Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 60018 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 300(@200wpm)___ 240(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60018 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 300(@200wpm)___ 240(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
More confused than ever, she lowered herself onto his lap. Though she couldn’t miss the bulge in his black track pants, she also knew that wasn’t why he’d called her over. It was just a side benefit, she mused, and wriggled her ass until his erection nestled between her thighs, leaning her in a more arousing position.
“Behave,” he chided. “Now look at me.”
She turned her head to face him. Their noses were inches apart and she wanted to taste the maple syrup she smelled on his mouth.
“Why is this the first I’m hearing about this poetry night of yours?”
She blinked. The question might be easy on the surface but the answer forced her to delve deeper. “Because I don’t normally share personal things with anyone,” she whispered.
He nodded, his lips curving upward in a pleased smiled. “And why are you telling me now?”
She wrinkled her nose, confused. “Because I need you to go with me tonight in case Lance is prowling around.” Wasn’t that obvious?
“Why else?” he asked, taking her arms and looping them around his neck.
She squirmed at their intimate position which only served to rub his cock against her sex, the wetness between her thighs growing the longer she sat on his lap.
“Raven?” he asked.
“Hmm?” She’d lost all train of thought.
“Why else did you tell me about tonight?”
She stared, lost in the beauty of his handsome features. Could a man be beautiful? She hadn’t thought so until she met Remy. “Because I wanted to share a part of my life with you.”
The admission shocked her not only because she’d never have told him if he hadn’t had her feeling so pliant and safe in his arms. But also because she hadn’t realized that truth herself.
“Exactly.” That short acknowledgment told her how pleased he was with her answer.
“What are you, like a horse whisperer pulling answers out of me?” she asked.
He shook his head. “I’m a Raven whisperer and I will take you where you want to go tonight as long as you promise me one thing.”
“What’s that?” she asked, wariness returning.
He ran his knuckles over her cheek. “That you’ll stay close to me at all times.”
She pursed her lips, knowing he’d find out tonight his request wouldn’t be all that easy to do. But since she knew she’d be safe, she was able to make the promise. “I will,” she murmured.
Without warning, he shifted her in his lap and suddenly he was standing. She wrapped her legs around his waist, anchoring herself to him. “What are you doing?” she asked.
“We’re still friends with benefits, right?”
She nodded, her aching sex keenly aware of which benefit she desired at the moment.
He smiled and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “Good. Then we’re going to exercise some of those benefits. What do you think about spending the day in bed before we have to go out later?”
“Works for me.”
A few seconds later, he was tossing her onto the bed and their afternoon began.
Chapter Ten
Agreeing to take Raven tonight went against Remy’s better judgment. But from the second she’d said the weekly event was important to her, he knew he’d give in. Which explained why he was now in a way-too-crowded coffee shop, listening to people read their personal words. Some were poems, others were short stories. Most sounded somewhat autobiographical, even if the meaning was hidden beneath lyrical prose.
Raven had omitted how busy this place would be tonight, no doubt because if she’d told him, he never would have let her come. Keeping her close wasn’t easy considering how many people she knew that wanted to corner her and have a word.
For a woman who talked a good game about keeping people at a distance, there was a part of her who liked making friends and discussing things they had in common. When others finished their performance, she clapped and whistled, whether she knew them or not, and made it a point to give them validation during the break.
Despite Remy’s unease about her brother stalking her, he enjoyed watching Raven in her element and wondered if she knew how easily she fit in. How much the individuals in this eclectic group liked her and valued her opinion. Seeing this side of her as opposed to the stiff, keep-to-herself woman at work, was a revelation and showed him who she could be, if only Lance wasn’t around to terrorize her.
“Our next presenter is Raven Walsh,” Dennis, the manager of the shop, said into the mike.
The Raven who walked up to the makeshift stage wasn’t the same woman he employed. At work, she was a no-nonsense bar manager who wore tight jeans and The Back Door T-shirt uniform, hair up in a ponytail. He’d seen her do elegant at Zach and Hadley’s wedding. And when she’d dressed tonight, he heard her squeal with excitement from where he was watching television in the den. When he’d popped his head into the bedroom and asked what was up, she’d shooed him away.