Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 95264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
I swallow against the bitterness of that truth pill. That’s what he said to me the day we broke up, after basically telling me I’m the girl you fuck, not the one you marry.
“Don’t worry about it. She’s gonna turn up soon,” Bill says in a softer tone. “This is Justine. You know how she is … She loves attention. What better way to get it than to have the bride and groom hunting for her.”
My jaw drops. This isn’t about earning attention. It’s the exact opposite. I want to be invisible.
I’m a split second from popping out of the closet to scream at Bill, when Garrett’s arms bracket me tighter, his hand fumbling in the dark, sliding over my shoulder, into my hair, around my nape. I sense him leaning forward, his lips skating across my cheek as he searches for my ear. “Get a hold of yourself, Ralph,” he whispers, his mouth a hairbreadth away.
I snort, the reference so unexpected coming from Garrett.
“Shhh.” But his body is shaking against me with silent laughter.
“Did you hear that?” Joe asks suddenly.
Shit. It’s one thing to be wandering around the Walton penthouse. It’s something else entirely to get caught hiding from my ex in a closet. Unless …
My adrenaline spikes as I reach up, and curling a hand around the back of Garrett’s neck, I yank him down. My mouth lands on his jaw at first, but it’s not hard to find his lips from there.
They’re even softer than I imagined, and they don’t hesitate—not for a millisecond—to pry mine apart and slide his tongue inside. The potent taste of his bourbon combines with my lingering licorice root, but I don’t mind the mixture as our mouths work languidly against each other, coaxing and prodding and exploring, our heads tilting for better access.
Dear God.
I am kissing the baby developer, the hustler, the enemy.
I’m kissing Garrett, and my knees are threatening to buckle from the raw pleasure of the experience.
I’ve gone rogue.
What would Shirley have to say about this?
I peel away with my hands pressed against Garrett’s hard chest and pause to listen. Joe’s and Bill’s voices are moving down the hall. The threat of them yanking open the closet door and catching us in here is gone.
“Why did you do that?” Garrett whispers.
“Because getting caught making out in a closet is way less embarrassing than getting caught hiding from Bill.”
“Really?” A few beats pass, and my ears catch Garrett’s hard swallow. His breath skates across my lips, his only inches away “You know they’re around, right?”
“You mean, they could still catch us?” The sexual tension in the air within our blackened little closet is palpable, a static electricity standing my body hairs on end. The fact that I can’t see him only adds to the charge.
Because I can feel him.
“Definitely still a threat.” His hands glide over my body, one cupping my neck, his fingertips settling behind my ears on either side. The other lands on the small of my back, pulling my body closer to his. “I wouldn’t want you to be embarrassed tonight.”
“No, we can’t have that.” My pulse hammers in my throat as I toss my purse haphazardly to the floor, freeing my hands. It lands with a soft thud just as Garrett and I collide.
Where the first kiss was delicate and unfrenzied, this one is altogether different—desperate and hungry, as if we’ve been lusting for this moment for weeks and aren’t going to waste a second of it.
My hands scour his arms, his shoulders, his columnar neck as we cling to each other’s mouths, a messy concoction of lips and tongues and nibbling bites. His body is solid, his flesh hard and curved in all the right places, and the feel of him beneath my fingertips sends an acute need rippling through my body.
“This is one hell of a dress.” His lips leave my mouth to trail along my jawline, sliding down. He bends his towering form until his mouth finds the exposed flesh down the plunging neckline.
“I picked it just for you.”
His soundless laugh breezes across my skin. “And you call me a liar.” His tongue dips beneath the material of my dress.
“Don’t mess with the girls. They’re in perfect position.”
“The boob tape.”
“The glorious boob tape. It’ll take me forever to fix them if you mess them up, and I didn’t bring extra.”
He pulls away. “Okay.” The hand at my back slides lower, gripping one of my ass cheeks with a tight squeeze. “Anything else off-limits?”
A delicious burn ignites between my thighs. “Consider me your playground.”
With a soft curse, he pulls himself upright to meet my mouth again, sinking us into a passionate kiss that turns our breathing ragged and my need spiraling out of control.
My teeth catch his bottom lip, earning his growl.
“Quiet, unless you want this to end prematurely,” I warn, dragging my tongue across his jutting Adam’s apple. It’s a tie between that and sharp collarbones surrounded by muscle for my favorite part of a male body.