Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 74730 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74730 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
“I do.” He exited the truck with a surprising grace, given his height, and pointed at the house. “You should let your housemates sleep in. Come inside with me. Check my shower out.”
Chapter Three
Sean
That I wasn’t the kind of guy to say yes to an impulsive hookup with some dude I barely knew was the understatement of the millennium. And for all everyone kept urging me to “get back out there,” this wasn’t what they meant.
Or was it?
I exited the truck, intent on finding the backbone to turn Denver down. But my feet didn’t listen, marching me around the truck to stand in front of Denver. He raised an eyebrow but stayed quiet. He wasn’t going to make this easy.
I’d always done the responsible thing, the right thing. While my friends had been out spending their late teens and early twenties partying and having all the sex, I’d been married, helping Maxine through school, raising Declan and Bridget.
Not having sex.
Maybe I was overthinking things, as per my usual. Why not have a taste of the youth I’d never had? One little hookup. One bite of the thing I’d thought about for decades but had never had. One chance to answer that question in the back of my head once and for all.
Yes. As soon as I let myself have the thought, I nodded. Couldn’t quite bring myself to speak, but Denver didn’t seem troubled by my silent agreement.
“Come on. I’m on the first floor.” He led the way to the front door of the large house. Once inside, a staircase dominated the entryway with a door on either side of the hall. Denver unlocked the door on the right before standing back so I could enter.
He’d called his apartment a studio, but it was far larger than most studios, especially those I’d seen in Seattle. A large living area flowed into a small nook for a kitchenette with a table and two wooden chairs. On the other side of the living room, French doors led to a narrow sun porch with windows all around. Likely original and not insulated, but a pretty space nonetheless, with two rocking chairs. In the living room, a queen bed with an iron frame was tucked into a bay window with wooden blinds for privacy. The main space featured an older couch with wood trim that suited the age of the house, a fireplace, and ample shelving.
“Nice place.” I finally found my voice as Denver pulled off his jacket and tossed it on a coat tree in the corner near the kitchenette. “I love all the original built-ins.”
“Yep.” Denver gestured for me to add my coat to the rack. “It came furnished, though, so don’t go giving me credit.”
I shrugged off my coat. Slowly. Not as a tease, but more to quiet my racing brain, which lagged behind my ready-to-go body. Denver, on the other hand, seemed totally at ease. Maybe too comfortable.
“You…uh…do this a lot?”
“Nope.” Denver’s expression remained impassive, perhaps a little impatient. “I’m tested on the regular though. All negative.”
Oh yeah. Safety first. In my readiness to reclaim my wild side, I’d forgotten a few details.
“Me too,” I said quickly, trying to think what else I should know about. “No…uh…significant other?”
“I’m a lot of things, but not a cheater.” He regarded me through a level gaze that made me feel already naked, exposed on a level I wasn’t sure I’d been before.
“Good.” I didn’t try to hide my relief. “Me either. I’m single.”
“I know. You said.” A smile played around the edge of his mouth. He was large and imposing, but when he smiled, he had a gentleness that made him far more approachable. “Figure I can get your mind off your ex for an hour or so. Follow me.”
“I…yeah.” No sense in explaining I’d never been hung up on Maxine that way. I followed him past the kitchen area to a surprisingly large and airy bathroom with an absolute giant clawfoot tub under a window with a wraparound shower curtain. The old tub contrasted with a more modern showerhead, likely purchased during the same remodel that added the newer-style basin sink and recessed lighting. “That’s a huge tub.”
Denver smiled wider. “First I’ve had as an adult where I could take a real bath.”
“Nice.” The image of Denver reclined in the tub, all soapy, was almost more than I could take, but then he went and yanked off his T-shirt, easy as breathing. Turning, he shed his white chef pants and boxers next.
Denver was impressive, almost intimidating, when dressed, but naked took him to a breathtaking level. Big. All over. Wide chest. Less fuzzy than I’d expected given the wild hair on his head, but a decent smattering of chest hair. Dark nipples in keeping with his golden skin tone. He looked ready for an August surfing competition while I was still winter-pale, as always. He had muscular arms and powerful thighs, a soft belly, and a hard cock that bounced as he walked to the tub. His comfort level was almost as arousing as his physique.