Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 70429 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70429 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
She glanced across the big boat, which was taking them on a dreamy dinner cruise, feeling the breeze dance against her face and seeing all the ritzy folks moving about holding glasses of wine and bottles of beer. He hadn’t told her where they were going—only to dress nicely, and that it would be outside. Caspian had gotten up to take a phone call, but he was still within listening distance, his back towards her as he had his little chat.
She sat back relaxing to the lovely jazz music playing, a romantic seat all to themselves. “Vintage Chill Vibes,” featuring Ana Pshokina, played on repeat, and she loved every beat of it. What an amazing surprise… he sure knows how to plan great dates. Her stomach was content after a meal of bacon-wrapped asparagus and lobster and now, she was enjoying one of her cherished silver cigars and tasting a brandy. Caspian drew a bit closer, still on his business call.
“Yes, I certainly can. Sure… I can be there on that date at two. No, not at all … Thank you for being accommodating.” He was speaking in business vernacular, but that lovely Southern drawl of his, even much more pronounced than her own, made him sound particularly sexy.
He ended the call and rejoined her, settling in close. He smelled like Tom Ford Ombré Leather Parfum with a touch of peppermint and eucalyptus. Perhaps it was his shampoo. Whatever it was, the scent made her tingle with lust.
Slipping his phone in his white suit jacket pocket, he leaned in to kiss her cheek, then took a sip of his brandy and picked up the cigar she’d offered him. She always kept two in her purse—one for her and one for a guest. He wrapped his hand around her waist, pulling her in possessively close, and his warm breath brushed against her ear. Her cheeks tightened as he kissed slowly up and down her neck, dragging his full, soft lips along the journey.
“You smell so amazin’… What is that you’re wearin’?”
“Carolina Herrera’s Good Girl.”
“Well, ain’t that ironic? I think a bad girl is wearin’ it,” he said with a haughty grin.
“And you just might be right.” She beamed as he set his drink down. “So, tell me more about you, sweetness.” He brandished a warm smile, looking deeply into her eyes. “I feel like I have so much to learn about you.”
“Well, what would you like to know? Give me a startin’ point.”
“I know you have a brother who lives in Texas,” he said. “Were you two close?”
“Tony is seven years older than me, so not really, and we have different mamas.”
“Were your parents married?”
“No, but they were in a committed relationship by the time I came to be. It just didn’t work out. Were your parents married?”
He took a draw of his cigar and shook his head.
“Naw. I don’t know my daddy. Never met him.”
“Ever been curious?”
“As strange as it sounds, not really.” He shrugged. “I figured if he wanted to be in the picture, he would’ve been. When I was a lil’ boy, sometimes I wondered ’bout him, but once I got to ’round twelve or so, I didn’t think about it much. I had my grandpa up until the age of fourteen, and my Uncle Bobby and he was a pretty good role model.”
Caspian was saying all the right things, but she wasn’t convinced she believed them. His expression matched his words for the most part: lips curved in a slight smile, not too big to overcompensate. But there was something in his slightly hooded eyes, and the moment he turned away while delivering the words at her feet. A break in eye contact. Maybe she’d stomp on those words and see their innards. Make him tell the truth.
She reached over to hold his hand. He studied their linked fingers. One brown hand joined with a beige one on the white table.
“So what are ya lookin’ for in a man?” he asked, shifting the topic in his favor.
“I’m never lookin’ for anything. I want what I want, and if the man I run into possesses the most important wants on that list, then I’ll use my valuable time to try ’nd get to know him better. I believe whatever we need will come when it comes.”
Slipping his hand away from hers, he traced the edge of his glass.
“We’re all lookin’ for somethin’, honey. We don’t have to say it, but we’re always on the hunt. It might be a necessity, such as our next meal, or somethin’ far more complex. Like the meanin’ of life. You’re a woman who knows what she wants, and you’re looking all over for it. Artists are paid to look, after all. Your eyes are your livelihood.”
She leaned back in her chair and mulled over his words.