Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 99356 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99356 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
She looked like she wanted to argue, but she lifted her book again and sighed. “Fine. But if you come over to my side, I swear on everything holy I will smother you in your sleep.”
I grinned. “And if you come to my side, I’ll make sure you want to stay.”
She jerked her eyes up to me as I was sliding under the covers. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means there’s obviously tension between us. Sexual,” I added.
Pearl’s tongue slid over her lips. “There isn’t.”
“You can pretend if you want, but I know what’s right in front of me. The two of us would be explosive. That’s all I’m saying.”
“Yeah, maybe we would. But you know the thing about explosions? They tend to be bad for people at the center.”
“Sure are pretty, though.”
She scoffed. “Instead of taunting me, maybe we could try to figure out how we’re going to handle tomorrow?”
“Last time I had a spa day, I pretty much just had to strip down to a towel and sit around while people helped me relax.”
“You aren’t stripping down.”
I was still sitting against the headboard and I turned to get a look at her. She was wearing an old t-shirt, no bra–her nipples were announcing their presence around me, as usual–and I suspected she’d slipped her pants off and tossed them on the floor once she was under the blankets. Call it manly intuition about women in states of undress.
“If you’re so certain there’s no chemistry between us, why are you so afraid of seeing me with my clothes off?” I asked.
“I’m not afraid of it. I could really care less. I just meant–”
“Oh, good. So you won’t mind if I get more comfortable? Because I never sleep with my shirt on. It gets all bunched up when I toss and turn.”
Before she could stop me, I slid my shirt off over my head and watched her eyes fall down my bare chest to my stomach. She was frozen for a full second or two before she lifted her gaze to my eyes defiantly.
“See? Couldn’t care less.”
I grinned. “Great. By the way, I can’t say I’ve ever been treated like that by a woman before. You know, taken by the hips and used like a perverted dog's favorite stuffed animal.”
Pearl’s cheeks went scarlet. “I was just trying to win.”
“Hmm. You’re a strange one, Pearl Moreno. A mysterious woman, to be sure.”
“I’m not mysterious.” She almost sounded defensive.
“Well, you’ve so far refused to tell me anything about yourself. All I know is you barf when cheated on, you seem a little twitchy and nervous at times, and you’re a great kisser. Oh, you’re competitive enough to hump the shit out of me in front of your co-workers, too. So she’s nervous, but willing to step outside of her comfort zone if it’s to get something she really wants. So, what is it you really want, Pearl? Victory at all costs? A happily ever after? Are you a career woman?”
She stared off into space long enough I thought she might simply refuse to answer me. “You say I’m mysterious?” she asked.
Oh, we’re going to play that way? Turn the tables?
“I do,” I agreed.
“What about you? I don’t even understand what it is you do, exactly. You somehow work for Maxwell Pollard as a consultant? You’re an employee, but not an employee? What even is that? Who even are you?”
“All fair questions,” I said, holding up a finger and meeting her eyes wisely. “Questions I will answer once you answer mine.”
Pearl folded her arms. She liked doing that. Defensive, I supposed, unless she was trying to subtly imply she wanted my arms around her. Probably not. “What do I want?” she asked. “Right now, I really just want to survive the next two weeks without things blowing up in our faces.”
“Okay,” I said. “That’s a start. But what about after that? Everybody wants something. The dream job. The dream boy. The dream cat, even.”
“I’m allergic,” she said.
“To boys, jobs, or cats?”
She wrinkled her nose. Adorable, again. “Cats. And honestly? I don’t really know. Maybe get a promotion so I can start deciding which projects I spend my time on. Maybe leave the city all together? I’ve been thinking about all of it since Eric left, and I’m still not really sure. Before him, I thought I wanted the perfect guy, I guess. But the more of them I meet, the more certain I am that there's no such thing. Actually, let’s see… What kind of guys are there?” There was a dangerous edge to her voice. Clearly, I was part of the opposing team in this rant she was about to unload.
“Charming ones with good intentions?” I tried.
“No. There are men who want something from you. That’s it.”
“I was expecting a longer list.”
“There are different flavors, sure. There are the guys who want you to fix their life. The ones who want you to be their mommy and fold their clothes, make their appointments, and cook for them. Then there are the ones who are trying to use you to fill some hole in their life. Or the ones who just want to take something from you, use you up, and then move on once they have what they want. But that’s what they all do. They just take. Eric made me finally realize it, and that’s why I’m done with all of them.”