Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 122(@200wpm)___ 97(@250wpm)___ 81(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 122(@200wpm)___ 97(@250wpm)___ 81(@300wpm)
“I mean, I guess I could go.” Now she’s starting to sound more like herself.
“It’s a date,” I say, and there’s a moment where we look at one another as the silence stretches. Then the car hits a pothole, and the next thing I know my lips are on Briar’s.
It must be a shock to her, but I’m using this to my advantage. My hands come up to cup her face as I immediately tighten my hold. My mouth opens, and when she gasps, I slide my tongue inside and demand she kiss me back.
A soft moan comes from her, and it’s the same sound she made when she was tasting the cake. Now I’m tasting her, and it’s sweet and warm with decadent spice. Her hands come to my chest, and I feel her fingertips on the bare skin of my neck as I turn my head to the other side and kiss her all over again.
This kiss has been decades in the making, and I’m not ready for it to end. I suck on her full bottom lip before I lick back inside again, and then it’s my turn to moan. Briar tentatively tastes me, and then I feel her kissing me back, just as desperate to connect.
I’m pushing her against the seat before grabbing her thigh and pulling it over my own. I want every inch of her on my body, and then I want to be inside it.
“We’re here, sir,” the driver says and clears his throat.
When I look up, we’re at Briar’s place, and I have a feeling he’s been trying to get our attention for several minutes. Glancing down at Briar, I see that her cheeks are flushed and her lips are swollen from my kisses. Before she can try and pull away from me, I take her hand and nearly carry her out of the car in my arms.
“Let’s make this quick, beauty. The sooner we get the kids, the sooner we can go to my place.”
Our place.
SEVEN
BRIAR
What the hell was that?! Play it cool, Briar, it was only a slip. We clearly got lost in the moment, and love is in the air because of the wedding plans. Then Mace got tangled in with the mess I’ve made of my apartment.
I really screwed up this time. Meadow barely moves out and I’ve managed to get myself into trouble already. Mace wouldn't let me see some of the messages I’d gotten from my ad. The rage on his face gave me a clue into what they might have said. What’s done is done, and I’ll worry about my apartment debacle after this wedding. My attention needs to stay focused on that because I don’t have room for anything else. Especially kisses from Mace Monroe.
“Here, I’ll take that.” I put my bag with Bingo in it onto my shoulder before grabbing Bugs. I need both my hands to carry his terrarium, and Mace has the crate with the kittens. We’ve arrived at Mace’s house with as much of my stuff as we could gather.
“I’ll get the bags, sir.” Marco, his driver, says. Oh God. He saw Mace and me kissing. Not that you can tell from his expression because he looks as if it never happened. He’s playing it way cooler than I am. Is that normal? Does Mace make out with lots of girls in the back of his SUV while his driver takes him around town?
That doesn’t sound like a Mace thing to do, but letting himself get caught masturbating also doesn’t sound like him either. Not the normally quiet Mace. He’s not as reserved as he was when we were younger, but I suppose things can change. Clearly.
When we go to parties or events, it's impossible to miss the women that flock to Mace and Heath. They were both single and from a prominent family. It drove my sister nuts, and truthfully it would bother me sometimes too. My mind would always go back to Mace and watching him come.
It annoyed me that it was a fantasy and the only real sexual experience I’ve had with someone else. I’m starting to think he ruined me. I’ve never let myself get out there and date since Meadow and I went to an all-girls school. Neither of us ventured out, but I guess she doesn’t have to worry about that anymore.
Oh crap, it dawns on me that I am supposed to have a sort-of date. It totally slipped my mind that one of the vets that volunteers at the shelter asked me out. At least, I think he asked me out. He said we should get dinner and talk about a new program that was going to launch in the summer. Something about Adoption Saturdays every other week in the park.
“Let me unlock the house and turn the alarm off.” Mace pulls his phone out, and I watch as he does it before we head up the stairs to the double doors.