Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 56603 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56603 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
When he asked about my childhood, I didn’t see any reason to hide my past, so I was open and honest. Relief trickled through me when I saw sympathy and not pity in his eyes.
“Why were you playing around in the fountain?”
I grinned and shrugged. “I was hot.”
“I won’t dispute that, baby.” Ewan laughed, and the rich sound sent shivers straight to my core. I briefly wondered if I could come from the sound of his voice alone. If his laughter had me on the edge, what would it be like to have filthy words fall from that sexy mouth? Was he a dirty-talking kind of guy? I’d never thought about whether that kind of thing would turn me on, but when I pictured Ewan doing it…
“Kaia?”
My startled gaze flew from his lips to his eyes. They were twinkling with amusement, and heat flushed through me, probably turning me strawberry red. I didn’t know how long I’d been daydreaming while he waited for me to answer, but from his smirk, I was pretty sure he had an idea of where my mind had gone.
“Well.” I cleared my throat and tried to focus on his question. “We were celebrating and”—my blush deepened—“I’m not much of a drinker. It doesn’t take much to get me tipsy, but like I said, we were celebrating. When we left the bar, we couldn’t seem to cool off. We decided to go to the park, but we didn’t actually go there to take a dip in the fountain. Elizabet fell in, and when we tried to help her out, we fell in too. That was when it seemed like a great idea to cool off in the water.” I grinned, and Ewan shook his head as though he was exasperated, but the skin around his eyes crinkled as he suppressed a smile.
“Celebrating what?”
“Graduating from college.” This had a proud smile stretching across my face, and it grew even bigger when gave me a similar smile.
“That’s an incredible accomplishment, baby. I’m proud of you.” He was making it really hard not to jump his bones.
You don’t even know him, Kaia, my brain scolded. It didn’t feel like that, though. I’d immediately felt safe with Ewan, and the more time we spent together, the more that feeling increased. It was as if we’d known each other for years. But in an attempt to placate my mind, I turned the tables and began to question him.
He was thirty-one, an only child, and his parents, who’d been married for fifty years, were retired in Florida. He had a degree in Criminal Justice and had been on the pre-law track, even going so far as to take the LSAT. Then decided he’d rather be in law enforcement. When he joined SWAT, he’d received special training for hostage situations.
I was genuinely interested in everything about him, but eventually, a yawn escaped. Ewan stood and rounded the table to scoop me up into his arms. He moved toward the entrance to the hallway, and I glanced back at the mess from dinner.
“I’ll clean it up in the morning, baby.” His voice sounded tired, and when I looked up at his face and saw the exhaustion there, I felt like a complete bitch. Suddenly, I remembered how tired he’d been when we drove to his house.
“Ewan, I’m so sorry,” I lamented. “You didn’t have to stay up and entertain me. We could have gone straight to bed after dinner.”
Ewan chuckled and paused at the door to the guest room. “Baby, if we’d gone right to bed, we wouldn’t have been sleeping.”
My cheeks burned, and I ducked my head to hide it. I wasn’t sure how much of the heat was from embarrassment versus arousal. “I meant in our own beds.”
Ewan was silent so long that I finally raised my eyes to his face. He was watching me with an intensity that I felt down to my very bones. “Did you?” His voice was soft, but there was an underlying firmness that warned me to be honest.
It was what I’d meant…at the time. Until he put other ideas in my head. However, my brain was currently winning the battle with my body, and I nodded. “Yes.” My answer was weak, and for a moment, he looked as though he wanted to argue. Instead, he sighed and carried me to the empty, lonely, queen-sized bed pushed up against the far wall.
He let my legs swing down and slowly lowered me to my feet. The arm that had been supporting my back stayed tight around me, keeping my body pressed to his so that I slid down his hard body, feeling every inch of his long, thick erection. When I was steady on my own, I stepped back and couldn’t stop my gaze from dropping to the tented section of his pants.