Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 99494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
“We need to talk.” The second the statement sounds through the air, her body loses every ounce of softness, and the lust in her gaze turns to fear, causing my gut to clench.
“We can’t tell Liam.” She puts pressure on my chest so she can sit up, and I move back—but only slightly.
“I’m not going to hide this from him.”
“We don’t even know what this is.” She motions between us. “This could just be a chemistry thing, and once we get each other out of our systems, we’d both move on. I don’t want to ruin my brother’s relationship with you if this is just a hookup and nothing more.”
“This is not a hookup.”
“You don’t know that,” she argues.
She’s wrong. I do know. But there is no way for me to explain things to her without sounding insane.
“I know you’ve dated a lot,” she says, and the emphasis on “a lot” makes my jaw so tight my teeth ache. “I think we need to see what’s happening here before we say anything to anyone.”
“So you want me to lie?”
She shakes her head. “It’s not a lie unless he asks you about it, and he won't.”
“Because I’ll have to pretend that nothing is going on.” I take a step back and drop my arms to my sides.
“It’s just while we figure this out,” she assures.
“Okay.” My hands flex at my sides. It’s hard to keep them to myself after they’ve been given free rein to touch her. “But I have one condition.” I close the distance between us again and settle myself back between her legs while I wrap my hand around her throat, using my thumb to tip her chin up.
“What’s that?” she asks breathlessly, digging her nails into my side.
“I don’t fuck you before then either.”
Her lips part in surprise, and I cover her mouth with mine, cutting off any reply she might have made.
I don’t need Liam’s permission to be with her, and his opinion isn’t going to change anything, but I’m not going to fuck her like some dirty little secret. I’m also not going to sleep with her if she’s not sure about us.
CHAPTER 13
Olivia
Smiling when a purring Ira nuzzles her face against mine, I reach my hand out from under the blanket to rub the top of her head and blink my eyes open. When I see the framed jersey across the room, my eyes slide closed again.
Last night, after Bax ruined me for all other men with a single kiss, his dirty mouth, and his one condition that felt a little like torture when he gave it to me, he walked me next door so I could take off my makeup, change into pajamas, and pack a small bag so I’d at least be able to brush my teeth in the morning, and then we walked back to his house.
After we cleaned up and put food away from the evening with his family, he asked if I wanted to watch another episode of the TV show we watched the night before, so we got comfortable on the couch in the living room. But instead of keeping our distance like every other time, he put his feet up on the coffee table, and I stretched out on the couch with my head on his chest, where, at some point, I must have fallen asleep.
And Bax being Bax, he must’ve carried me to bed last night, and once more, I didn’t even wake up. I swear, if kissing him didn’t ruin me, the constant flow of sweet gestures that seem to come so naturally to him would do me in.
Hearing a noise that sounds like it’s coming from the kitchen, my eyes open.
Bax must still be home.
Moving Ira off my chest, I toss back the duvet and walk into the bathroom that is attached to another bedroom, just like my room at Kourtney’s. I quickly go through my morning routine, or as much of it as I can with what I have here, then open the bedroom door. Gemma, who obviously heard me moving around, greets me right outside the door with her tail wagging.
“Hey, girl.” I squat down to give her a belly rub when she rolls to her back.
“You’re up early.” Lifting my eyes, I find Bax standing at the end of the hall, dressed in jeans, a long-sleeved gray thermal with a plaid shirt over it, and his hair damp.
“I heard you up.” I move to stand, and the way he watches me sends a thrill down my spine. “I didn’t know you’d be home this morning.”
“I have a meeting at eight in Nashville, so I'm heading out soon.” His gaze tracks me as I close the distance between us.
I’m going to have to make sure he and I are never in the same space as Liam because there is no way it won't be obvious that something is happening between us. And that’s saying something since we haven’t shared more than a make-out session in his kitchen.