Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 121728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
“I’ll take her this morning. Don’t gotta be at Pizza Town ’til ‘leven.”
She blinked at how quickly his speech pattern changed. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I haven’t had enough time with her recently.”
“Do you ever slip when you’re around them?”
He tipped his head in question.
“Your speech,” she clarified.
“What about it?”
“Didn’t you realize you started speaking like a biker?”
“Did I? I must need more caffeine.”
“All right. Well… let me get her dressed while you eat, if you’re taking her.”
As she moved past him, he grabbed her forearm to stop her. “Sloane, hold on a sec…”
She paused, trying to ignore the little sparks radiating along her skin from his touch.
His gaze dropped to her chest because, of course, her nipples had decided to join the conversation. “What’s up?”
“I just wanted to say… I’m sorry.”
She frowned. “For what?”
“For letting things get out of hand last night.”
Why would he apologize for that? Did he regret what they did? “That wasn’t on you. It was my idea.” She was the one who had purposely waited naked in the hot tub, hoping he’d be home at a decent hour.
She invited him to join her. Not the other way around.
She made the first move when, so far, he’d been nothing but respectful.
Could the guilt of giving into her be eating at him for some reason?
“I just want you to know, my priority is Val and always will be.”
Ah, there it was. “I wouldn’t expect any different.”
Wait a minute... Was it possible he was worried she’d want more than what he was willing to give her and because of that, she’d leave and he’d be left hanging without someone to watch Val?
If so, she’d have to dispel that notion.
With a quick shrug of her shoulders, she added, “It was just sex, Decker.”
Even though those were the words that came out of her mouth, they weren’t quite true. It wasn’t just any sex. It had been damn good sex in her opinion. As well as satisfying. But she wanted to reassure him by proving she needed nothing more from him than what she got last night.
She could separate sex from emotion. A simple physical connection between two people was much neater than having an emotional one, which could get messy.
She was only living in his house temporarily. She hadn’t moved in because they were in a relationship—or even that she wanted one—she moved in to help him out with his kid in exchange for him helping her.
However... The sex could be a bonus.
If he was willing. But if he wasn’t, she wouldn’t roll up into a ball or have a temper tantrum.
She wanted one thing last night and she got it. Period.
She opened her mouth to explain all that but was taken aback by his closed expression, so instead, she asked, “Were you expecting more?”
“More?”
“I mean something more than sex,” she clarified.
“I knew what you meant.”
“You don’t owe me anything other than to help me find my sister. I don’t owe you anything other than to help you with Val. The sex,” she shrugged, “would be a nice bonus but it’s not necessary if it makes this whole arrangement sticky or uncomfortable. I can separate the two, can you?”
He pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes. “Just so I’m one-hundred percent clear on this… Are you saying you want to continue to have sex with me without any kind of commitment or attachment?”
“You seem to doubt my ability to do just that. You don’t think it’s possible?” When he didn’t answer right away, she continued, “Why do men think their dicks are magic sticks where once we get it, we become totally obsessed and can’t live without it?”
“Because that’s more the norm than the exception?” he countered.
Ooooh boy. “I can assure you none of the men I’ve been with have had dicks with such magical powers that fucking them turned me into an infatuated twit who suddenly couldn’t live without them.”
His mouth opened, closed, opened again and hung there for a few heartbeats. “Want to break that down for me? I don’t think I’ve had enough coffee yet.”
She sighed softly. “Sure. It means the sex was good enough last night that I wouldn’t mind having more. However, I can assure you doing so won’t screw up our arrangement if that’s what worries you. Clear enough?”
Again, his mouth opened, closed, opened again and hung there for a few heartbeats before he said, “Crystal.”
She was done with this conversation—for now—and he could let what she said percolate for a bit. She just proposed that they continue to have casual sex and if he needed a moment, she’d give him that. Since apparently a woman making a suggestion like that was a foreign concept to him.
“Now, I’m going to go help Val while you eat. I’m sure she’s caused an avalanche, after pulling out every stitch of clothing she has, and is buried under it all.”