Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55153 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55153 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
When she reaches for the box, her dress swishes slightly and my gaze is pulled to the slit in the skirt, the flash of her bare thigh making me hard.
Shit. Still holding on to the box, I pull back on it and use it as cover for the prominent bulge I’m now sporting. She lowers her brows in confusion.
“I’ll bring them inside for you,” I say, smiling. “And I want to say hi to your mom and Jasmine before we go.”
“Okay.” She opens the door, making room for me to step inside. “Mom and Jasmine aren’t here, though. My mom is taking Jasmine and Nolan out for dinner and bowling.”
“Oh, nice. Bowling sounds like more fun than this dinner.”
My sudden nervousness can be heard in my voice, and fuck, I’m sweating all of a sudden. I planned to behave myself tonight, but I’m only human. In the many fantasies I’ve had about Kylie, and there have been a lot, I’ve never been able to imagine her looking so incredibly sexy. I want to wrap my hands around her waist, pull her close, and kiss her exposed neck and shoulders. Tell her I’ve never, in all my life, seen a more beautiful woman. Never wanted a woman this wayso much I actually ache.
Trying to keep my erection at bay, I don’t look at her as I slide the box of roses onto the table and fix my gaze on some family photos.
“I have to see what this is,” she says, opening the lid of the box. “Oh, these are so beautiful. Thank you so much. No one’s ever brought me flowers before.”
I can’t keep my eyes from locking on hers. No one’s ever brought her flowers before? My shock turns to helplessness when I see tears pooled in her eyes.
“I’m so sorry,” she says, wiping the corner of one eye and then the other with her index finger, then fanning her face with her hands. “Oh, I can’t do this with these lashes and all this eye makeup. Help.”
I blurt out the first thing that pops into my mind.
“Um…did you know a giraffe’s tongue can be twenty inches long?”
Kylie smiles. “Really?”
“Yeah, I heard that on the radio the other day.”
“Hmm. Maybe I should be going out with a giraffe tonight,” she cracks.
I laugh back, relaxing a little. “Then I’d have to fight a giraffe. That could get ugly.”
With a grateful smile, she takes a breath in and then exhales. “Okay. Thanks. Are you ready to go?”
“I am.”
“You look really nice,” she says, picking up a tiny black purse from the counter.
“Thanks.” I look down at the tux. “I don’t have to get this dressed up very often.”
As we walk out the front door, I offer her my arm since she’s wearing heels.
“That makeup was nice while it lasted,” she says lightly on the walk to my car. “I can feel it melting off already.”
After I open her door and she steps up to the passenger seat, I close it and walk around to my side, turning up the air conditioning to keep her cool on this humid Vegas evening.
“Thanks for doing this,” I say, looking over at her.
Damn, is she beautiful. I love looking at her in shorts and a T-shirt but seeing her in that sexy dress is making me crazy. While I know she’s not wearing it just for me, I like to pretend she is. I imagine what she’s wearing underneath, and in a perfect world, I’d get to be the one to undress her later. I wonder how her body would respond to my hands and mouth.
“Everything okay?” she asks, a wrinkle of concern forming between her brows.
“Yeah, uh…yeah.”
I tear my attention away from my fantasy and put the car in reverse. So far, I’m doing a shit job of hiding my true feelings for her. I had it all figured out before I knocked on her door; Coach is right, even though he doesn’t know the full story. Kylie has been through too much to be used in any way, by any man. I’d put a stop to any other man trying to use her, but here I am doing it myself.
“I’m sorry about all this,” I say, keeping my gaze on the road.
“What, tonight? I don’t mind.”
I shake my head. “Just…the whole thing. Instead of being man enough to tell Cassidy I’m not fucking around with her, I asked you to be my shield, and that’s not right. You’ve got better things to do than go on pretend dates with me.”
She surprises me by laughing. “I don’t mind at all, Pax. It’s actually kind of fun. I hope to date again at some point, and this is like practice for that. There’s no pressure, but I still get to…you know, figure some things out.”
“What could you need to figure out?” I ask her. “You’re great at this.”