Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 38887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 194(@200wpm)___ 156(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 194(@200wpm)___ 156(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
“Your fee?” she asks.
I just manage to stop myself from declaring my services would be free if I got to lose myself in her all over again. “It’s negotiable.”
“Then let’s negotiate.” She clasps her hands together and tilts her head. “Hit me with your best offer.”
My smile hurts my cheeks. She’s fucking adorable. “Three percent.”
She scowls. It’s terribly fake. “One.”
I laugh. “I like you, Raya, but not that much.” That’s a blatant lie. “Two.”
“Done.” She offers her hand on a smile. “Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Davies.”
I shake my head in wonder, taking her hand. “I’ll have the contact drawn up.”
“Okay.” Her eyes fall to my lips. And mine to hers. Our hands are still fused together. My skin is molten, my heart at odds with my mind. There’s only a few feet between our knees. Then that space is suddenly filled, both of us launching off our stools and crashing into each other—bodies and mouths. Her lips, still swollen, tackle mine with a force I’ve never known. A desperate force.
I have her on the worktop in a heartbeat, my body nestled between her thighs, my hands cupping her face. The energy crackles and sparks, her sounds of gratification feeding my soul. Jesus Christ, this woman could be my downfall. Could make me forget who I am. All I am.
I’m alternating between being scared and utterly intrigued by that, my thoughts chasing in circles. Her mouth is invigorating, her skin intoxicating, her scent making me super alert. I’m hungry for everything I can get, as she strokes at my nape, pushing her chest into mine.
I make a feast of her, feeling, touching, kissing. Frantic. Desperate. Like I didn’t have her just minutes ago.
Once again I’m lost, but the questions that have been whirling around in my skull since I met Raya suddenly return full force, and now they’ve grown—this house, that damn photograph. They’re building a high wall that my desire is suddenly struggling to get past.
The man in that picture. Is that who she wants to forget? Am I a rebound of sorts, a way to help distract her? I don’t want to distract her. I want to make her forget completely. I want that sparkle in her eyes glowing at me every day. The self-admission is like a slap to my face. What’s happening to me?
Gently easing away from her, I hold her at arm’s length by her shoulders, fighting to stabilize my breathing. “I need to go pick up my…” My head isn’t my own. Georgia is kept well away from this part of me, and Raya shouldn’t be any different. “My friend.” I can feel her eyes scanning my face, trying to read me, and that’s why I refuse to make eye contact with her. I move back, leaving her on the counter.
“Drew?” The soft call of my name forces my eyes up. But she doesn’t say anything, and I realize she just wants to see my face, maybe to try and read me. Her small frown tells me she’s sensed my sudden wariness. “Are you okay?”
No, no I’m not. “I need to go.” I turn and walk away, fastening my suit jacket to hide the lack of shirt buttons.
Once I make it outside, I drink in air like it’s water in a desert. It worries me that I found it so difficult to release her. It worries me just how easy I found it to worship her rather than fuck her. It worries me how much I lose rationality in her presence. It worries me how curious I am about Raya’s life. How many questions I have, and that I won’t get the answers to.
I’m fucking worried.
Chapter 5
You look like a troubled man, Drew.” Jesse meets me in the hallway, his finger sunk into a jar of peanut butter.
“Do you have any beer? I need a beer.” I pass him and find my way to the kitchen, helping myself to the fridge. “Where’s Ava and the kids?”
“On the trampoline.” He sits on a stool, studying me as his finger goes back and forth from the jar to his mouth.
I look out the window into the garden, seeing four bodies bouncing around. Satisfied the coast is clear, I join my mate, taking a good swig of my beer. “Something weird just happened.” I cut straight to the chase.
“Weird how?”
“I think I just made love to a woman.”
He scowls. “We’re looking after your daughter because you needed to keep a work appointment.”
“It was a work appointment,” I confirm. “But the woman I told you about, the one I met at the club last night. She answered the door. And we ended up in her bedroom.”
Jesse laughs. “You dirty dog.” And then the laughter is gone. “Wait. What do you mean you think you made love to her?”