Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 111048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 555(@200wpm)___ 444(@250wpm)___ 370(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 555(@200wpm)___ 444(@250wpm)___ 370(@300wpm)
“Dirty Pictionary!” she announced. Ash tensed next to me, and I wasn’t surprised to see his cheeks go bright with color. I almost felt sorry for him because he seemed to be one of those poor souls whose flushed skin was like a barometer for their emotions.
Almost.
But not quite.
Because he was adorable as fuck when he got all flustered and nervous.
He turned his wide eyes to me and whispered, “What the hell does that mean? I thought we were playing poker or Monopoly or something.”
Emily climbed across a giant ottoman to hand Ash a fat marker. “No, silly. We play the fun stuff. Cards Against Humanity, Dirty Pictionary, Naked Charades…”
“Naked Charades?” Ash croaked. “I’m going to need something stronger than beer.”
I laughed and leaned my shoulder into him. “Don’t worry, Valentine. I’ll protect your virtue.”
He mock-glared at me. “Yeah, right. That’s like the cat protecting the mouse.”
God, I couldn’t get enough of this Ash. The one who wasn’t afraid to let his snark show when he was feeling comfortable. I could only imagine how easily he’d fit in with Bennett and Xander.
Even the thought of this man at my side as we spent time with the men I considered family had me holding Ash’s gaze as he fiddled with the marker in his hand. He looked at me questioningly and I just shook my head. If I told him what I was thinking, he’d likely turn as red as a fire hydrant and run screaming from the room.
I kind of wondered why I wasn’t running screaming from the room.
I couldn’t resist letting my fingers trail over his lower jawline. It wasn’t until the room fell unnaturally silent that I realized Ash and I had become the center of attention. Not surprisingly, Ash ducked his head, and I chuckled at the sight of pink splotches appearing on his cheeks and neck.
“Are we doing this or what?” I said to Emily.
She winked at me and then started spouting off the rules. The game started off with some non-dirty warm-ups. Emily’s friend Roger drew an exaggerated Eiffel Tower which, of course, everyone thought was an erection.
“Well, it really is an erection if you’re speaking technically,” Emily’s boyfriend Lamont joked.
By the time the good shit started coming, most of us had gotten comfortably tipsy and were laughing loudly at every suggestion. Finally, it was Ash’s turn to draw. We were on the same team so I would have to guess his attempts. When the timer started, he immediately began with a drawing of a dog.
“Doggie style!” I blurted.
Ash blushed and shook his head, trying to hide a smile by biting into his bottom lip. He drew what looked like flames next to the dog.
“A bitch. A hot dog. Fire dog…” Emily suggested.
More head shakes while he thought about what else to draw. He started again on a blank part of the page, drawing flames and then drawing another dog in the fire.
“Shit, Ash. You’re roasting the poor thing,” I said with a grin. “So cruel.”
He shot me a look and banged the picture with his finger for me to hurry up and keep guessing.
“Dog days of summer?” Emily guessed.
“Spit-roasted?” I said with a wink. Ash laughed and shook his head again. Finally, the timer went off.
He blurted, “Like a dog in heat. You guys suck.”
When he returned to the seat next to me, I leaned over so only he could hear me. “Well, I don’t know about Emily, but you were right about me. I do suck.”
I heard the sharp intake of breath and watched his pupils dilate. He turned his head to me, and I could see him waging a war within himself about how to respond to my innuendo. Finally, his mouth opened up in a shark-toothed grin.
“Promise?”
You could have knocked me over with a feather.
Chapter 10
Ash
I didn’t even know what caused me to say it, but once I did, things seemed to shift between us. Gone was the confusion over how I felt about him. Gone was the bitchy devil on my shoulder warning me to keep Aiden at arm’s length. I wanted to kiss him again. I wanted to feel his gentle touch on my skin and his whispered words in my ear.
When it was Aiden’s turn to draw, he drew a stick figure on his hands and knees, which of course caused Emily to scream, “Doggie style!” again, but then he drew another stick figure standing behind the first with his hand out.
“Spanking!” I yelled. His eyes widened in agreement, but I could tell it wasn’t quite right. He drew a cartoon bubble over the kneeling person’s head and pointed to that. Was it something the spankee was saying to the spanker?
“Spank me! Spank me!” I blurted. The entire room went silent for a split second before everyone broke out into laughter. I could feel my face heat up, and I didn’t dare meet anyone’s eyes.