Total pages in book: 184
Estimated words: 188108 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 941(@200wpm)___ 752(@250wpm)___ 627(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 188108 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 941(@200wpm)___ 752(@250wpm)___ 627(@300wpm)
And then she really looked at him.
“You’re half-naked!” she blurted out.
“Really? Wonder how that happened,” he replied dryly.
She looked at the shirt in her hand then back to him.
“Oh my God!” she cried. “I can’t believe I just started stripping you! What is wrong with me?”
She put her hands over her face in mortification.
“Nothing is wrong with you. Look at me. Hey, look at me now.” He pushed her hands gently away from her face and cupped her face between his hands so she had no choice but to stare up at his gorgeous face. “You know you’re not to speak about yourself like that. It’s bloody bollocks. I am constantly gobsmacked by how beautiful and amazing and smart you are.”
She made a noise of dissent.
“Now, listen up. You keep this up and I’ll have Salem punish you,” he told her sternly.
Whoa.
Stern Roman still caught her by surprise. And turned her on something fierce.
Especially half-naked stern Roman.
“Now, may I have my shirt back?”
“Umm.” She couldn’t think, her gaze was stuck on his bare chest. “Pecs.”
“Pardon?” he said.
“You have the dreamiest pecs. And the most perfect nipples. Why are you all so beautiful?”
“Not sure I’d call myself beautiful.” His lips quirked. “Have you looked in a mirror lately, darling girl? You are stunning.”
She wasn’t so sure about that.
Then again, she’d never really properly looked at herself, had she? Or cared all that much about her appearance. However, she was wearing one of her outfits that she’d bought with Salem yesterday, so she did think she looked rather fine.
“I am looking pretty good today.”
And the fact that the three of them were attracted to her had to mean something, right?
“You are looking uniquely gorgeous,” he said, glancing down at her, his lips twitching again. “Are those riding pants under your skirt?”
“Uh-huh.” She wore a pale pink tutu that ended just above her knees. But it was see-through so she’d added some black horse-riding pants that had sparkles down the sides. She’d put on a long-sleeved T-shirt in neon green that had a sequined frog on the front and a fluffy scarf in bright orange topped off the outfit. “The skirt and pants weren’t very bright, so I decided to add some color in my top and scarf. What do you think?”
“I think it works. The colors suit you.”
“Aww, thanks, Rome. That not wearing a shirt suits you too,” she told him. “You should do it more often.”
“Maybe I will.” He grinned. “Now, sit down while I get a new shirt.”
She pouted and he tapped her lower lip. “Put that away. I need you to pay attention. And somehow, I don’t think you’ll be able to do that properly if I have my shirt off.”
“I don’t know. I might be able to pay better attention,” she countered. “And it seems to be a crime to cover up those nipples.”
He shook his head, but there was a slight tinge of pink on his cheeks so she decided to leave him be.
But she hadn’t been lying. His nipples really were the prettiest she’d ever seen. And she hadn’t even realized that she could find nipples attractive.
“Sit,” he said firmly.
With a sigh, she sat down and waited for him to return.
“Right. See? All good.” He walked in wearing a deep blue T-shirt which really brought out the color in his eyes.
“You’re so gorgeous,” she said before slapping her hand over her mouth.
He smiled, blushing slightly. “And you’re beautiful.”
Sadly, not as pretty as him.
But she figured she wouldn’t say that. These guys didn’t like it when she spoke the truth about herself.
“Yeah, I’m awesome.”
And a liar.
He watched her steadily for a moment, then sat next to her on the sofa.
“So, what did you make me?” he asked.
“It’s pretty terrible. You don’t have to eat it. I think we should just go down to the kitchen and see what else there is.” She tried to stand, but he reached out a hand and laid it on her thigh.
She froze. Touch from Roman was kind of rare. She tried not to touch him unless he touched her first. Even though she longed to.
“No. I want to eat what you made me,” he said.
“But what if it’s not very nice? It probably won’t be. I don’t really know what I’m doing.”
“Then I’m glad you didn’t try to cook anything,” he said with a smile.
She shook her head. “No way! I’d likely burn the house down.”
“That bad, huh?”
“Uh, yep.”
“All right, no cooking for you unless you get lessons first. Understand?”
“Believe me, that’s one rule I can easily follow.” She watched as he picked up the sandwich and went to take a bite.
“Wait!” she cried.
He froze and looked at her.
“Ummm . . . shoot, I have nothing. Go ahead.” She winced as he took a bite.
He chewed. Then chewed some more. “Um, is this marmite?”