Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 63100 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63100 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
“This cannot be happening,” I mutter. There is no way I want to be in the same state as my ex-husband, let alone under the same roof, but I do know he is probably telling the truth about the hotels and the flights, so I feel conflicted and wish for once I didn’t have a conscience.
I pull my bottom lip in between my teeth, debating what to do. Lights flicker through the dark living room, an engine cuts off, and a door slams.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I hear come from Ken, and I frown at the door as loud banging starts.
“Lea, open up.” Now Austin? Are you kidding me? What the hell is this?
As soon as I open the door, Austin puts his hand on my belly, pushing me back into the house, then shuts the door behind him.
“What are you doing here?” I frown.
“I asked Zach to drive by and, if he saw Ken’s car, to call me,” he explains then glares at the door.
“Lea, can I please talk to you alone?” Ken calls. My mind begins to race. This is not what I need—not tonight, not when I feel like my body is about to shut down from lack of sleep and stress.
“He said he can’t get a flight until Sunday and that there are no rooms in town. I can’t just make him sleep in his car for two days.”
“He’s not staying here unless I am,” He says and I can actually feel his rumbled words vibrate through my body making me tingle.
“Pardon?”
“You heard me.”
I did hear him, but what the hell is going on? “This cannot be happening,” I groan in frustration once again.
“No one’s sleeping in my mom’s room, and that only leaves the couch and my bed, so unless you’re willing to sleep with him,” I jerk my thumb towards the door, “this isn’t gonna work.”
“I’ll sleep with you.”
“No.”
“Then I guess he’s sleeping in his car.”
“Don’t you have to work tomorrow?”
“I’m my own boss baby.” He shrugs.
“Fine.” I should just make the jerk sleep in his car, but I would feel horrible the whole time. “Stupid conscience.” I mutter under my breath.
Going to the door, swing it open, and look at my ex, a man I thought I loved, who I believed loved me, boy was I wrong. So completely wrong that, even now, guilt strikes me hard.
“You can sleep on the couch,” I tell him and without waiting for him to reply I storm off down the hall to my room and shut the door. I don’t even want to contemplate Austin sleeping in my room with me, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel better knowing he was here in the house.
Listening as a couple doors shut I take off the sweater, which leaves me in a pair of sleep shorts and a tank, and get into bed. Seconds after I lie down, my door opens and Austin steps into the room. His eyes roam over me then he turns off the light, but that does nothing to stop my eyes from seeing him slip his hooded sweatshirt off over his head then his shirt, leaving the large expanse of his chest exposed, showing off a tattoo I hadn’t known he had and flat abs, not overly defined, but definitely visible. Then his hands go to the buttons of his jeans and he pulls them down, leaving him in a pair of black boxer briefs that mold to the thick muscles of his thighs.
His large body is imposing and almost predatory as he walks toward the bed. My eyes track his every movement, from the way his arms hang at his sides, to the way his muscles flex under his skin. We had sex when we were teenagers, and I loved the way he made me feel then, the way he was so large and rugged, always making me feel feminine and small. But this Austin is someone completely different. He doesn’t just take up the space in my room; he commands it looking at him now I can see the Viking ancestry in his features which only serve to make him more beautiful, and terrifying at the same time.
As he nears the bed, I wonder how the hell we’re going to make this work. The queen size is large for me, and would be for two normal people, but with Austin’s bulk, I know it’s going to feel like we’re sleeping on a twin.
“I gave him some blankets and shit out of the linen closet.”
“Oh,” I didn’t even think about that, “thanks.”
“Uh-hum,” he grunts, pulling the covers back and getting under. Immediately, I feel the heat from his body and his skin touching mine at our sides. The worst part is I can’t even ask him to scoot over, because he takes up the whole damn bed without even trying. Lying there awkwardly his body turns towards mine, his hand slides under my neck and his hand lays over my waist. My body and lungs freeze, but he doesn’t move again, so I turn to my side, facing the door, and tuck myself into a ball, bringing my knees up to my chest. Then I move the pillow so that it’s under my head, instead of Austin’s arm. I move again, kicking one leg outside the covers then roll slightly to my stomach, with one leg hitched up.