Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 75656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
“How’s this for following your rules?” I bend and lift her over my shoulder, slamming her door shut and stalking toward the front door.
Her hands swat at my ass. “Since when is this my rule?” She giggles.
“Since you told me you thought it was sexy.”
“This is sexy.” She smacks my ass again.
I shake my head, and I manage to enter the code, opening my front door. Kicking off my shoes, I carry her to the couch, dropping her easily. Her laughter has my face splitting into a grin. “I stand behind my words. So sexy.”
Bracing my hands on either side of her, I lean in for a kiss. “You’re sexy.” I kiss her again before standing tall. “I’m going to heat us up some dinner. Pull us up something to watch.”
“Okay. What are you in the mood for?” she calls after me.
“Anything.” I get to work heating up two bowls of chicken and rice and pop two pieces of garlic bread into the toaster. “What do you want to drink?” I call out to her.
“What are my choices?”
I bury my head in the fridge and announce her options, “Beer, water, tea, and root beer.”
“Am I staying here?”
I lift my head to look at her, where she’s kneeling on my couch. Her hair is now pulled up in a messy knot on her head, the remote is in her hand, and her head is tilted to the side as she waits for my answer.
“Yes.”
She nods. “Beer, please.”
I don’t tell her that she could just live here and save her money for wherever it is she travels to when she leaves here, but then we’d have to talk about her leaving, and I don’t like to think about it, let alone talk about it. Besides, if she lived here— I rub my hand over my chest to alleviate the ache that’s forming just thinking about how much closer we would grow.
Yeah, as much as I’d love to offer, I keep my mouth shut. I don’t think that either one of us could handle her leaving if we were to take that step. Sleepovers, however, are a necessity.
I take our beers into the living room, placing them on the table. I steal a kiss, because there will be a day when I’ll miss being able to taste her lips anytime that I want. “Here you go,” I say, handing her a steaming bowl of chicken and cheesy rice and a perfectly crisped piece of garlic toast.
“Thank you.”
I sit next to her on the couch, so close that our thighs are touching, but she doesn’t seem to mind. I watch her closely as she takes a bite. When she smiles, I relax. I don’t know what the hell I was worried about. I know it’s good. I made it, but if she didn’t like it, I was heading right back to the kitchen to make her something else.
“This is so good.” She takes another big bite, and I dig into mine as well.
It doesn’t take us long to polish off our dinner. “Ready for your ice cream?” I ask, and I take her empty bowl, placing it on top of mine.
“Not right now. I’ll help with those.” She starts to stand, but I raise my hand, stopping her.
“I’m just going to put them in the dishwasher and start it. My breakfast dishes are in there. Give me five minutes, and we can start the movie. Do you need anything else? Another beer?”
“Water?”
“You got it.” I make quick work of loading the dishwasher and grabbing us both a bottle of water. I turn off the lights, leaving the one over the stove on, and take my seat next to her on the couch.
“You know I’m a sure thing, right?” Her lips are tilted up into a warm smile. “You trying to set the mood?”
“No. That’s not what I was trying to do. I’ll fuck you in broad daylight, Firecracker.”
An adorable pink coats her cheeks. “Right.” She clears her throat.
“You want to test that theory?” I nod toward the sliding glass door in the kitchen that leads out to the back deck. “We still have some daylight left.”
“In your backyard?” she gasps.
I shrug like I couldn’t care less who sees, and part of that is true. They can see me, but not her. Never her. “Or we could just stick to the plan and watch the movie. It’s up to you.”
“Movie,” she croaks.
I toss my head back in laughter and slide my arm around her shoulders, pulling her into me. “You change your mind, baby. You let me know.”
“No. That’s— Nope. I’m good. I’m a free spirit, not an exhibitionist.”
Leaning into her, I place my lips next to her ear. “Can I tell you a secret?” She nods. “I’d never let anyone see you like that.” Her body instantly relaxes. “Never, Scarlett.”