Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 58564 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 293(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58564 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 293(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
She could only nod, realizing how uncannily good the billionaire was at reading her every thought.
"One day," Acheron murmured, "I'll earn the right to kiss you goodnight, and when I do, I'll make sure it's a sight your neighbors will never forget."
Err...what?
But by the time she recovered from her shock, he had already turned away and was striding back into the ambulance. In a blink of an eye, he was gone, but the heart-thumping, body-throbbing force of his presence lingered so that Pippi still found herself floating in cloud nine as she let herself in.
As she headed up the stairs, amative flashbacks started playing in her mind, so agonizingly vivid that by the time she made it to the shower, she was already blushing and her whole body was once again aching for his touch.
It was just so scary, how addictive lovemaking could be.
And to think they actually hadn't had sex yet, Pippi found herself fretting as the cold blast of water failed to douse the sexual heat licking all over her body. She didn't even want to imagine how much worse it would get, when - and not if - Acheron finally made her his.
Vik was waiting for her when Pippi came out of the shower. She had in her arms a fresh change of linen and towels, all of which she promptly dumped on her unsuspecting sister. "Monarch Room, please."
"Oh. Um. Okay." One of the unspoken rules of the house was that Pippi, being the one with the full-time job, was only expected to pitch in during weekends. "Does this mean we're fully booked on a Thursday?"
"For the entire week," Vik confirmed with a grin.
"That's great news!" Pippi's spirits immediately lifted. While her pay raise already had next month's loan installment covered, having additional savings never hurt, and she found herself beaming ear to ear as she made her way down to the Monarch Room.
It was the house's biggest and therefore most expensive room, with its en-suite bath having its own whirlpool bath. It had been one of their biggest investments, but since it had also become the key to having Mariposa House featured in last year's Top 10 B&Bs in Key West, Pippi considered the luxury installment money well spent.
Pausing before the door, she knocked politely before calling out, "Housekeeping." Hearing the approach of footsteps, she quickly pinned her professional smile in place.
The door opened.
Pippi's smile disappeared in the face of her shock. "Acheron?"
Nineteen
"Kalimera, mikrí mou." The words, whispered to her ear in a sexy, sleep-rough tone, jerked Pippi out of her dreams. It almost sounded like there was a man sleeping next to her, and the thought had her eyes flying open.
Oh. My. God.
There was a man lying next to her. He was beautiful and completely naked. He was also smirking at her, and it was this that had her sitting up in shock, her head whipping to this side and that as she struggled to comprehend what she had woken up to. This couldn't be real, could it?
She looked around her again and found her answer in the faded colors of butterfly wing patterns on the wallpaper. They were lovely and familiar, a charming trademark of the Monarch Room, but more than that, it also meant all of this was...real.
Almost on cue, one tanned, strong hand curved around her nape to pull her close. Pippi had the quickest glimpse of a bare-chested Acheron, the sheets having fallen to his waist, and then his lips were covering hers, and there wasn't any time to think again.
His tongue demanded entry, and her lips immediately gave way. It was an intensely possessive kiss, the kind that left no space for her to think. All she could do was submit, and when he finally lifted his head, she was only able to gaze up at him dazedly, a part of her still reeling from the hard, beautiful reality of having Acheron next to her in bed.
She couldn't be...she couldn't have...she couldn't...
But then memories, made undeniable by their utter vividness, began crowding her mind, and Pippi cringed.
Oh no.
Everything was coming back to her now, and oh, how innocent it had started.
I've leased the whole place, he had told her so very casually, like it was normal for people to rent entire B&Bs on a whim.
If everyone's already in bed as you say they are, he had cajoled, then can you not sleep in my arms tonight?
And she had said actually said yes, Pippi recalled with another cringe. When she should've said no and run away as fast as she could, she had instead said yes to spending the night with him, and after that, it had been just one shock after another.
Is it alright with you that I prefer to sleep naked?
WHAT?
But by then it had been too late. Acheron had already stepped out of the shower and was in the process of unwrapping the teensy weensy white towel around his hips. And when the fluffy piece of fabric had fallen to the ground, her jaw had fallen along with it.