Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 26140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 131(@200wpm)___ 105(@250wpm)___ 87(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 131(@200wpm)___ 105(@250wpm)___ 87(@300wpm)
“You’re mine.” I pinch my arm, making sure this is real and I’m not dreaming.
“I’m yours, Kelsey.”
“I love the way that sounds.” The admittance rolls off my tongue and I don’t care if it makes me sound needy.
“Not as much as I do. Get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow, siren.” Going to bed with the last thing I hear being Talon’s voice and the gift he’s given me… Best day ever.
“Good night, Talon.” I wait for him to hang up before I do the same. I fall asleep with a smile on my face and happiness in my heart.
6
TALON
Ican hear and feel Kelsey before I see her. I’m out on my dock in a pair of loose shorts and no shirt. This is my usual. The tide is low, which means the canal won’t see enough water to put out into the bay until afternoon. Our tides change twice a day, but every other week, high tide will either be in the morning or the evening. Which means today is going to be a slower day at Captain T’s. A damn good thing considering Kels and I worked from morning to night yesterday. The moment her foot hits the floating dock, I put my coffee mug down, my head tips over my shoulder, and I find the woman who has me ready to move in closer. I refrain from picking her up and carrying her back to my house to get the live show from last night.
Damn, I should have offered to switch to FaceTime. Talk about instant fucking regret. I knew myself, was well aware of the fact that if I saw all her silky-smooth skin bare in front of a camera, I’d knock every damn door down in order to have her beneath me.
“Good morning. You look like you’ve been up awhile,” Kelsey greets, stopping too far away from me. Probably for the better. I’ve yet to talk to her dad, an oddity considering he’s usually out here right along with me to check on the tides.
“Mornin’, siren. There a reason you’re standing so far away?” She’s liable to put me in an early grave when I see the lack of clothing she’s wearing.
“Making sure it was okay to join you.” As she takes another step, I get a glimpse of her creamy thigh. Realization hits that she isn’t wearing anything beneath her oversized fishing shirt. I’m sure my mom went through the inventory in the back of Captain T’s, found a bunch of overflow, and gave it away to employees. Kelsey in a shirt emblazoned with a piece of my name is hot as fuck.
“Anytime you want, Kels. Though, gotta say, your dad coming out here and seeing you dressed like that. I’d bet he’d find his fishing gaff pretty damn easily.” My hand slides to her lower back, and I pull her in front of me so I’m standing behind her.
“It’s a good thing they’re not around, then, huh?” She brings her glass to her lips. The woman never consumes caffeine, not first thing in the morning or later in the day. She prefers juice, water, or vitamin water.
“Gotta ask, there a reason you never drink anything that has caffeine in it?” I switch the subject, glad to hear we have a few minutes alone while annoyed at the same time that it’s going to be even longer before I get a chance to talk to Ed Taylor.
“Kind of, kind of not. I more or less drank too much caffeine one day, and my heart started pounding, and I had some chest pain along with dizziness. Mom picked me up from school, didn’t like the way I looked, and rushed me to the hospital. A couple of tests later, they admitted me. Dad came in from out of town. I had a nice little two-day visit and was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. They suggested I cut out caffeine, keep drinking to a minimum, and see a cardiologist once a year.” Kelsey is looking out over the canal. There’s a bird on the rocks standing on one foot and waiting for either a fish or another bird to appear. I wrap my arm around her chest, pulling her as close to me as possible.
“Glad you got it figured out and you’re not doing anything to help exacerbate the issue.” A part of me wants to demand she tell me every single trigger. I know working too damn much can make it to the top of the list, and everyone knows Kelsey is working two damn jobs.
“Yep, I’ve got big dreams, lots of goals, and I don’t want to self-sabotage myself.” I make a mental note to research AFib or to talk to Grandad. I’d be willing to bet he knows a thing or two about the diagnosis. Especially considering he complains all the damn time about going to this doctor and that doctor. Mainly, he gets annoyed with the cardiologist the most. He swears up and down his ticker is a-okay, yet the doctor still makes him come in every six months for an echocardiogram plus get more blood work done.