Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 68247 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68247 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Just as she finished, the doorbell rang. She drew in a deep breath and headed to answer it, grateful Ella was at a business dinner with her boss and a designer who was in town for the weekend. Avery didn’t need her friend watching her first interaction with Grey in seven years. She was nervous enough without an audience.
She opened the door and stared at the man standing in front of her. When she’d seen him at the venue, she’d barely had time for a long look, not when he’d had a groupie clinging to him, and prior to that, the last time they’d been together, they’d both been kids.
The guy standing before her was all grown up.
He braced a hand against the frame and grinned at her. “Hey, Very,” he said, using the nickname he used to call her.
“Hi,” she managed to answer, taking in his hotness as she realized the years of seeing him on magazines and the Internet hadn’t begun to capture the changes time had wrought.
His features were the same but more mature. He’d grown into himself in a really good way. His jet-black hair was cropped short at the sides, a little longer on top, the rocker-like style suiting him more than the shaggy look he’d preferred when they were younger. She used to run her fingers through the long strands of his hair when they made love. She swallowed the pained sound that threatened to escape her throat along with the memory.
Instead she refocused on him. He was still lean, his faded jeans hugging his body, but now he was well built too. Muscles defined his forearms, and his pecs protruded from beneath his fitted black T-shirt, while drool-worthy tattoos wrapped around his skin, emphasizing those same muscles. The urge to trace the ink in his flesh, to feel the heat and bulk of those muscles overcame her, and she curled her hands to prevent herself from acting on the crazy impulse.
His body was powerful, and she understood how he had the stamina to sing, play his guitar, and grace the stage, running from one end to the next while enrapturing the audience. And she’d be a liar if she claimed to be immune to the masculine strength that exuded from him now.
Her gaze traveled up to his face, and she would have apologized for staring, but she caught his green eyes devouring her much as she’d done to him.
“You look fucking gorgeous,” he said, a sexy smile on the handsome face that women swooned over.
She pushed the thought of other women . . . groupies, aside, reminding herself this was Grey. Her Grey, once upon a time, but those days were over. “Thank you.”
“How about a hug for an old friend?” His voice, deep and gravelly, scratched over her already-sensitized nerves in a wholly seductive way.
Her heart dipped, disappointment racing through her at his use of the word friend. And she hated herself for the brief reaction. Still, she stepped forward, and before she could prepare herself, he enfolded her in his strong embrace.
His raw masculine scent with only a hint of cologne enveloped her, heightening the sexual awareness she’d promised herself she wouldn’t feel. But her body didn’t lie. Her nipples tightened, and a coil of need twisted in her belly. He felt familiar . . . yet not, as she hugged him back, noting he was hard everywhere, from his tight stomach to his solid arms. That insane urge to touch him returned, and she eased back before she could feel or do anything else.
“I’ll just get my bag and we can go,” she said, her voice too raspy, threatening to betray her. She was eager to take them to neutral, public territory.
“Good by me,” he said, his gaze never leaving hers.
She locked up her apartment, and he led her to the parking lot. Before she knew it, he paused by a black convertible. A black Aston Martin DB9 convertible.
Avery’s mouth dropped open at the sight of the beyond-luxury vehicle. “Holy shit, Grey, is this yours?”
She didn’t blink at the unladylike words coming out of her mouth. Her brothers knew and had taught her about cars, and this was a car.
A sexy, proud smile lifted his lips, making him look like the much younger Grey she remembered. Boys and their toys, she thought. Although in Grey’s case, she understood the fascination. Unlike Avery, who’d grown up with luxury, Grey’s past hadn’t been nearly as easy, and he’d worked damned hard for every dollar he’d earned as a musician.
“Couldn’t resist.” He gestured toward the car. “For the last few years, I’ve been touring so much I didn’t bother with a ride.” He shrugged. “I figured I owed myself.”
He opened the car door for her, and she climbed inside before he joined her from the driver’s side. Plush leather surrounded her. Not even her BMW came close to this kind of comfort, and she wriggled her behind into the seat and groaned. “God, it’s like heaven.”