Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 135955 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135955 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
The tropical-citrusy scent floats between us, and I place my lips on her neck, inhaling deep. “You smell delicious.”
“It’s a combination of my moisturizer and body lotion. One has sunscreen and the other is coconut-lime…” She rambles on, and I grin at her nervousness.
“You freaking out?”
She takes a deep breath, squeezes my waist, and nods slowly. “I don’t know how to do this.”
“This?” I lean back into her line of sight.
“This. You and me. For all those months, families and friends always surrounded our relationship. Pool parties, family weekends, drinking, dancing, nights at Tom’s. Many of those times, it was forced proximity because of our friends.”
I know exactly where she’s going, but bite my tongue to give her the time to get it out.
“Yesterday, I come home to you cooking in my kitchen, picking out movies, carrying me to bed, and waking up draped across you. Now, you’re walking around half-naked, looking incredibly hot, cooking again.”
“And?”
“And your personal items are organized in my bathroom like it’s the most natural thing in the world.”
“And that’s freaking you out?”
“I haven’t shared a bathroom with a guy since my gross brothers growing up. Mom finally took pity on me and had Dad build an addition when I was fourteen. Although, now that I’m older, I assume that had a lot more to do with what boys do in the bathroom during their teenage years.”
“Hate to tell you, babe, but that doesn’t end in the teenage years.”
Her eyes go hazy and a smile tugs at her lips.
I tip her face upward and bring her mouth close, keeping her gaze. “I promise sharing a bathroom with me will be a much better experience.”
“Okay,” she breathes out.
“And at the risk of twisting this reflective mood you got going, I’ve never seen so much shit in a bathroom before.”
She scrunches her nose and narrows her eyes. “It’s not shit. All of it has a specific purpose.”
“Flashbacks of the one time I shopped at Ulta haunt me.”
“You’ve been into an Ulta?”
“It was the only place that carried what Mom wanted for Christmas.”
“That’s sweet.”
“Never again. Order that shit online now.”
A little giggle escapes before she presses her lips tight.
“Baby, I’ve seen you in all stages. Dressed like a fucking supermodel for a night with the girls, sporting your jeans and tight ass shirts at Tom’s, and laying by the pool, prancing and torturing me with those swatches of cloth you call bathing suits. But nothing compares to right now. Trust me when I say you don’t need any of that stuff. You’re breathtaking.”
“Stop it, you have to stop it! I can’t handle this tender-hearted, heartfelt, sweet side.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
She huffs.
“We have something else to talk about.”
“Jeez, you are like a vault for six months, and in one night, the damn breaks and you can’t shut up.”
My mouth crashes down on hers, my tongue diving inside and circling hers roughly. She whimpers down my throat, gripping my waist and giving me control. I cup the back of her head, tilting for deeper access.
The scent of her lotion on her skin, the tangy taste of spearmint on her tongue, and the way she’s giving me all control sets my insides on fire. My cock is hard again, straining against my shorts. I should slow down, savor this, but the overwhelming need to have this woman makes me a greedy bastard.
Her grip on my waist tightens, and she sucks in a shaky breath.
Slowly, I break away but don’t move back.
“Glad to know you don’t disappoint, baby. Waited all week for the chance to show you what it does to me when you throw your attitude.”
“I’m impressed with your self-control.” Her usual sarcasm is blanketed with an airy tone.
“In two weeks, we’re going to Chicago for Dad’s birthday.”
She tenses. “Who’s we?”
“Do I need to answer that?”
“You mean me and you? Are you inviting me or telling me?”
I consider it a rhetorical point, so I explain the rest. “Plans are to stay at their place. But if you’re uncomfortable, I’ll book a hotel.”
“I understand taking a date to the party. Harley said Cindy’s gone all out. But you want your date to stay at your parents’? Isn’t that a little promiscuous?”
“It’s only promiscuous if you can’t control yourself. Which I won’t mind at all.”
“Major, being your date to this event, with all it means to your family, is a big deal.”
“I think we both know you’re a lot more than my date. And to me, that’s a much bigger deal than an overpriced meal and birthday cake.”
“I’m being serious.”
“So am I.”
“What if this isn’t what we think, and it doesn’t work—”
My chest constricts and I grasp the back of her head tighter. “This is anything but casual. Everyone seems to know it but you. Mom is beside herself you’re coming. She adores you. Dad and the twins have given me shit all week about wasting my time. You think I finally get my shot and it will not work? Bullshit. You’re mine, Jewls.”