Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 86828 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86828 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
“I haven’t changed my mind.” Only an idiot who drank too much eggnog would do that. “It’s just I could have sworn I’d seen that Santa before.”
“You too?” Zane murmurs, shifting my focus to him. “I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.”
As the cab slowly merges with traffic, the Santa we’re eyeballing like freaks at a circus twists to face us. He winks like he did after shoving me into the restaurant’s foyer before tapping the side of his nose.
4
ZANE
For a man who’s most comfortable when left alone in his own space, I’m shocked by the feeling that envelops me when I follow Kelsey’s slow weave through the living room of my penthouse suite. It should feel odd. It isn’t close to that.
I made out this room is on permanent reservation. In reality, I own it. I don’t share that information with anyone because I’ve never had to worry about being caught in a lie.
Since Kelsey looks two seconds away from calling me Pinocchio, I issue her a truth I don’t give many. “Even with my visits home being sporadic, purchasing this room was cheaper than booking it.” Her smile shines brighter than the Christmas tree staff at the hotel set up in my suite earlier this week when I say, “It also means I don’t have to check the sheets each night before bed.”
“I thought I was the only one who stripped the bed at each hotel I stay at.” She continues to drink in a handful of family portraits on the mantel before spinning to face me. “Is it just Casey and yourself?”
I twist my lips before joining her in the den. I had gone to the bedroom to see if I had condoms in my luggage. I don’t usually carry them on me when I’m home.
“As direct siblings, yes.” When Kelsey peers at me with her nose crinkled in confusion, I explain, “I have a handful of half-brothers and half-sisters and even more stepsiblings. I stopped counting at fifteen.”
“Fifteen?” If her eyes bulge any further, they’ll pop out of her head.
Grinning, I nod. “Yeah. Casey could probably give you a more accurate figure. Just maybe ask when she’s not holding a carving knife.”
Her laugh reminds me that my cock hasn’t gone down for a single minute. Our kiss that knocked me on my ass with only one swipe of her tongue has my cock forging its own agenda. It’s not a part of the team anymore. He’s gone out on his own and is fucking pissed we didn’t continue our game of tonsil hockey during both the cab and elevator ride.
It’s more than ready to make up for lost time, so you can picture its angry throb when I continue our conversation as if Kelsey is being billed by the hour. “What about you? Any siblings?”
Sighing, she shakes her head before spinning to face me. “I’m an only child.” Her huff this time around sounds more disgusted than upset. “Not from a lack of trying. My parents can’t keep their hands off each other.”
“If your mother looks anything like you, I can understand your father’s motives.”
I drag my eyes down her body in a slow, predatory gawk before wetting my suddenly dry lips. I swear on my sister’s life, the very definition of a woman is standing before me. A face that makes every inch of my body ache; long, sweltering legs; and curvy, fuckable hips.
“You’re good at this,” Kelsey murmurs, drawing my focus back to her face.
Suspicion highlights my tone. “Good at what?”
She joins me near the couch, pushes me back until my ass bends the springy material, and then hugs my hips with her knees. “Building a woman’s confidence.”
When she tells me she’s never felt more comfortable around a stranger, I try to pull on the reins. Before I can slow a train that is inevitability about to crash, she rotates her hips until her damp panties are exposed. Now I can’t concentrate on anything but the thrill of the chase.
“Has anyone ever told you that?”
My self-control gallops away when she continues grinding against me.
“It’s been mentioned a handful of times.”
My honesty can’t be helped. With all the blood rushing to the area of my body Kelsey is awakening with teasing rubs and breathless moans, I’m without a single cognitive thought. I want to grip her ass and tug her an inch closer, but I also like that our attraction isn’t solely physical. Her brain appears as sexy as the rest of her.
“My mother is on her ninth husband, but she’s been in love a dozen times more than that. When she’s smitten, there’s no stopping her. But the lows were low. I could get her out of bed only after I built her confidence back to what it was before it was broken.”