Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 45284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
“No,” I say, my voice flashing with anger.
Anger that he’d assume he’s too old for me. Anger, he’s ended things between us before they begin, which is a good thing since I don’t know how to date. I have no experience whatsoever and, even if I was the chasing type, this man is out of my league and not worth considering.
“You must be, what, twenty?”
“Nice guess.”
His smirk twitches. When his eyes glint this time, it’s like there’s a genuine emotion there, a genuine connection.
Is it pathetic how my soul throws a parade at that?
I made Kayden almost smile, a voice sings within.
“When I was twenty, I thought thirty was one hundred. That must mean I’m roughly one hundred and fifty to you.”
I laugh, not just at his words, but at his voice when he says them. It’s a hard voice, not made for jokes, and there’s something hilarious about the combination.
There’s nothing hilarious about him thinking I must see him as old. How could anything ever happen between us if he thinks that way?
Oh yeah… nothing ever will.
I’m not some serial dater. That I’d start instantly analyzing a man as a potential boyfriend after knowing him for roughly five minutes is absurd, and yet here I am, doing exactly that. Yet in my mind, he’s not just a boyfriend.
The fantasies come from deep inside of me, so that I can feel his arms wrapped around me, hear his husky voice close to my ear as he whispers I belong to him and always will, that nobody else will ever touch me, that we’ll be together for…
“Luna?” he says.
“Sorry,” I murmur.
“Your phone.”
He’s right. My phone’s blowing up in my pocket.
“Sorry about this. Just let me turn it off.”
Or let me snap at whoever it is that they can’t call me. I’m flirting with an older man, his hair silver, his gaze obsessive.
It’s my neighbor, Jodi.
“Hello?”
“He’s barking like crazy,” the older man snaps.
It’s funny. Jodi’s probably only a couple of years older than Kayden, but I can’t think of them as being anywhere close.
“He’s a terror,” Jodi goes on, not exactly the most brightly disposed man.
“How long has he been doing it?”
“All morning,” Jodi yells.
“Okay, let me check. I’ll sort it out, okay?”
Hanging up the phone, I feel Kayden’s eyes on me, staring like he’s ready to grab the phone and throw it at the wall.
“I’m sorry about this,” I say.
“What are you doing?” he asks.
I wish his tone was easier to read. It’s so deep and steady, it could be anywhere between pissed, hidden behind the tightness of his speech, or he actually might not mind.
“I’ve got this new dog. Buckie. He’s not settling in so good. I hate leaving him, even for a few hours, but…”
“I get it,” Kayden says. “I train dogs. I deal with all different types. I understand life gets in the way.”
Bringing up the camera, I’m conscious of Kayden walking around the desk. He stands right behind me, looming over me, his heat getting closer as he leans down and looks at the phone. His face is inches from mine as I bring up the camera app.
CHAPTER
THREE
Kayden
I place my hand on the desk, leaning forward to look at her phone.
I tell myself this isn’t an excuse to get closer to her, to smell her perfume. Or maybe it’s just her, the scent which rises inside of me, the temptation of it as if a part of her is calling to me, demanding that I claim her in the most possessive way, demanding that I make her mine this second.
The howling inside of me gets louder, as if demanding to know why I haven’t done it yet, demanding to know what’s stopping me.
Her hand trembles as she brings up the camera app, a living room filling the screen.
“Oh, Buckie,” she says, as the Jack Russell yaps at his upturned water bowl. “He does that sometimes, by mistake. He’ll get the zoomies, run around, then flip over his bowl. I’ll have to ask Marty if I can drive home and sort it out quickly. Heck. He’s going to be mad.”
“Is he, heck?” I say, trying for a light, teasing note.
She turns to me, her smile as shaky as her hand was. When our eyes meet, it’s like we’re both suddenly aware of how close we are. She leans back. I lean back too, though I don’t want to. I want to rush forward and kiss her quickly.
My manhood is being as disobedient as her hound, my shaft flooding, my tip aching as I take in her shyness, her youth, her innocent wide eyes, as if a barking dog is the worst thing that’s ever happened to her.
I wish I could keep it that way, if it’s true—shield her so nothing bad ever has to happen.
“Marty’s going to be pissed,” Luna murmurs.