Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 103530 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103530 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Someone in our auditory audience clapped.
“Jesus Christ,” Matthew groaned, shuffling toward the sofa. “Well, thank you.”
“Yeah. No problem.” I held up one hand with a thumbs-up, then let my limp noodle arm fall. I couldn’t lie on the ground forever. If I stayed still for too long, I’d fall asleep, and that was not part of the plan. I pushed myself up with a weary groan and got to my feet.
“This is the part where I would invite you to stay,” Matthew began, still breathing heavily. “But I think that would raise some questions.”
“Especially at the wedding weekend welcome breakfast on the itinerary,” I joked. “Why didn’t you discourage them from so many activities?”
“Because I had nothing to do with this wedding other than handing over my credit card. If I could have avoided spending an entire weekend here, I would have.” He grimaced. “That came out wrong. That sounds like I don’t care about the wedding.”
“No, it doesn’t. It sounds like you don’t like doing a bunch of group activities in quick succession. In the most humid, awful climate ever.” I missed the dry air of home. I missed not feeling like I would drown every time I took a breath. “But you’re right. I have to go.”
“You’re kind of a mess.” He pointed to my thighs. “I’m glad we were outside.”
“I should have warned you. But it was kind of your fault.” I paused. “Let’s see, I think the final score was five to one. So… I win.”
“Yes, you do.” His smile was smug, self-satisfied. Apparently, he prided himself on how often he could make his partner come.
There were worse properties in a lover.
Not that he was going to be my lover. As far as I knew, as far as we’d discussed, this was a one-night-only thing. And it had been perfect.
I shuffled over to where my discarded clothes lay. “I’ll shower when I get back in. If I’m gone much longer, my mom will think an alligator got me.”
“It could have. If I hadn’t been there to gallantly save you,” he reminded me.
“I’ll be sure to mention that when I tell my whole family where I was tonight. Just kidding,” I added when his eyes widened in growing panic.
“Good. I was thinking this might be something we need to keep between the two of us.”
“Hey, you don’t have to tell me twice.” I pulled my shorts up and buttoned them. “The last thing I need is a lecture on top of having to play nice and normal around the bride’s weirdo family. Did you know they run a bear ranch in Montana?”
“I think it’s a bear rescue,” Matthew corrected me, standing and retrieving his own clothes. “Not a ranch.”
“What’s the difference?”
“One is taking existing bears in and caring for them. The other would be breeding bears for beef, I guess.” He hitched his cargo shorts up and I had a moment of shame at the realization I’d fucked a guy who wore cargo shorts.
“Pretty sure you don’t get beef from bears,” I said, pulling my shirt over my head. “But hey, at least they’re having the wedding here and not there. She wanted to have her favorite bear as a bridesmaid.”
“Yeah, that would have been kooky. And probably dangerous.” Fully dressed, he went to the table and retrieved the joint we’d only half-smoked. “Let me walk you back to your villa? We can finish this, and I can make sure you’re not attacked by alligators. Or bears.”
The immediate change back to the guy I’d come up here with was so jarring, it made me laugh. “Wow. You went from ordering me to fuck myself with a bottle to asking me for permission to walk me home.”
Even in the dim outdoor lighting, I could see his blush. “Yeah. I hope that wasn’t too—”
“This was probably the hottest sex of my life,” I blurted. Not that he hadn’t already probably guessed. There was no way he didn’t know how good he was.
He ducked his head as if embarrassed, a boyish and adorable motion for a toweringly tall adult man to make. “Yeah… me too.”
I laughed like a blast from an airhorn. “Liar! You got tied down and fucked by three dudes. You just told me about that.”
“Fine. But you’re in the top five.” He put his arms around my waist and drew me in close.
I realized he was about to kiss me when he leaned down, and I stepped quickly back. It wasn’t anything personal, and that’s why I didn’t want to kiss him. I offered him my hand instead, for a shake. He humored me with a repressed smile and a firm, businesslike grip. I took my hand back and stuffed it into my pocket. “To answer your question, I’ll let you walk me, but only to the hedge. I don’t want anyone to see me with you.”