Total pages in book: 190
Estimated words: 181992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 910(@200wpm)___ 728(@250wpm)___ 607(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 181992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 910(@200wpm)___ 728(@250wpm)___ 607(@300wpm)
“Major Addie, this is Ground Control.”
I snapped to attention at Alicia’s words and blinked twice. It was only then I realized she was standing right in front of me. “Sorry, what?”
She gestured at the bottle of wine she held. “Want a top up?”
I lifted my glass. “Oh, absolutely.”
Our conversations thereafter were lighter and playful. We went through at least another bottle of wine before we finally decided to call it a night. As promised, I texted Dax to let him know I was ready to go home—he’d insisted I not walk back to the villa.
He arrived mere minutes later, gracefully stalking into the room looking more appealing than anyone had a right to.
Slipping on my shoes, I looked up at the personification of raw sex appeal, hoping I wasn’t wearing a dreamy expression—my hormones certainly were. “You really didn’t have to come all this way.”
“It’s a five-minute drive, if that,” he reminded me. “Do you think you can stand without help?”
“Of course.” Except … my effort to push out of the chair didn’t work too well.
With a sigh, he snagged my hand and helped me rise to my feet. “Let’s go.”
After I’d exchanged goodbyes, hugs, and cheek-kisses with my sisters, I let him guide me to the car with a hand cupping my elbow to keep me steady. Inside the vehicle, I clicked on my belt, plopped my purse on my lap, and closed my eyes. Damn, my head was swimming.
Sliding into the driver’s seat, he said, “Don’t pass out.”
“But it could be fun.”
“I can’t fuck you if you’re unconscious, and I want to know what drunk sex with you is like.”
Even as my body fired up, I opened one eye to shoot him a cautioning glance. “I’m not gonna let you do freaky stuff to me, no matter how interesting it might sound. Come near me with, like, a unicorn dildo or an anal hook probe and we’re gonna have problems.” I didn’t judge those who used them—in fact, I felt such people should be praised for having the guts to go there—but, no, those kind of toys weren’t for me. I wasn’t quite that adventurous.
His brow creasing, he switched on the engine. “And how do you know such things are available?”
“I read, don’t I?”
“Maybe I should be asking more questions about what you’re reading.” He pulled out onto the road. “So, you had a good night, I take it.”
I smiled. “The best. I might have missed you. A teensy bit. Maybe. Or not.”
The corner of his mouth twitched.
“Did you get rid of the bird?”
“Yes. Though getting rid of the cat might be better.”
I scowled, pointing at him. “Not happening, Mercier. No way, no how. Me and Gypsy are a package deal. If she goes, I go. Even though leaving you would break my pussy’s heart and send my hormones into a state of full-on depression, it’d have to play out that way.”
Another twitch of his lips. “We can’t have that, can we?”
“No, so she stays. Deal?”
A few fine lines creased his forehead. “I didn’t realize we were negotiating anything.”
“I’m saying I’ll stay so long as Gypsy can.” Obviously. “Keep up.”
He shot me a sideways glance. “You’re not going anywhere, psycho cat or no psycho cat.”
“Excuse me, she’s not a psycho.”
“She killed a baby bird.”
I gasped, putting a hand to my chest. “It was a baby?”
“Yes. Somewhere out there its mother is probably chirping and shrieking and calling out for its—”
“Stop, stop,” I pled with a groan.
He didn’t bother stifling a smile.
“You’re an ass.”
“But I don’t snatch chicks out of their nests and kill them, so there’s that.” Pretty soon, he pulled into our driveway. Switching off the engine, he slid me a brief look and snapped off his seatbelt. “Wait there.” He then exited the vehicle.
Ordinarily, I would have had my door open by the time he reached it, but my seatbelt was being stubborn tonight. I peered up at him. “I don’t think your car wants me to leave.”
He reached in with a sigh, unclipped my belt, and then helped me hop out. He frowned down at my feet. “Why did you take off your shoes?”
I shrugged. “Felt like it.”
Another sigh.
Clutching my purse to my chest with one hand, I plucked my shoes out of the car with the other. “You sigh at me, like, a lot.”
“You regularly give me reasons to.” He took my shoes from me. “Come on.” He shut the door, wound an arm tight around my waist, and lifted me a few inches off the ground.
Surprised, I looped one arm around his neck, my free arm hugging my purse. He walked to the front door, my weight not seeming to affect him in any way. “Whoa, strong like bull, huh?”
He set me down. “You barely weigh anything.”
Uh, so not true.
Still holding my shoes with one hand, he unlocked the door and then shoved it wide open. Once more, he heaved me off the ground effortlessly.