Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72990 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72990 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
I could do with taking some of the heat out of my body and the urgency out of my dick. It’s hard as a rock and I haven’t even gotten over the threshold yet.
I scramble into shorts and a T-shirt and shove my feet into slides, anything that will be easy to take off, and I jog down the stairs. Throwing open the fridge, I’m grateful that Kain thought to bag up all the groceries. I grab Darleen’s pan and a big container. My phone and keys are by the door. A quick last-minute look in the mirror reveals my cheeks are as hot as the sun.
“Fuck.”
I do not want her to see me looking like a bloody tomato. I rest everything on the console table by the door and press my still frozen hands against my cheeks. My beard is bristly and probably in need of a trim, but there’s no time. It has its benefits when it comes to making oral interesting.
Don’t think about oral.
My dick decides it’s a great time to turn into an iron bar and these shorts do zero to hide anything. A quick look at my phone tells me I have one minute to go, and I hate being late.
Fuck it. I grab everything again, hanging the bag of groceries over my arm so it covers my rogue dick. Then I’m out of the house, blinking into the late afternoon sunshine, feeling all the joys of spring.
At Gabriella’s front door, I don’t waste time. A quick knock ends up sounding thunderous, like I’m trying to punch my way inside. I feel like doing that. Every second it takes Gabriella to answer feels like an age.
When the handle turns and she appears, framed by the doorway, my mouth goes instantly dry.
“Hey,” I manage to croak out.
“Hey, Dalton. Get in here and put all that stuff down.”
I blink once, trying to jolt myself out of my mesmerized state. Gabriella is a picture of elegant beauty in a tight black dress made from a stretchy material that clings to every curve. Teamed with adorable fluffy pink slippers, she’s like an angel and a seductress rolled into one.
I make my way into the kitchen, remembering how Darleen used to bake huge trays of cookies and call us inside from the yard so we could eat them while they were warm and gooey. I rest everything on the counter and Gabriella, who seems so much smaller without her chunky sneakers or boots, begins to search through the bag.
“What do you want to do? I can’t cook this like I did with Kain so that it’s ready after.” Her eyes drift to the door to the hallway like she’s already imagining us climbing the stairs. “I can cook first, or after…”
“AFTER.” The word comes out like a growl and Gabriella’s eyebrows shoot up.
“Alrighty then.” Just at that moment, my stomach rumbles and the amusement that tugs at Gab’s expression is mortifying. “You hungry in more ways than one, Dalton?”
I take a step closer to her, no longer able to hold back the urge I have to touch her. My hand drifts to her hair, taking a soft strand and running it between my rough fingertips. She’s elegant and reserved, and I’m gruff and impatient. I hope the combination will be dynamite.
“This has been a long time coming,” I say, noting that the huskiness in my voice increases the closer I get to her.
“It has,” she whispers as I rest my hand against her slender neck, feeling the fluttering of her pulse under my palm.
I loom over her like the shadow of a mountain, half afraid that I might break her if I let go of my fingernail grip of restraint, half looking forward to showing her what a man like me can do for her. “You think about this a lot?” I ask.
“Since I was thirteen,” she admits.
Shit. I remember those days, feeling her cool blue eyes on me and feeling awkward in my body that had grown too big, too fast. I was halfway to being a man, and she was just a girl, but the connection was there for both of us.
“Tell me what you imagined, and I’ll make it happen.” I trail my thumb over her lips, the rush of breath she inhales cooling my skin.
“I imagine you pulling me into your lap, controlling my movements even though I’m on top.”
Shit. Hearing her fantasy is so damned sexy. Knowing she’s thought about what we’re going to do together in the same way I have is almost too much.
The time for talking and soft touches is over.
I palm her ass, lifting her quickly, forcing her legs around my hips. She’s light compared to what I’m used to lifting every day as part of my job. I silently thank construction for building me into a man who can handle himself. Gabriella gasps as I bring my mouth to hers and stride into the hallway, beginning my ascent of the stairs.