Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55765 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55765 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
Toward the end of dinner, Kayla asks Maci, “Are you okay?”
I tighten my grip on my fork. It’s the question I’ve wanted to ask her since the meal began, but I haven’t even dared to look across at her. She sparkles at the edge of my vision.
“I’m fine,” she murmurs.
“Okay…”
That’s it. Then it passes. I silently roar at Kayla to follow-up.
Once the meal is over, Ethan stands. “I should get going.”
“You don’t have to leave,” Kayla says.
“I don’t want to overstay my welcome,” he replies, “but could I use the bathroom first?”
“I’ll show you where it is,” Kayla mutters.
“It’s okay. I can find it.”
Ethan exits the room. Kayla waits for him to go, then turns to me quickly, almost leaping out of her seat. “So? What’s the verdict? He’s great, isn’t he? He’s not like my other boyfriends. He’s so polite, and he’s normal.”
“He seems like a friendly, intelligent young man,” I tell her, “but I can’t give you a verdict, Kayla. I hardly know him, but he made a good first impression.”
“I think he might be the one,” Kayla mutters.
“Kay,” Maci says, almost snapping. “Don’t say stuff like that. He’s a nice person, sure. He’s friendly, but you’ve only known each other for a couple of weeks. You don’t know if he’s the one. You can’t know it that fast.”
Kayla leans back, narrowing her eyes at her friend in confusion. I’m not confused, though. Maci isn’t talking about Ethan and Kayla. She’s talking about us. She’s telling herself and me that neither she nor I can be sure there’s any connection here. She’s driving home how impossible this is.
“Okay, chill,” Kayla says. “Jeez. Sorry for being excited.”
“I don’t want to see you get hurt again,” Maci mutters apologetically.
“He’s not going to hurt me.”
I’m on Maci’s side, but I don’t interject. My daughter is a grownup and needs to make her own decisions, not that I’d ever knowingly let anything happen to her. I also don’t want her to feel like we’re ganging up on her.
A few minutes later, Ethan returns. He walks over to me and offers his hand. “Thank you again, sir. I hope I can repay the kindness one day.”
“I’ll walk you out,” Kayla says.
They leave. It’s just Maci and me in the room. I can smell her perfume, or is it just her scent? Despite the Michelin-star-level meal, I can still taste her on my lips. My head is light like I’m under the water, almost passing out from focusing on her perfect sex.
Finally, I look at her thoroughly: the subtle makeup on her cheeks and slightly red lips. It all brings out her natural beauty rather than masking or replacing it. She bites her lip, staring at me.
“You look beautiful,” I whisper.
She opens her mouth. Her chest rises and falls like she’s been waiting all evening for me to say that. Then she turns and stares down at the table. “Cold, remember?” she hisses in return.
I reach across the table and touch her hand. For a warm moment, we hold each other, but then she snatches her hand away, shaking her head.
“Luke…”
“I know,” I groan. “Dammit, I know.”
“I-I need the bathroom.”
She stands and turns away from me. Even now, I admire her shape and the width of her hips. She isn’t wearing tights, giving me a mouthwatering look at her thighs from behind. She stops at the door, looking at me over her shoulder. It’s like she wants me to follow her and tear off that silky silver dress like it’s gift wrap. This time, even if we’re not in the pool, she’ll be even wetter, even hotter.
Fuck. This is hard, just like my rod, thick and filled to the brim with come.
She turns away. With everything I have, I focus on staying in the chair.
CHAPTER 11
ETHAN
Imust be a genius or maybe just a highly effective predator. How did Kayla miss it? She’s beautiful and elegant but perhaps not as smart as me. Or maybe she’s too close to it? Whatever the case, I saw it, and I followed my hunch. Throughout dinner, the friend, Maci, was sneaking looks at Lukas, and Lukas was trying too hard not to look at Maci.
It was like he was making a point of it. It would’ve been less suspicious if he’d looked at her and talked to her occasionally. His behavior just made it more obvious.
Kayla walks with me to the main gate. When the security lights flicker on, I think she looks magnificent. I find myself, for a second, wondering if I could somehow make this work, but I’ve gone too far already. She’d never forgive me. I’ve got to see this through.
Brushing the hair from her face, I lean forward, then stop myself with a heavy sigh. I’m letting her know that everything in me wants to kiss her, but, like the respectful SOB that I apparently am… “I can’t kiss you in view of the house. That’s the sort of line an honest man knows not to cross.”