Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
“Can you count that high?” a deep voice asks, laced with humor. It sends chills down my spine, but not from fear. Holy hell, that voice.
“I’ll let that slide since you’re doing me a favor,” Palmer fires back. I can hear the affection in her voice for the man, and that helps to set my nerves at ease even more.
“Okay, one,” she starts, but the male speaks up again.
“Wait. So, we take off the blindfolds, and then what?” he asks.
“Really?” Palmer sighs. I can almost hear her rolling her eyes. “You introduce yourselves, and I’ll take pictures.”
“That’s it?” he asks.
“No, that’s not it. We talked about this. I’ll give you directions for poses and positions, and you can roll with them. This is supposed to be fun.”
“Fun. Right.” He doesn’t sound convinced, and that, too, helps calm my nerves. He sounds like Palmer used her charms to convince him to do this too. He’s probably in love with her. My best friend is a looker. Long dark hair and green eyes unlike any I’ve ever seen before. She’s outgoing and kind, which means she’s beautiful on the inside and the outside. I’m sure all she had to do was bat her eyelashes at him, and he was bending to her will. Hell, I’m not into women, and the move worked on me. I fight a smile. If Palmer is anything, she’s definitely persuasive. She claims it’s because she’s the baby of the family. I think it’s just her.
“Any more questions, Mr. Fun Killer?” she teases.
“I’m good,” he says, and the affection and humor in his voice goes even further to tamp down some of my fears.
“Finally.” Palmer's tone is dramatic, but there is an underlying playfulness that is a constant trait of my best friend. “Now, where was I? Oh, right. One. Two.” There’s a long dramatic pause, and I’m about to tell her to get on with it when she says, “Three.”
My hands tremble as I reach up and remove the blindfold. I blink a few times, letting my eyes adjust to the sunlight, and then I gasp. The man standing before me is one I’ve seen before. I’ve never met him, but I’ve seen pictures. Hell, I’ve been to his house. I turn to look at Palmer, and she’s beaming.
“Ramsey, meet my big brother, Deacon. Deacon, this is my bestie, Ramsey.”
Palmer set me up with her older brother. Deacon Setty is… the sexiest man I’ve ever seen. His gold-colored eyes take me in, and a smile tilts his lips. I suck in a breath as his feet carry him closer. He stops with maybe a foot of space between us. “Ramsey,” his husky voice says, holding his hand out for me.
I swallow hard, trying to find my words. “D-Deacon.” I place my hand in his, and I’m shocked when he lifts my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles. What’s even more shocking is that I’m too mesmerized by him to care that he’s touching me. If that doesn’t spell trouble, I don’t know what does.
“Oh!” Palmer says excitedly. “And I didn’t even have to coach you. Good job, big brother,” she teases.
His eyes smile, if that’s even a thing. If it’s not, it is now. At least when it comes to Deacon Setty. “How do you put up with her?” he asks me, his tone light.
I shrug, feeling so out of place. “You get used to her.”
“I lived with her for years and still never got used to her.” His smile is infectious.
“She must not be too bad. She got you here.” I tilt my head to the side.
“She’s like a puppy. Nipping at your ankles until you play with her.” He laughs, and the sound washes over me like a cool breeze on a hot summer’s day.
“You love me, and you know it,” Palmer fires back. She’s not the least bit bothered by her brother’s comments.
“You know I do, little sister,” he replies. He glances over at Palmer, and I can see the love he has for her. My shoulders relax further, and suddenly, this entire arrangement doesn’t seem so bad.
two
Deacon
Her name is Ramsey, and she’s a fucking knockout.
I’ve heard the name many times over the past couple of years, but I’ve never had the chance to meet her. Hell, she’s been to my house to swim with Palmer, but it’s never been while I was there. Now, here she stands before me. Her long dark hair and her big blue eyes are staring at me with so many different emotions. I wish I knew her well enough to read exactly what she’s feeling, what she’s thinking.
When Palmer called me last week begging me to do this photo shoot, I made up every excuse in the book to get out of it. However, my baby sister knows how to get me to cave, and here I stand. I had no idea what I was in for, but I never in my wildest imagination thought I’d be standing in front of the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.