Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 58090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
Steam poured into the room from the tub, and I breathed deeply of the perfumed air from the bath salts and essential oils I’d found on the shelf beside the tub. The water rushing from the tap made it impossible to hear what Bennett was saying on the other side of the bathroom door, but I could catch bits of his muffled voice.
He sounded agitated. Antsy.
My heart sank, and I nibbled on the corner of my lower lip. Part of me wanted to get dressed, slip out of the hotel room, and run. I’d ran before. I didn’t want to do it again, but if I needed to, to stay alive, I could figure it out. I’d manage to find something better than working in a library, for fuck’s sake.
But if I hit the eject button, I’d never see Bennett again.
And at the moment, that was more than I could bear to think about. He was my lifeline.
When the tub was full, I pushed my thoughts to the back of my mind—at least, as far as they would go—and slipped into the heavenly water. It was deep enough that the water line just reached my chin. I sighed with relief and closed my eyes.
The rounded edge cradled my neck as I reclined back, breathing in the aromatherapy-scented salts. When my eyes fluttered open, they fell on the floor-to-ceiling windows, and I watched as the city came to life below.
Californians were a relentless bunch that worked from the crack of dawn until it was dark again. So, it wasn’t surprising to find the streets filled with people preparing to embark on their morning commute.
A small coffee shop on the corner was bustling with a line out the door.
Coffee sounded good.
As I watched the activity, as though it were my own personal ant farm, I zeroed in on a blonde woman racing down the sidewalk, zig-zagging through the foot traffic like a professional. She was done up in a way that made me think she probably belonged to a law or marketing firm. Something high-powered.
She wore a pricey-looking outfit with a pair of killer heels. Her outfit probably cost more than my annual salary at Parkston’s. She was pretty, with pin-straight blonde hair that fluttered behind her as she powered down the street. I briefly wondered if she was a client at the club. It was something I pondered when people-watching. If I’d learned anything from my time tending bar at the club, you never really could tell who someone was behind their bedroom door. There was no way to guess someone’s kink.
The blonde moved out of my line of sight, and I locked onto another person to watch, an impatient man in the line forming outside the coffee shop. He tapped his foot and checked his watch every thirty seconds as though somehow expecting it to magically jump forward.
I drew in a deep breath and closed my eyes again, shoving aside the busyness of the city below. Instead, I focused on the indulgent bath. It had been a long time since I’d had a proper bath. My walk-up had a shower stall barely large enough to properly shave my legs.
The only thing that would make it perfect was if Bennett was sitting at the opposite end, rubbing my feet and staring at me with that wicked gaze that let me know he wasn’t thinking about my feet. If there was no Sanderson group of thugs. If I could just be a bartender, and Bennett could just be security. If there were no such people as Eric and Avery.
Just Tori and Bennett.
Together.
In peace.
“God, Tori, you’re pathetic,” I groaned to myself, forcing my eyes open to pop the fantasy bubble in my mind.
What was it about Bennett that had me acting like a lovesick teenager? Sure, he was an amazing fuck. Better than anyone I’d ever been with—male or female—but that couldn’t be it. Was it his protective manner? He made me feel safe? No…I was in love with him when we’d been together in Vegas. Not that I’d ever told him.
A soft knock dragged me out of my thoughts, and before I could say anything, Bennett pushed into the bathroom, coffee cup in hand.
“Here ya go. Cream and sugar, right?”
I smiled up at him as I took the cup from him. “Perfect. Thank you.”
He gave a short nod and then stepped back out of the room. Seconds later, he returned his own coffee in hand.
“I ordered eggs and toast. I wasn’t sure what else you’d want, but I can call them back if you want something else. They have fruit and cereal. Pancakes. Whatever you want, baby.”
My heart fluttered at the soft look in his eyes. “Toast and eggs are fine. Guess I should wrap this up.”
“I can bring it in here,” he offered.