Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 93840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 469(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 469(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
“Your hat is pink,” I said, feeling my heartbeat speed up at the incongruous color topping an outfit of black and gray.
Felix’s face began to match his hat. “My grandfather made it for me. His color choice was… let’s just say, he was trying to make a point.”
I strode closer to him and reached out to wrap his scarf properly around his throat.
“And what point was that?” I felt him shudder at the sound of my voice and wondered if I’d be able to walk to the door with a semihard cock.
“Real men wear pink,” he said in a small voice.
“They do, indeed. Had you not known that before the hat?”
“No, I… I just prefer to keep a lower profile. You know, stay out of the way and try not to attract attention.”
After reaching out to tuck the ends of the scarf into his coat collar, I kept my hands on the lapels. “Felix, no matter how hard you try, there’s no way you’d ever fly under the radar. Nor should you. You’re stunningly beautiful. Even in a bright pink hat. Especially in a bright pink hat.”
His eyes darted to the ground behind the dark frames of his glasses. “Well, thanks. But I don’t feel comfortable when people notice me.”
“Why not?”
His eyes flicked back up to me accompanied by a hint of a smirk. “Because then they flirt, and then I try to flirt back and end up saying stupid shit.”
I barked out a laugh. “You weren’t wrong earlier. I do have some beautiful wood. In fact, I’d be happy to show it to you later.”
Felix groaned and stepped back, forcing me to let go of his coat as we shared a laugh. I was happy to see him able to take my ribbing and even caught him shooting me a teasing glare in return.
“I hope you like stocafi,” I said, picking up the picnic hamper Mari had prepared for me.
“I hope I do too,” he said. “What is it?”
I gave him an exaggerated expression of shock. “You’ve never had it? How have you lived? It’s the principal dish of Monaco.”
His grin was devilish. “I guess I’ve been too busy living off the principal dish of Texas.”
“Beer and peanuts?” I winked at him and gestured for him to follow me to the door.
Felix chuckled. “Close. It’s chili. My grandfather has spent the past couple of months torturing us with different recipes. He tried to win a chili cook-off.”
“You talk about him a lot. He must be a good man.”
I led him outside to where Bert had left the utility vehicle for me. Jon sat in the back seat despite my refusal to have him join us.
“Get out,” I grumbled to him.
“No, sir…reee Bob,” he replied, catching himself but sounding like a fool in the process. “I’m coming with you to see the ah… sights.”
Felix looked at me in confusion.
I cleared my throat. “Felix, this is Jon. My… friend. He’s…” I felt my teeth clench instead of growling like I really wanted to do. “He’s a little needy. Doesn’t like to be alone.”
Jon scoffed and looked away, mumbling.
Felix shifted uneasily on his feet. “That’s fine. I don’t mind. The more the merrier, I guess?”
He was obviously trying to be polite to put Jon and me at ease.
Before turning on the utility vehicle, I leaned in to whisper in his ear. “Thank you for understanding.”
As we made our way along the gravel paths toward our destination, I noticed Felix looking out to sea. Darkness had come hours before, but the moon was bright on the choppy water.
Once we pulled up to the old stone structure perched on a small cliff overlooking the sea, Felix turned to me with excitement dancing in his eyes.
“What is this place?”
“A dovecote, originally, but now it’s a bit of a picnic shelter for tourists in summer. There’s a fireplace inside we can use to warm up so it won’t be quite so bad.”
The wind coming off the water was biting through even the thickest coat, and I knew once we were inside the shelter of the dovecote, we’d be somewhat protected from it.
I grabbed the picnic basket from the rear seat next to Jon and reached for Felix’s hand.
“Come on, let’s get you out of this wind.”
Once we’d entered the round space through an old wooden door, I heard Felix take in a breath. He spun slowly around, trying to make out the features of the place in the dark. I handed him the small flashlight I’d stashed in my pocket.
“Here, turn this on, and I’ll get the fire started.”
There were cement benches around the edges of the circular enclosure, and two wooden picnic tables sat abandoned in the center. I made my way over to the large stone fireplace and lit the kindling that had already been laid. Once it caught, I added a few small logs from the wooden bin off to the side and watched as the fire began to grow.