Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 92559 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92559 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
“You shouldn’t trust me,” she said softly.
“Trust isn’t relevant in this case.”
Okaaaay, so maybe he only wanted a one-night stand, she thought. The question was, what did she want?
Well, he was right about one thing. At least part of that could be answered really damn easily.
“And no, you’re not going to hurt me,” he murmured as he brushed her cheek. “So you don’t need to worry about that.”
She shook her head. “I’m not using you or trying to hurt you. That’s not the kind of person I am.”
“And I live in the present. That’s the kind of person I am.” He stroked the side of her throat inside the collar of her fleece . . . then lingered on her collarbone. “So I don’t worry about what was, I don’t care about what’s coming. I have the here-and-now. This moment. Here . . .”
He leaned in a little. “And . . . now.”
His eyes were hooded and hungry, his big body throwing off all kinds of sexual signals. But he stayed right where he was, in that tilt, on the cusp.
Mahrci parted her lips. “I’m sorry.”
With a nod, he backed off. “Well, you know where to find me. And everything is good with me. All, nothing. A little.”
He reached forward to put the engine in drive—
Mahrci launched herself over the center console, grabbed the front of his jacket, and pulled him in. As their mouths met, she wasn’t gentle. Neither was he. It was an explosion of contact, and as she buried her hands in his hair, it was just such a relief to let go and feel.
No thinking. No planning. No worrying.
Just the sensation of his lips and her own meeting, and the scent of his arousal, and the urge to be naked and under his surging body.
As he penetrated her. As he filled her up.
Hemmy had a point about living in the present. And she hadn’t ever felt this free.
As his tongue licked into her mouth, she moaned and thought about that big bed she’d been lying in alone—
For a split second, she had a spike of reversion, a return to her life of What would people think? But considering what she had done right before coming up here, this kiss wasn’t a betrayal.
And it felt soooo good.
Hemmy slowly eased back. “How we doing?”
“You are . . . an amazing kisser.”
The beaming smile that came back at her was a charmer. “Tell me more.”
Mahrci ran her hands through his blond hair. Stroked his strong jawline. Put her hand on his thick shoulder. “Fishing for compliments, are you?”
“Fine, let’s just do that some more.”
Now he took control, cupping the nape of her neck and bringing her to him—and she was happy to close in on him, reaching down and releasing her seatbelt so she could all but drape herself over the drink cup holders that separated them.
The kissing got explosive again quick, and as she arched into him, she understood what he meant: Here and now . . . was everything: The scent of his arousal in her nose, his lips against hers, his body so close, yet so tantalizingly far away . . .
With the promise of everything she wanted just a bedroom away. Or a back seat. Or maybe his front seat.
When they finally broke apart for air, they were both panting and the windows were steamed up.
“You are . . . a really, really good kisser,” she said roughly. “Not that I’ve kissed a lot of males.”
Hemmy smiled in a lazy, sexy way. “Well, I feel the same way about you. And I haven’t kissed any males.”
She laughed as he ran his thumb over her lower lip. “I’m glad you approve.”
“I more than approve,” he growled. “And I have to say, this is not the way I expected this to go. Well, the groceries in the back, yes—”
“I’m not going to take advantage of you.”
“Oh, sweetheart, you are welcome to take all of my virtue. Not that I have much left—” Abruptly, he shook his head. “Uh-oh. Nope. No, don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Overthink anything. I can see it on your face. Just be here with me now. I promise you, fate will take care of the rest—”
A flare of headlights pierced through the SUV, lighting the side of his face.
“Looks like we have company,” he grumbled.
Mahrci stiffened and looked out the back, but all she got was blinded.
“I think your groundskeeper had made his return,” Hemmy said as he put them in drive and continued along.
“Are you sure?”
Wouldn’t that be a thank-God. As opposed to the list of people she didn’t want to see.
“Those lights are too high to be anything else but that heavy-duty Ford.”
“Oh. Good. And he’s not my groundskeeper. He’s my father’s.”
As they made their way down the lane, some of the mood was lost for her, and she tried to get it back, touching her mouth with her fingertips. Still, she couldn’t ignore the fact that she had a lot of music to face. Sooner or later, she was going to have to—