Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
I watch her take a sip of her water, the way her bright red lips wrap around the bottle has me shifting in my chair. Everything this woman does is arousing as hell to me. I think again about that scene I read for her. The one where the hero took her against his shower wall after she deep throated him. Fuck, that was hot. Does she ever get horny when she writes those scenes? Does she squeeze her little thighs together and shift in her seat? Does her hand wander into her panties while she strokes that pearl between her legs?
She finishes her sip and looks at me. Something about the way her cheeks color has me wondering if she’s thinking about me naked the same way I’m thinking about her naked. “Did you lose it in combat?”
“Just an accident. I was the safety officer, training two new recruits on the ship. A cable snapped that wasn’t properly secured. At least, that’s what they tell me. I don’t remember anything about that day,” I explain.
The reports say I shoved the recruits out of the way just in time. Figures the one honorable thing I do in my entire life, and I don’t even remember it. “I thought that was a bad thing at first. But some of the men I met had such horrific nightmares and panic attacks. Now I see it as a small mercy.”
She’s looking at me like I’m her personal hero, and it fills me with pride and warmth. I want to pound on my chest. But she wouldn’t look at me that way if she knew the full story. If she understood why I ended up in the military or the choices I’ve made in my life.
I finish the last of my steak and nod to her. “We should go inside. Get an early start tomorrow, so we can find your soulmate.”
7
GWEN
I’m in Blade’s bed, surrounded by his pine scent. Except he’s not here with me. I’m just staring at the wooden beams in the darkness and thinking about the sexy mountain man.
After he shared some of his story at dinner, he took a couple of blankets from the bedroom and made up the couch without a word. I thought he was giving me a place to crash but then he took it, leaving the bed to me. He nodded and told me to sleep well.
I asked about the other bedroom. There’s clearly another room across from his. He told me it was his office, and it’s undergoing renovations right now. He insisted there’s dust everywhere.
When I tried to learn what he does for a living, he said he works from home and didn’t offer any details. I get the feeling he doesn’t like it when I pry, so I didn’t ask all the questions running through my head.
There are things he hasn’t told me. Things that I think maybe he wanted to share. At least, that’s the feeling I got over dinner. I don’t know why I feel so drawn to Blade. I think it’s just that he needs a friend. Yeah, that explains why I find the man so fascinating. It has nothing to do with noticing that his lips are full or that his gruff mood is somehow sexy.
I sent Zoey a quick text before I laid down for bed. It was a smiling selfie with a caption telling her that my stay at Hotel Grump has been a non-stop thrill ride. Alright, maybe I didn’t describe it exactly that way. Still, I managed to sound upbeat and happy in my description of the day’s events. Now though, I’m left to wonder about my handsome host.
“Why are you such a mystery?” I ask the darkness as Alvin purrs peacefully beside me. He’s usually anxious when we’re in new places, but not today. He seems to have adapted to Blade’s cabin like it’s his second home.
“It’s important that you don’t read into anything,” I warn Alvin. “Don’t get attached.”
When I still can’t sleep, I finally reach for my reading tablet. I’ve been reading mafia romances lately but tonight, I search until I find a book about a hot mountain man.
During the steamy scene when the hero captures the heroine and takes her roughly in the woods outside his cabin, I put my hand in my panties. I close my eyes and imagine a certain mountain man. As I come, I whisper his name.
The orgasm fades as my muscles relax and I fall into a deep sleep filled with filthy dreams. Filthy dreams about a mountain man with dark eyes and an even darker past.
The next morning, I’m awake before Blade. I get ready quickly because I’m eager for this day to be over.
For one breathless moment, I let myself imagine that Landon was lying to me. Maybe he doesn’t live in Courage County at all. He could have just said that so I’d never guess where he really lives. Even as I think the thought, my stomach flips. I don’t want to betray him. He’s my meant to be.