Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 106147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Skye plucked my cell from my hand. “Oooh…he’s gorgeous.” She pressed the button to talk as she hit the unlock button that opened the lock downstairs. “Come on up, hot stuff.”
My mature response when she looked to me was to stick my tongue out.
“Attractive,” she smirked. “Maybe he’ll suck on it later, if you’re lucky.”
“I need to pee before I go. Can I trust you to let him in if he’s up here before I get done?”
“Of course.” She grinned. “What could possibly happen?”
As I fixed my lipstick in the bathroom, I heard Skye speaking from the other room. “So have you ever owned a van?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Harmed any animals?”
“Can’t say I have.”
Oh Lord. I capped the lipstick and yanked the bathroom door open. Just as I approached the living room, Skye said, “Can I see your teeth, please?”
“Skye!” I yelled.
She turned with an innocent face. “What?”
“What are you doing?”
“Trying to figure out if he’s dangerous. You need a van to put the puppies in so you can lure children, and I read that most serial killers don’t start out hurting people. They work their way up from small animals.”
I shook my head. “And his teeth?”
She smirked. “That was for my own purposes. I just like a man who doesn’t have a lot of fillings.”
Luckily, Donovan was a good sport. I walked over and put my arm around my best friend. “So I see you’ve already met my friend Skye.”
“I did. She’s protective. That’s a good quality in a friend.”
“It is. Though crazy…not so much.” I squeezed her shoulder. “Skye was just leaving.”
She grabbed her purse and kissed me on the cheek before turning to Donovan.
“I have two pieces of advice for you.”
“Okay…”
“One, if you can’t get her to talk, try Twisted Tea. She guzzles them and relaxes. Then you can’t get her to shut up.”
Donovan smiled. “Good to know.”
“And two, don’t hurt her.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a black leather men’s wallet, letting it dangle between two fingers. “Because I know where you live now.”
Donovan patted his pants. His brows drew together. “Is that my wallet?”
“Don’t feel bad.” Skye smiled. “I have an angelic face. It fools everyone.”
Donovan took his wallet back and scratched his head as she breezed out the door. Once it closed behind her, his eyebrows rose. “Well, that was…interesting. I take it that was her who let me in and called me hot stuff?”
I nodded. “I have an app that connects to the camera downstairs. Depending on which apartment you ring, the tenants can see video of who’s at the door. It’s one of the reasons I picked the building.”
“Nice. Though I think you have a better chance of getting robbed by your friend. Does she steal wallets often?”
I chuckled. “It’s one of Skye’s many talents. Luckily, she doesn’t use that one much these days.”
“She used to?”
I nodded. “Back in the day, yeah.”
“Was she one of your cases?”
“No. But Skye’s very open about her history, so she wouldn’t mind me telling you. She gives talks at schools and stuff now. We met at a therapist’s office and went to the same victim-support meeting for years.”
Donovan’s face fell. “So she was…”
I nodded. “Her uncle. It started when she was only nine.”
“Jesus Christ.”
“Pickpocketing became one of her hobbies, as did cutting and sleeping with grown men when she’d barely hit puberty. But she’s come a long way.” I shook my head. “Anyway, that’s depressing to talk about. Let’s not pick up where we left off the other night.”
He did his best to smile, but I could see I’d put a damper on the start of our evening. I tried to bring the mood back around by tilting my head. “Why don’t we start over? You knock, I’ll answer the door, and you can tell me how nice I look?”
The corner of Donovan’s mouth twitched. I’d been kidding, but he turned around, opened the door, and walked out, closing it behind him. A few seconds later, there was a knock.
I beamed from ear to ear as I opened it. “Hi. You’re a few minutes early.”
His eyes dropped to my feet and ever so slowly worked their way up my body. By the time our eyes met, I was tingling all over. “You look phenomenal.”
I’d told him to go outside, knock, and tell me how nice I looked; yet I still blushed at the comment. “Thank you. You don’t look so bad yourself.”
Donovan let himself in and shut the door behind him. I felt giddy, a feeling I definitely wasn’t used to.
He wrapped one hand around my waist and the other slipped into my hair.
“Kiss me,” he growled. “I can’t wait any longer.”
I leaned forward, but didn’t get the chance to pursue the kiss, because Donovan immediately took over. He crushed his lips over mine, swallowing an unexpected gasp. Just like that day in the bathroom, within seconds I had completely forgotten where I was. He smelled incredible, and even though his body was not pushed up against mine, I felt the heat emanating from it, and it set me on fire. I clung to him and my fingernails dug into his back as he tugged his mouth from mine to suck his way down to my neck, teeth scraping over my chin and hot breath sending a shockwave that I felt between my legs. Lord, can this man kiss.