Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 129179 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 646(@200wpm)___ 517(@250wpm)___ 431(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129179 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 646(@200wpm)___ 517(@250wpm)___ 431(@300wpm)
I held onto Emmett’s hand as we walked from my car—a formerly pristine Mercedes that my nephew had just spilled red juice in—toward the bakery. I loved the kid like crazy but damn was I sad about that juice, especially since the car was only nine days old. Fortunately the interior was black, so the juice stain wouldn’t be obvious. I made a mental note to make an appointment to have the car detailed.
As we approached the store I looked through the window and everything just stopped, including my steps. All thoughts of juice and car cleaning appointments went right out the window.
There on the other side of the glass was a woman wiggling her sexy ass along to a beat as she wiped down the front of a display case. The rear view of her was the hottest thing I’d ever seen, so damn alluring my mouth started to water. I wondered if she was one of those girls who thought they were fat, and prayed that wasn’t the case because I fucking loved her curves on sight. As I continued watching her, I discounted the idea that she would be that type of woman, since she seemed quite comfortable in her body. I wanted her to wiggle that sexy as fuck ass in front of me for hours and what’s more, I wanted her to be doing it naked.
I had to force my eyes away from her rear before I started drooling all over the fucking sidewalk. I slowly lifted my eyes up her body, watching as her ponytail moved back and forth across her back while she cleaned. I had a tremendous urge to walk up behind her and wrap my arms around her waist, set my chin on her shoulder and ask her how her day had been. It was insane, considering I didn’t know her and had never so much as seen her face. As I got closer to the door I studied her hands, smiling when I saw no rings. It was ridiculous the amount of anxiety I felt even thinking that this woman I hadn’t even met might be involved with someone else.
“Is we goin’ in or what?” Emmett asked as he tugged at my hand.
I nodded, my eyes never leaving the vision in front of me.
“Oh yeah, buddy. We’re definitely going in,” I said as I surreptitiously adjusted myself in my pants.
The low sex drive I’d been so sure about? It was instantly a thing of the past. I was as aroused as I’d ever been and the only thing I could think about was marking my territory in the most sexual of ways. A part of me realized that shit was getting real and that I was absolutely out of my depth, but I didn’t care. All I could think about was her.
Making her mine was all that mattered.
2
Julia
I was starving and exhausted, which was to be expected after almost a dozen hours at work with only three hurried bathroom breaks and one slice of pizza I’d eaten hours before. I was counting down the seconds until I could lock the door and leave for the night. Less than thirty minutes separated me from turning the closed sign to face out and I couldn’t wait.
I worked at Sweet Like Candy, a bakery and candy emporium. The shop was one of my happy places, which meant work was a joy and not a burden. My schedule normally allowed for an hour-long lunch break and all the delicious treats I could eat, but not that day. This was due to it being a Friday, and one where we’d had a ton of orders to fill. The shop had been slammed with non-stop customers picking up orders, calling in with requests and, of course, there were also deliveries.
We’d normally have been just as busy but the day had gone completely off the rails the moment both our delivery crew members called out with food poisoning. Never had I been so glad to have skipped out on the all-you-can-eat wing night at the pub they went to after work on Thursdays. Having the delivery guys out meant that my boss, Gina, had to drive the van to deliver the most elaborate wedding cake of the day since it was her creation. This also meant she had to take two shop assistants with her, due to the weight and size of the cake. One of us always went with the event cakes in case there was on-site work that needed to be done. Things got worse when the afternoon manager, Mac, called out with food poisoning, too. By that point I’d been cursing the stupid pub in my head a million times over.
With Gina doing delivery duty and Mac out, I was left manning the store on our busiest day of the week with only two high school girls to help at the counter and our elderly secretary manning the phones. The day had been long and stressful, but I still found the joy in it. I was lucky to be starting a weeklong vacation after one more day of work, which meant I had something to look forward to. Although I’d resisted when Gina ordered me to take time off, I found myself more excited for it than I’d originally anticipated. I’d even gone ahead and booked myself an entire day at the spa.