Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 111038 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 555(@200wpm)___ 444(@250wpm)___ 370(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111038 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 555(@200wpm)___ 444(@250wpm)___ 370(@300wpm)
Me: Tucker shouldn’t let you go through.
Blaise: He won’t unless you call and tell him to do it. Will you? Are your parents home?
I threw back my covers as I replied.
Me: Okay. I’ll call. Tucker is supposed to put you on a list. My parents will see that list.
Blaise: He won’t. I’ll ask him not to. He works with my mom so he’s cool.
I sighed and called the front desk for our neighborhood. Tucker answered. “Yeah. He’s right here,” he said after I explained.
“Can you let him through?”
I heard a beep in the background, and he came back on the line. “Are you sure about this, Miss Aspen? I know Blaise, and he’s got issues.”
“He’s good with me. It’ll be fine. Please don’t put him on the list.”
“I won’t if you ask me not to.”
“Thank you, Tucker.” I hurried down the hallway and passed the front door. We didn’t have the alarm on because my dad was in the back shed, where he was still editing. He said he worked out there, but we all smelled the cigars.
I waited at the side of the house until I saw Blaise’s Wagon. He parked on the street, closer to the next lot, and walked back toward my house.
As he came up the driveway, I flashed my phone and waved at him.
He changed directions, coming toward me in the dark. “Nice. I’ve not snuck into a girl’s house in a long time.” He grabbed my hand and kissed my cheek.
I was momentarily stunned at that greeting, “For future reference, this is how you’ll sneak in, okay?” I squeezed his hand as I led him through the side door.
“I like it. You’re already my co-conspirator.” He squeezed my hand back, and I led him up the back stairs to my room. “Can I tell you now how much I appreciate your ass?” he murmured. “It’s the best ass I think I’ve ever seen.”
“Shut up.” I grinned as I tugged us into my room and locked the door.
“Ooh, a locked door too. Such a scandal.”
“Shut up!” I took his head and tugged it down to mine.
I’d been wanting to do this since his text. No. I’d been wanting this since we left the campsite this morning.
Groaning, he deepened the kiss and picked me up.
I gasped as he walked us over to my bed. He eased me down and crawled over my body as I scooted up to the top. His eyes had darkened. “You are seriously gorgeous, Aspen.” He ran a hand over my shirt, hooking it on my shorts, but he didn’t do anything else. He only rubbed his thumb back and forth. I shivered, knowing what that thumb could do to my body. But he didn’t do more.
Lying beside me, he cupped my face as we kissed.
He rubbed his thumb over my cheek the whole time.
Which felt nice. It all felt nice. My body was literally humming.
After a bit, I eased back, frowning. “Why aren’t you putting the moves on me?”
He grinned, lying on his back. He slid one of his arms under me, pulling me against his chest. “I didn’t come over to hook up. I just came over.”
His other hand found my waist, rubbing back and forth over the stretch of skin showing there. He pushed my shirt up, but only moved over my stomach, back and forth in a slow and comforting motion.
“I almost got into a fight with my brother today,” he said after a moment.
I tensed, shifting to angle my body so I could see him. His hand kept smoothing over my stomach. “About what?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Because I wanted to fight him. I don’t even remember what it was about.”
I rolled my eyes. “That doesn’t sound like you at all.”
He grinned, his hand darting up and tweaking just under my breast.
“Ow!”
But he covered my breast with his palm, soothing it before going back to my stomach. “Sorry.” He tensed, jackknifing upright. “Shit! I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I can’t just grab you and—”
“Hey!” I sat up with him, catching his hands. I tugged on them, getting him to look at me. “It’s fine. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t let you into my house, much less my room. It’s fine. I could lay down the law if I needed to.”
His eyes clung to mine, a haunting agony starting to show there. “You sure?”
“I’m sure.”
Then he relaxed, one muscle at a time, until he was lying down, his hand back on my stomach. After a bit, he started running it in a circle again. “Jesus.” His lips found my shoulder, and he kissed me there. “I’m starting to realize how much of a mess I am. I am truly fucked up. I tried to fight my brother, and I don’t even have a relationship with him. I called my guys to back me up in case I tried to fight my non-bio dad. I needed them to keep him away from me.”