Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 85950 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85950 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Madison grins in my direction when I make it past the display case.
“Have a good night, Chief Tucker.”
I grind my back molars as I nod in her direction, smiling at everyone when they voice the same well wishes, as I make my way toward the front door.
Madison Kelly is trouble, and it makes me wonder if she’s somehow on my team, pushing Adalynn in my direction. If that’s the case, then I owe that woman everything. I’ve spent years wishing for something I was never able to convince myself I deserve. This last week has turned my world upside down in the best possible ways.
If she even had the slightest hand in that, I’m forever in her debt.
Chapter 22
Adalynn
It hasn’t been until recently that I understood all of Madison’s questions.
I had no answer when she asked how I’ve been able to keep my hands to myself where Cash is concerned for so long.
I had to literally will my body to stand still rather than run to him yesterday evening when I came out from the back to find him standing near the display case. It felt natural to go to him, and that’s when I knew I was in trouble.
Knowing I love him and showing that I love him are two very different things. No one can stop me from feeling the way I feel, but acting on it can’t happen. It compromises everything, and I almost did it in front of more than a dozen townsfolk.
I’m shaking my head, doing more than just washing the conditioner out when I feel his eyes on me. I’ve lived this fantasy more times than I can count, and it stemmed from that one time I didn’t hear him ring the doorbell, and he called my name from my closed bedroom door.
When it happened, I sputtered and took too long to call out to him. If I think about it long enough, I know it would have the same power to embarrass me the way it did a couple years ago, but I managed to redirect that real life happening into fantasy that has the power to get me off in mere minutes.
I keep my eyes closed as I run conditioner-slick hands through my hair before letting them slide over my collarbone and sweeping the tips of my breasts. Despite the warmth of the water rolling down my skin, a ripple of awareness makes the hairs on my body rise.
I’ve been in a heightened state of arousal nearly every second for the last week, and this evening is no different.
My regular routine would be to wait for him at the bar like I’ve done countless times, but the way my body nearly made all of our secrets come to light yesterday, I knew doing so would only mean trouble. I’m not immune to the pheromones floating around in the air at The Hairy Frog. Most everyone there is looking to find someone to spend the night with, and it makes the atmosphere thick with arousal and desperation.
I don’t hedge the whimper that rushes out at the first brush of my fingers over my clit. Every cell in my body is on alert with need, and in the safety of my own home, I don’t have to pretend to be the prim-and-proper woman everyone expects. I get to be normal. I get to have desires. Being aroused doesn’t come with shame here the way it does out in public.
The rustle of a belt makes me smile, but I keep my eyes closed. My shower curtain is opaque enough to prevent him from really seeing any detail of my body, but I know he can see that I’m touching myself. It feels so naughty to do it without him giving me instructions to do so. I could’ve never done this if we hadn’t spent so much time together the way we have this last week.
I bite my lip, an attempt to hide my smile, when I feel the rush of cool air on my skin as he pulls back the shower curtain.
“You don’t seem alarmed,” he says, his hand covering mine, forcing me to add more pressure to my clit.
“The alarm was set,” I say on a gasp when his fingers slip past mine, one pressing inside of me.
“You weren’t at the bar,” he says, but it doesn’t really sound like a complaint. “I figured I’d use my lunch break to check on you. Imagine my surprise when I find you like this.”
His lips brush my chin before his mouth covers mine.
He doesn’t give me the chance to formulate a response before the kiss grows so intense that my brain goes offline nearly completely.
His fingers continue to explore and tease. Every time I try to sink lower, to get him to push deeper inside of me, he pulls back.