Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80314 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 402(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80314 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 402(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
It’s not late, but it’s after six in the evening, and as far as I know, no one was planning to come visit. I walk barefoot across my wood floors, and Cooper follows, his nails clicking along beside me.
With the glass on the door covered with a sketched film, I can’t make out who is on the porch from the end of the hall, but as I get closer, my pulse kicks up a notch. When my fingers land on the handle, Aiden’s eyes meet mine through a clear sliver in the glass, and I lick my lips before swinging the door open.
We both stand there, staring at each other for a long time, neither of us speaking, and the longer he stays silent, the more nervous I become.
“I’m sorry,” I blurt, then shake my head. “I… I was going to message you that, but I just couldn’t find the right words, and everything sounded so lame, so I just didn’t. I should have and I should have known you aren’t Mike it’s just—”
My words are cut off, and I gasp when his hand shoots out and wraps around the back of my neck so that he can pull me against his chest. Just when I tip my head back to ask him what he’s doing, his mouth lands on mine, and I whimper from the contact of his warm lips that are firm yet soft. My hands fall against his chest, then my fingers dig in, clenching the material of his shirt. And his hand slides farther up my scalp to tangle in my hair, using his hold to place my mouth just where he wants it, before he touches his tongue to mine.
I’ve been kissed, but never like this. My nipples pebble, and the space between my legs throbs with an urgency that scares the heck out of me.
“Apology accepted,” he grates out when he rips his mouth from mine, and I shiver from his warm breath dancing across my cheek as my lashes flutter open.
“Oh… Okay, good,” I say, sounding breathless to my own ears, and he chuckles while walking me backward into my house without loosening the hold he has on me. When he kicks the door closed behind us, I put pressure on his chest. “What are you doing here?”
“I couldn’t stay away.” His hand slides forward, and his thumb skirts the edge of my jaw. “So I came to talk to you.”
“Oh.” I bite my bottom lip, and his eyes drop to my mouth. “What did you want to talk about?” I ask, and his expression turns serious before he lets me go and takes a step back. Feeling suddenly cold without his body against mine, I wrap my arms around my middle and wait for him to speak not sure that I want to hear what he’s going to say.
“I spoke to a friend of mine that’s a police officer in town. He told me if I got the number for the guy who’s been messaging you, he’ll see if he can find anything out about him.”
“You talked to your friend about it?”
“I did.” He lifts his chin ever so slightly. “Did you go to the cops?”
“No,” I admit. I mean, I thought about calling my uncle, Nico, or my cousin, Cobi, who are both cops, to tell them about the situation and get their advice, but I knew whatever I said would get back to my parents before I even hung up the phone. And as much as I love my family, I do not want them all worried when there isn’t anything to worry about. Plus, I don’t need other people telling me how dumb I was for talking to a guy for weeks without ever seeing his face, when everyone today has video-calling on their phone.
“Do you mind if I share the number with him?”
“No.” I head down the hall and go to the kitchen where my phone is and grab it off the counter where it was charging. “Here.” I turn to face him, but he’s not behind me like I assumed he would be. Instead, he’s at the edge of the hall with Cooper, rubbing his belly as he lies on his back with his legs in the air.
“Have you gotten any new messages?”
“I don’t know. I was going to have my number changed again but when I called in to do it I was told that I could turn off all notifications for the number so that I wouldn’t have to see them every time I picked up my phone,” I admit, and his jaw clenches before he comes out of his crouched position and walks toward me.
“Pull up his messages,” he orders, and I duck my head and try to focus on my phone and not the fact that he’s here with me and my lips are still tingling from his kiss.