His protection.
I had to stop there. I wasn’t normally a jealous person and didn’t particularly enjoy envying the life of some woman I didn’t even know—for fuck’s sake, even Xander didn’t know who she was. She wasn’t even real yet.
But she would be. Someday, she would be.
The feeling stayed with me, and it put me on edge. By the time we got home, it had driven a wedge of tension between us. I’d been silent the entire drive back, and now we were in the bedroom. Door closed. Light on. Shades down.
I toed off my sneakers and kicked them aside, frustrated I hadn’t been able to wear my boots in over a week. I removed my earrings and bracelets and tossed them in my suitcase, not even bothering with my jewelry bag.
“Are you okay?” Xander asked from behind me.
“I’m fine,” I said. “Just a little tired.” It wasn’t like I could tell him that among other bullshit problems I had at the moment, I didn’t like the thought of sharing him with his future wife. That was insane. What Xander and I had was a vacation fling, not a forever thing. It would never work. Our lives had crossed like railroad tracks, but each train was heading in a different direction.
“Their house can be a lot, with two kids.” His tone was apologetic.
“No, no, it’s not that at all—the kids are adorable. Austin is so nice, and Veronica is wonderful.” I turned to find him leaning back against the door, sizing me up. “I think I’m still aggravated from that phone call with Duke. And the fact that Wags thinks I should just do what the producers want. And of course, the producers will do whatever Duke tells them to, because he’s the big name.” I threw my hands up in surrender. “It’s the same old, same old. The men are in charge.”
“I’m sorry. I wish there was something I could do.”
“You don’t know what it’s like.” I didn’t want to take it out on him, but I couldn’t stop the words from spilling from my mouth as I stood there studying him. His shoulders were like mountains. His legs like Sequoias, his chest like the side of a cliff. “You’re big and strong. You’re always in control. You have no idea what it’s like to feel powerless.”
He studied me for a moment, then pushed off the door and took a few steps forward, so we were chest to chest.
Then he dropped to his knees. “Show me.”
Right there on the bedroom floor, he went down on his knees for me.
“What?” I whispered.
“Show me,” he urged, and his voice was so deep and his shoulders so wide and his height so excessive that even on his knees, he hardly seemed any less powerful.
But it was enough.
He understood.
Rushing forward, I cupped his bearded face in my hands and pressed my lips to his. Penetrated his mouth with my tongue. Controlled the angle and depth and heat of the kiss in a way I couldn’t have done from beneath him. Need for him surged within me, and I thought maybe my plan had backfired, because I felt even more helpless than I had before.
Falling to my knees in front of him, I pulled his black T-shirt over his head and unbuckled his belt, unbuttoned his jeans, and tugged down the zipper. After wriggling one leg out of my panties, I left them hooked around one ankle and pushed against Xander’s chest. He lay back on his elbows obligingly, and I straddled his legs, dragging his jeans down to his thighs. Unbound, his cock sprang free and I took it in my hand, slipping it through my fist a few times. With the light on, I could see how different parts of his body reacted to my touch. I liked the way his abs flexed and his eyes darkened and his chest rose and fell in quick succession. I liked the way his hands curled into fists. I liked the tension in his jaw. I liked the deep purple color of his erection as it thickened and lengthened further in my hand.