Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 115186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 576(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 576(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
She especially had to stay on her toes with the man sitting across from her. Romeo was slick and before she knew it, he could be talking her out of her clothes and right back into his bed.
“Speaking of semantics… I’m not a girl. I wasn’t a girl when you met me the first time and I’m not a girl now, Rome.”
“Woman, then,” he corrected.
“The fact is, there aren’t enough jobs up in Manning Grove for what I do. My options were better closer to Pittsburgh.”
When his head tipped to the side, his gaze raked from the top of her head down her chest, only stopping when the table blocked his view of the rest of her. “What d’ya do?”
Did the man really care? Or was he only trying to work her? “I’m a sports physical therapist.”
“A what?”
“I’m a physical therapist for athletes,” Maddie explained. “You know what an athlete is, right?”
He grunted in response to her question but didn’t take the bait. “Where at?”
“A rehab center, but I’m hoping to get hired by a major sports team.”
His brow dipped low. “What kinda team?”
“A professional one. Preferably with the NFL or MLB.”
“Like the Steelers or Pirates?”
“Since those are professional teams, yes.” She knew she was being a smart ass, but she didn’t feel the need to explain herself, or her career, to Romeo of all people. Since when had he shown real interest in anyone without a dick between their legs? She was damn sure he pretended to care only enough to get them to bend to his will.
His reputation was well known since he used women simply for his own satisfaction.
Maybe in the past five years, he turned over a new leaf.
Wait. She glanced up to the dark sky. Did a pig do a fly-by?
His “Why?” pulled her back to the conversation.
“Why not?” she countered.
“Like workin’ with men?”
Why did he assume all athletes were men? “I like working with… people. All kinds.” She loved helping people either heal from a sports-related injury or to be the best athlete they could be.
No one was more surprised than her mother when she went into this line of work since Maddie had never been an athlete herself. In high school, she never ran track or played on any teams, like volleyball, softball, or field hockey. But she had always appreciated the hard work and dedication it took to become a top-notch athlete.
To her, it seemed like too much pressure to perform. However, she didn’t hold that goal against anyone and in fact, was happy to help people achieve it.
“Make a lot of scratch?”
“I do all right.” But she could do a lot better once she had more experience under her belt. That was why she had to suck it up and stick it out at Smith’s unless something better popped up. She had to keep reminding herself that her current employer was only a stepping stone to bigger and better opportunities.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” she echoed softly.
“You touch men?”
She mentally sighed. She should’ve expected that he wouldn’t let that particular point go. “I touch a lot of people.”
“Like men.”
“Yes, I touch men, but not in a creepy way, Romeo. I’ll leave that to you.” She ate a few more fries. Like the burger, they were cold, but she certainly wasn’t going to waste them.
“Don’t fuckin’ touch men.”
She lifted her gaze from her food to the man across the table. “I meant women.”
“Don’t touch anyone who don’t want me touchin’ them.”
“They probably only regret it after it happens.”
“Damn, woman.”
She shrugged. “Am I wrong?”
“You regret me touchin’ you?”
“I don’t want to hurt your feelings,” she warned, even though she wasn’t sure if Romeo even had any.
He blinked at her.
She grinned at him.
He scowled.
Her grin grew.
His scowl deepened and his burger sat forgotten. “It was great, right?”
“Great is being… generous.”
His spine snapped straight, and his heavily bearded chin jerked up. “What the fuck d’you mean?”
She shrugged and pointed a fry in his direction. “I had nothing to compare it to back then. Now I do.” She popped it into her mouth and waited while she chewed.
“Now you do?” exploded from him. “What the fuck does that mean?”
“Do I have to explain it to you?”
His deep brown eyes narrowed on her and she swore his voice dropped a whole octave when he asked, “How many?”
Maddie held those eyes with her own. “What does that matter?” That was nobody’s business but her own.
“It don’t.”
“Seems like it does. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have asked.”
Did he just grind his teeth?
The horn dog was bothered by someone else having sex? Or more likely, a woman having sex with someone other than him?
That was plain stupid. They had sex five years ago. Once.
It had been a mistake.
Not because he was awful in bed. She learned later that he’d been better than most, but the mistake was having sex with him for the wrong reason.