Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 81279 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81279 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
I understand why he would be cautious, or unsure about his feelings, but we are a perfect match, and he’ll soon realize I can be the answer to his deepest desires and the wall between him and his fears.
I can protect him. I can pleasure him. I can be the one who gives him a new, much happier life. He only needs to let me.
I’m mildly annoyed that I didn't prepare everything before our arrival, but I couldn’t have known that we’d be visiting this place so soon. I don’t yet have all the gifts, and only a narrow selection of food is available, but I am yet to meet a person who doesn’t enjoy a nice pad thai. And if he hates it, I can always make pancakes.
Aromatic scents fill the kitchen as I fry the garlic and shallots, but the remaining ingredients soon join them in the pan, turning into the perfect fifteen-minute dinner.
I hear his soft footsteps before he speaks, and I glance back just to see his face. His cheeks are flushed after his shower, and his wet black hair glistens against pale skin. I even love his ears. They’re a bit big, but they make him look so cute with their slightly pointed tips.
“There’s no clothes in the wardrobe…”
I wave it off. “Yes, it’s an Airbnb.”
He pauses, hiding his nakedness behind the door frame. “So…”
“Let’s just be naked. It’s warm, and I even started a fire,” I say, gesturing toward the fireplace.
“Naked…” Rowan huffs with a thoughtful frown, as if I didn’t already see all of him half an hour ago. But in the end he steps into the room.
Good boy.
“You’re not allergic to anything, are you?” I ask, draining the rice noodles before tossing them into the wok I always use when traveling. No matter what people say, you cannot substitute it with a regular pan.
“No, no allergies. I do hate beetroot though.”
What a cute random fact to learn about my new boyfriend.
I love an open plan kitchen, so I can both cook and chat while enjoying my new favorite view, Rowan’s naked body.
He stands in front of the fireplace and extends his hands toward it, in turn giving me a perfect opportunity to ogle his ass. He’s on the skinny side, but there’s a roundness to his buttocks, and his legs, while marred with scars, are long and lean. I almost burn the food when I realize I’ve been watching droplets of water slide down his nape and then spine.
“How are you feeling?” I ask, eager for feedback as I finish the dish, ready to wow his senses once again.
When he looks back at me, with the fire burning behind him, his eyes seem black. “A bit achy. In a good way.” He gives me a shy smile, and my mouth stretches in response.
“As it should be,” I say and plate our food. It’s a no-frills kind of dinner, but that’s the beauty of staying in a remote cabin, so I take the cutlery, the plates and lead the way to the plush sofa. As much as I enjoy eating at a table, right now I want to feel his body against mine.
He seems to understand what I want and comes to my side without prompting. He grabs a plate and smells it before digging in. “I probably shouldn’t have an appetite after what happened tonight, but I’m actually starving."
I blink. “Really? I’m always hungry after good sex,” I say, putting a pillow in my lap to support the bowl. I then put my free arm around him and bury my face in his hair. It smells of the complimentary shampoo, fresh eucalyptus, and while I like the scent of his own cosmetics more, this is a decent stand-in.
He frowns at me, stuffing his face. Ah, it’s so rare that I get to feed someone and see them enjoy it. “I mean Ted’s head. And you know, the literal kidnapping?” And yet here he is, sitting so close his thigh cuddles against mine.
I sigh. “As I said, it wasn’t meant to be like that, but you forced my hand. You think I wanted to scare you like that?”
“I mean… you can stop pretending to be nice now. We both know the truth. But this—whatever this is—is delicious.”
I blink, staring at him. “I am nice.”
He raises his eyebrows and smirks. “Ted would beg to differ.”
Dark humor. I like it.
I shrug and stroke the back of his head. “Ted deserved what happened to him, but that doesn’t mean I can’t treat normal people with respect. I am the revenge guy. I am your guy.”
“What does it mean? Do you do this kind of thing often? You seem to be… proficient.” His eyes are full of curiosity, and while I want to sate it, I have to tread carefully. I need him to see I’m his perfect match, not some desperate, lonely husk of a human being who can’t connect to anyone without entrapping them.