Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 24894 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 124(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24894 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 124(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
When I touch my lips to hers, it’s different than before. This time it’s not a firework that cracks open like our first kiss, or even the sensual desire from earlier today. No, this one is the real deal and the kind of kiss that comes around once in a lifetime. This kiss means forever, and I feel it when my heart wraps protectively around her.
“Wow,” she says when we finally break apart.
“Me too,” I agree and give her a big hug. “So I’m going to see you tomorrow?” I ask, but it’s really not a question.
“Oh my gosh, I almost forgot. I start my new job tomorrow. I’m basically a real adult now. Jealous?”
“I’m jealous of anyone that gets your time.” She blushes at that, and I love seeing it.
“Why don’t you meet me for lunch?”
“How about I pick you up for breakfast, then lunch?” I counter, and she nods.
“Perfect. Meet me here in the morning, and you can drop me off downtown.”
“Where are you working?”
“JM Technologies. You remember them, right? I think your dad knew the old owner.”
“John Malice?” My body goes rigid at the sound of that name twice in one night.
“Yeah, his son Gray runs it now. I landed a job in the lab. Can you believe my luck?” She bounces on her toes with excitement. “Key, what’s wrong?”
She must notice how still I’ve become, and I try to calm down. “Gray was at your party tonight.”
“Was he?” She sounds genuinely surprised then brushes it off. “I’m sure my parents invited his mom or something since they all run in those circles. You know how it is.”
“Yeah, you're probably right.” I clench my jaw and remind myself to stay in control.
“So you’ll be here to pick me up for my first day of school?” She’s making a joke, and meanwhile I’m trying not to rip apart the fire hydrant next to us.
“Yep, I’ll text you.” I lean down and place a kiss on her forehead before breathing in her scent. It eases the anxiety and makes me see things clearly. I’m going to look into this Gray Malice and find out exactly what the fuck he was talking about with my dad tonight and why he just so happened to hire my Elsy.
“Thank you for my present.” She holds the ring box against her chest as she steps inside her building.
“Don’t peek,” I warn, and she pretends to be offended.
“Me?”
“You forget I know you better than anyone, Elsy.”
“Which means you should have known better than to give me a present and tell me not to open it.” When I start to call out after her, she waves her hand and turns around. “See you in the morning.”
The door to her building closes behind her, and I stand there for a long moment until I see the light in her apartment come on.
Now the real work begins.
Chapter Nine
ELSY
I pull my hair out of my ponytail and give it a fluff. I’ve changed my outfit three times already, but my nerves aren’t about my new job. If they are, it's only a small portion. All my thoughts are really on Keaton. He’s back. Not only that, he’ll be at my front door soon. In person.
When my alarm for work went off this morning, I got scared I’d dreamt it all. I cleared the annoying alarm and checked my texts, and there was Keaton’s name right at the top. He texted me until I told him I had to go to bed since I was starting a new job. I have no clue how I managed to get any sleep, but at some point, I must have come down from all the excitement of the night and crashed.
I put on a bit of mascara and lip gloss before I put the hair tie into my purse. Once I get into a lab, I’ll need to pull it up, but since Keaton is picking me up, I want to look nice. Maybe it’s a bit of a reminder of what he’s working for. Okay, and maybe I might want to tempt him too. I wanted to drag him into my apartment last night, but another part of me, the part that’s still scared of falling into him again, wanted to go slowly.
My eyes drift over to the box I set on my dresser. I’m torturing myself because it was so hard not to open the damn thing. There’s already been so much waiting, but again I’m reminded we need more time. There’s no reason to rush this. My heart and other body parts scream as I try to reason with myself.
I think a small part of me wanted Keaton to drag me back home with him and demand I never leave, but he’s scared of his own actions. That scares me too. If he thinks he can’t control himself around me, he might disappear on me again. My stomach turns at the thought.