Total pages in book: 161
Estimated words: 154890 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 774(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154890 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 774(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
“Puppy killing?” Maybe I need electrolytes. My brain is obviously struggling.
“I want different,” she adds a little desperately, “not necessarily more.”
I feel my eyebrows rise because I can do different. Fuck, yes I can.
“But I don’t want monogamy.” Her words seem to startle Mimi as much as they do me.
“You want to fuck other people?” My demand is low and rough. “Was last night…” Too much? Too intense? Not enough? Fuck that, last night was amazing. At one point, she came like that chick from The Exorcist, thrashing and cursing. Thankfully, no green goo.
“Last night was amazing. It was…” She licks her lips, and I just about manage not to kiss her again because she’s so fucking gorgeous, but also I don’t think I want to hear what she has to say. “I guess I just don’t have the vocabulary to describe everything it was.”
“What about perfect.”
She smiles. It’s fleeting but sincere, a flash of white teeth and gap and everything.
“Yes, perfect. That about sums it up. But this morning I’ve realized you have so much more going on in your life. You’re married to VirTu, and you have your family. You’re not going to have time to take me dancing, or for coffee, or for a trip to the London Eye.”
“That tourist trap is literally ten minutes’ walk from the office.” A lock of her hair falls forward. She swipes it before I can do it for her.
“You gonna walk me there? Go up with me for a ride.”
I resist the low-hanging fruit in that question. “What are you trying to say, Amelia?” Spit it out. Get to the point.
“I’m not here for long and want to cram about five years of experiences into what little time I have. I want to see the sights, experience all that London has to offer.” I’m about to suggest she books some tours or maybe take a look at TripAdvisor when her next words flay me. “I think I want to date.”
“Fucking Sorrel,” I grate out, my hands falling away.
“No!” she snaps. “What do you take me for?”
“At this minute, I’m not sure I know.”
“I want to go for coffee, mooch around museums. Go to clubs and sit in pubs with a glass of beer with a name I can’t pronounce. I want to hang out. See things. Do… stuff.”
“So go with a friend.”
“I don’t have any.” Her hands rise and fall, slapping her thighs with futility.
“Then make some.”
“Oh, sure. I’ll get right on it now.”
“Define monogamy for me, Amelia. I’m beginning to think our understanding might not be the same.”
She swallows, her eyes filling with tears. Is this some trick of hers I don’t know about? Tears on command must be useful. “I just want to live and breathe London, Whit. I don’t want to do it alone and I don’t have any friends here.” That might be true, but it’s not the whole truth because she can barely look at me.
“What if I make time for you. To take you out.” Fuck, what am I saying? This could get messy.
She gives her head another shake. “No, I won’t ask you to.”
“And if I offered?”
“If you want to take me out, then sure.” Her shoulder flicks in a way that’s meant to convey inconsequence. But she still hasn’t raised her eyes.
“You mean I can take you out if you’re not already otherwise engaged. With a date.” The hard t seems to echo between us.
“Don’t make a hole in your life for me. I’m not going to be here long enough to fill it.”
“Do you intend fucking these dates?” I verbally hold the word up by the scruff of its distasteful neck. That’s not happening. If I have to tie her to her desk. If I have to cuff her to my bed.
“Will you be sleeping with other women?” she demands just as sharply.
“I think that depends on how you answer.” I didn’t think it was a good idea to fuck her and now it’s all I can think about.
“I’ve never slept around.” Her hair swishes as she shakes her head. “If you want the truth, I’ve never had another man make me feel the way you do.” She inhales deeply, as though fortifying herself, her gaze lifting to mine. “I’ve never had another man make me come.”
The lizard part of my brain gobbles up that insight up like an ouroboros eating its own tail. But I can’t ignore the rest of what she means, or even fathom it. I try not to feel pacified, but it’s hard when she’s looking at me with those big gray eyes.
“And if you change your mind?”
She’s already shaking her head. “I won’t. Not when I have the best. If you still want me on these terms…”
I hook my finger under her chin, lifting her eyes to mine. “What is this about, Amelia? Tell me where this has come from.”