Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 87940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
She gives a return glare over her shoulder but before she turns her back on me, I see the glint of amusement in her eyes. I follow her in and she heads to the kitchen. “Want something to drink?”
“Coffee?” I ask.
“I got you covered.”
Kiera makes us each a cup in a very fancy machine that grinds the beans for you. We stand at the counter, sipping our drinks. “Thank you for helping. That was sweet.”
“So, what’s next? Clean the house, grocery shopping or laundry?”
She glances around and shrugs. “Not sure yet. I’ll figure it out after you leave.”
Bringing the mug of fragrant coffee to my lips, I stare at her over the edge before actually taking a sip. “Oh, I’m not leaving.”
Kiera’s eyebrows shoot up.
“I’m helping you today,” I clarify.
“But why?” she asks suspiciously.
“Why not?”
She’s totally annoyed with me now. “Because we’re just fuck buddies, Bain. We fuck and that’s it.”
“No, that’s not quite true.”
Pursing her lips, she puts a hand on her hip. “You’ve got to explain that one to me.”
“We’re friends with benefits,” I explain. “That isn’t the same as fuck buddies. There’s a friend element that, granted, we haven’t quite exercised yet, but it’s there. So I’m here as a friend to help you out.”
Kiera’s brow furrows slightly, her eyes narrowing. “You want to be friends?”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s not what we’re supposed to be doing.” Setting her cup down, she turns away with an exasperated gush of air.
She moves to the sink, looking at the gray-tinged landscape outside. I set my cup down and move behind her.
I speak in the language of control and touch, one hand gripping her hip and the other wrapping around her chest. I step in close, trapping her against the counter. The minute our bodies touch, she instantly relaxes. She sinks into me and for all her bluster that she doesn’t have time for such things today, she’s capitulated and I could fuck her if I wanted.
I do something far more important, though. Putting my mouth near her ear, I murmur, “What you and I have is not easily defined. It’s a first for me. I’m starting to understand you might be out of your element too.”
“But neither of us wants a commitment,” she says.
“You’re right. We don’t owe each other anything, and yet here I am… having a not-so-bad time helping you out today. What do you know? I tried something different and I liked it. You liked having me here too.”
She doesn’t reply and I expect that’s because she’s afraid to voice the truth. It’s more than confirmed when she turns, draping her arms over my shoulders. Her voice is husky, provocative. “How about I blow everything off and we just go to my room and break the bed?”
Instantly, my cock agrees, jumping in my pants. “I am never going to say no to you if you want to have sex. So let’s do it.” Triumph gleams in Kiera’s eyes and she grabs my hand to lead me to her room. I hold my ground, though, and she looks back at me curiously. “After we’re done fucking, though, we’ll go to the grocery store and do your shopping. Then we’ll come back and I can help you clean, do laundry. We’ll cook dinner together and—”
More confusion flickers in her eyes. “That sounds like a date.”
“No,” I growl, pulling on her hand and jerking her to me. I nuzzle into her neck. “That’s friends with benefits. We’ll do the benefits part right now, then friends later, okay?”
“But—”
My mouth moves to hers, capturing her lips in a cock-hardening kiss. Lifting her in my arms, Kiera’s legs go around my waist. I turn for the bedroom, unrelenting in my assault because if I do, she might get back in her head again.
I don’t know why I’m pushing this friends-with-benefits thing—and exercising the friends part of it—since all I’ve done the last few days is try to get her out of my mind. All I know is that at this moment, and whatever led me to be where I am right now, it feels right.
CHAPTER 10
Kiera
I fight against the drooping of my eyes and the pull of slumber. Bain is deep under and I’ve been listening to his heartbeat as my head rests on his chest. The rise and fall tells me he’s sound asleep.
Ordinarily, after an enthusiastic, raucous round of sex, Bain leaves. But this time is different.
Everything about today is different, from the moment he showed up on my doorstep to his proclamation that we needed to exercise the friends part of our relationship. Not sure I believed that, but since he wanted to knock some of our benefits out of the way, I was all for it. I fully expected him to roll out of bed and proclaim he had stuff of his own to do. I certainly don’t expect him to help me with cleaning the house, laundry or grocery shopping.