Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 115525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 578(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 578(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
Rayne perked up a bit. “Do you wanna sit in the backyard and talk for a little while, or what is it you usually do to unwind after a hard day?”
Mike scrubbed his hand over his scruffy jaw. “Um. Usually, I just chill on the couch and watch whatever sports are on, or I go for a ride on my bike.”
Rayne smiled. “Okay. Let’s go for a ride.”
“I’m really beat, Rayne. My body is fuckin’ killin’ me from all the extra hauling I had to do. I might go out riding at the end of the week or something.” Mike hated to sound like an old man. But if Rayne only knew how many wheelbarrow loads of garden rocks he had to haul around a large building, he’d be insisting Mike do nothing but take some ibuprofen and lie on a heating pad until he fell asleep, because he had to wake and do it all over again in a few hours.
Rayne
The moment Rayne got in the truck and pressed his lips to Mike’s, he knew something was off. There wasn’t much heat behind it, not like last night. And Mike looked so tired he was almost slumped over in the driver’s seat. If Mike hadn’t had to come out to pick him up, he could’ve been home relaxing. Rayne didn’t want to make Mike’s life harder by living there. He was hoping for the opposite, but so far, he kept coming up short.
It took twenty minutes to get to the house, and Mike was quiet for most of the ride. Rayne told him all about the spa and how he’d nailed his first day, but Mike looked as if he was barely keeping his eyes open when he congratulated him.
They came in through the garage, and Mike pulled on Rayne’s arm to stop him in the hallway. He loosely held his hips as he placed a gentle kiss on the center of his forehead. “I’m gonna go to my room and lay down. My back is killing me, and I got another early morning tomorrow.”
Rayne didn’t let his displeasure show, but he’d been hoping for some more personal get-to-know-my-man time tonight. He’d wanted to cook them dinner and sit and talk like before. Rayne smoothed his hands up Mike’s hard chest and whispered against his jaw, inching his way toward his mouth. “I can join you.”
Mike kissed him back, but it lacked passion. “Rayne. I didn’t ask you to move in with me to be my bed warmer.”
Rayne was stunned by those words, though he already knew that. He didn’t feel used. Mike wasn’t like any man he’d ever been with, and that was why he wanted to comfort him, be there for him.
“You’re more than that.” Mike brushed his thumb across his cheek, his dark eyes on Rayne’s bottom lip. “A lot more.”
“So are you.” Rayne buried his nose in Mike’s throat. “Let me take care of you.”
“That’s not your job.”
“No.” Rayne met Mike’s hard glare. “It’s what I want.”
Mike kissed him again, this time exactly how he needed so that there was no mistaking what they already were to each other. Mike pinned him against the wall, and Rayne’s cock tried to push through his slacks. But before he could escalate things, Mike ended the kiss and told him good night.
Rayne watched until Mike was upstairs and in his bedroom with the door closed before he went into the kitchen to heat up the meal that was waiting for him in the microwave. He sat at the breakfast bar alone, reading an old issue of Guns & Ammo he took off the living room table. This was not at all how he’d expected his evening to go. He’d wanted to celebrate with a home-cooked meal and some under-the-sheets time. Did Mike realize how long Rayne had been waiting for this very moment? To be in a relationship, to share not just his mind and soul but his body with someone he had true feelings for?
Rayne closed his eyes, his body heating between his legs. He was tempted to take a hot bath and then slip under Mike’s covers while he slept, but he quickly decided against that. Instead, he called Chelsea, glad she picked up on the second ring.
“Are you busy?” was the first thing he asked after she answered.
“No, but I thought you would be with your new boo.”
“Boo is right, because it’s a ghost town over here right now, and I’m not doing so good. I want him so damn bad—”
“He’s not interested in sex with you, seriously?”
“Oh he is, just not tonight, I guess. And my mind is coming up with some unique ways to make him change his mind, none that I should act on.”
“There’s a meeting at nine at St. Mary’s. I can pick you up.” She sighed loudly. “I met a beautiful woman today at the farmer’s market, and we really hit it off, but…”