Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 95080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
I couldn’t speak. I could only stare at him. And when had I ever not enjoyed being alone? There had been no one before Breckin for years, and after we’d separated, being in my own space was good. It was like he had no idea who I was.
“What? Are you going to fall apart now? Cause a scene? I’ve been waiting for you to turn into the pain-in-the-ass drama queen you are, and the rest of us to have to handle you.”
Crazy.
“It’s exhausting, you know. Everyone thinks so.”
I was…stunned. Now, suddenly, with me being honest about wanting Cord, he could apparently confess to how he really felt about me. And it wasn’t good. Evidently I was a nightmare and my family and friends all agreed.
Except I knew better. Because no, I wasn’t perfect. Far from it. But I took care of my family, was as much a caretaker for my friends as they were for me, and the truth was that for the most part, I was pretty grounded. Dimah always said so. It was the finest compliment he could give. And if I could count on anyone for the truth, it was him.
“You know what,” he said disgustedly, “do whatever you want, Tracy. I’m through groveling. You don’t want me, fine. Fuck you. It’s your choice.”
Before he stalked away, I was going to say that yes, fuckin’ right it was my choice, but we were in his parents’ house, and that would’ve been really poor form. You didn’t swear in front of your folks. Who did that? My father had to give us special permission just the other night.
Standing alone in the hall, I tried to understand how I was feeling. And not that I was one of those people who always stopped and thought about what I was experiencing at any given moment, but this was all very new. I’d never been in this exact situation before and would probably never be again.
“Hey.”
I turned to find Cord leaning in the doorway.
“You all right?”
That I could answer. “Yes.”
“Nice move not letting him hit you.”
“Well, my head is good,” I said with a grin, “the big one, that is—the little one still misses you—but I am still a bit bruised.”
He was chuckling. “The little one misses me?”
“It does, yes.”
His smile made his eyes sparkle, and I loved seeing his reaction to me.
“If he’d touched you,” he said flatly, his voice cold, “I would have hit him so hard, he wouldn’t’ve gotten back up.”
I nodded. “Not necessary. If I can see you coming, I can handle myself.”
He pushed off the doorframe, and I smiled as he closed in on me and gently took my face in his hands. “I don’t want you for a quick fuck.”
“You heard.”
“I did,” he whispered, tilting my head back so he could bend and kiss me. It was soft, tender, and when I opened for him, he slipped his tongue inside to mate with mine.
He walked me backward, behind the stairs, and once there, he made the kiss long, slow, and deep, licking and sucking, nibbling on my lips until I was whimpering under the tender assault.
When he eased free, I was left shivering and panting, wanting the man almost painfully.
“I wanna date you. Is that clear?”
“It is. I understood your intentions from earlier.”
“Oh, did you?” he teased.
“Yessir.”
“Okay, good. Now stay right here.”
I nodded and leaned back into the alcove, into the darkness, concentrating on calming my racing heart.
Minutes later, Cord came back. “So it looks like there’s a cheese festival here this weekend.”
I chuckled, and his smile was instant.
“As God is my witness, there’s a whole thing, so the bed-and-breakfast is full.”
“I thought we had a reservation.”
“Apparently they could cancel at their discretion.”
“Or,” I said, surmising what had happened, “if the folks at the B and B had someone standing right in front of them willing to pay them, say, double or even triple?”
“Right.”
“Small towns.”
“Yep.”
“So we gotta stay here?”
“Yes, we do.”
“In the same room?” I asked hopefully.
“In rooms that share a bathroom. So I can attack you in the middle of the night.”
“Is it an attack if I’m begging?”
He pounced on me, putting his arms around my waist, lifting me off my feet, and kissing me savagely. “No begging”—he said between kisses—“necessary.”
I went boneless in his arms and wrapped my legs around his hips as I told him to take me upstairs to the bathroom.
“I have already vetoed any and all bathrooms,” he reminded me before shoving me gently against the wall, telling me in broken whispers and sharp inhales of breath that anything but a bed was for amateurs; together, between sheets, was for grown-ups with serious agendas.
“Oh yeah?” I teased him, sucking his bottom lip into my mouth, feeling a shudder tear through him. “You’re serious?”
“Don’t talk to Breckin anymore. You don’t belong to him.”