Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 84250 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84250 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Most days she wants to push me away and I think that has more to do with her desire to be cared for than anything else. She isn't a hateful person. She's kind to her daughter and you can tell she's a loving mother by the way Larkin acts around her. Claire gives all she has to that little girl. I know she drinks in all the love Larkin gives back to her but there's more than one type of love, and I can see now as she looks up at me that Claire has been missing out on it for a while.
"Walker," she whispers when I lean in a little closer.
"It'll all work out," I promise, the word encompassing so much more than the daycare situation and the lack of a Christmas tree in her house.
If I have anything to say about it, by this time next year, we'll be living under the same roof and we'll decorate a ten-foot-tall tree together.
Her smile is soft, and I know she doesn't believe me, but I'll work every hour I have to make sure of it, starting with solving the problems I do have a little control over.
"Will you slap me in the face if I kiss you outside of your work?" I ask, playfulness in my tone.
"Would you not do it if I said yes?"
"I'm not really into pain, but I know it'll be worth it," I answer with a wide smile that she mirrors, and this one meets her eyes.
My heart skips several beats when she leans forward and presses her lips to mine. I feel the warmth of her tongue skate over my lower lip, begging for entry, and I swear this woman is giving me more than I ever even thought to ask for.
I groan into her mouth, pressing closer because the foot of distance between our bodies feels like the width of the Grand Canyon and it just won't do
With my hand cupping her ass, I pull her entire body against mine, my tongue skating over hers. I feel her moan deep inside of me when it erupts from her lips.
"We'd use a bucket of cold water if we had dogs doing that in the parking lot."
I want to twist my hands around Corbin's throat when I hear his voice, but to my surprise, Claire doesn't jerk away from me, although she does break the kiss and lift her hand to swipe at her lips.
"Good to see you, Walker," Corbin says before heading toward the front walkway to his clinic.
"I have to go," she whispers when I bend down to kiss her again.
I manage a brief kiss before stepping back and holding her hand as she climbs down out of my truck. I groan with need when she turns around, leaning back in to grab her purse. Her scrub bottoms tighten on that fine ass of hers, and I can't recall a single other panty line I've seen in my life that makes me as stupid as hers is right now.
She chuckles when she turns back around and I find it hard to lift my eyes back to hers quickly.
"Down, Casanova," she says, pressing her hand to my chest and giving me a little push so she can walk past me.
I don't even bother to go back around to the driver's side of my truck until she disappears inside, loving how she looks back over her shoulder before stepping inside and throwing me a little wave.
"Yep," I say to myself. "Right over the cliff, I go."
Chapter 32
Claire
My day was surprisingly pleasant. I only got puked on once by a sick puppy, and we somehow managed to get out of the office on time.
I spent so much time trying to focus on work that the day went quickly.
It wasn't until I went to grab my jacket and reach for my keys like I do every day that I remembered I didn't have my car.
"Something wrong?" Kristina asks when she finds me in the back room with my head pressed to the wall, a litany of choice language on my tongue.
"I don't have my car," I mutter.
"I figured that's why that gorgeous bartender of yours was waiting in the parking lot."
I can't help the smile that spreads across my face at the mention of him. I'm so relieved I don't even have the wherewithal to deny ownership.
"You better get out there before Corbin convinces him to foster the elderly beagle mix that was brought in this morning."
I give her a quick smile and rush out the door.
Just as Kristina predicted, Corbin is standing beside Walker's truck, rocking back and forth.
"His sight isn't very good, but he found that bowl of food quickly this morning. He's got a lot of life left in him," my boss says.
"I'm not really in the position to take care of an animal, man," Walker says, but I know Corbin, and anything other than a hard and fast no is a maybe, and a maybe might as well be a yes. It's how Chase ended up with Nanuk.