Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 67644 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67644 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
When it was the dealer’s turn, Becket flipped his other card over to reveal a six.
“The dealer has to hit until he reaches seventeen or busts,” I murmured. He turned over another card, adding another six to his total.
Autumn’s eyes darted between her eighteen and Becket’s twenty-two. She squealed and bounced in her seat as she realized she’d won. I couldn’t help laughing at her innocent joy.
We played a few more hands, her pile growing slightly with my tutelage. Before long, she sighed and dragged the chips closer to her, asking to cash out. She grinned at me sheepishly. “As someone with a mountain of student-loan debt, I think I’ll stop while I’m ahead”—she pointed to her winnings—“this little extra will come in handy paying the bills while I’m in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”
She played with a chip, trying to mimic the way my fingers manipulated the one in my pocket. It was a habit and most of the time, I didn’t even realize the little disc was in my hand. I smiled at her cute attempt until her words sunk in. “The Congo?” My head started to spin and something strong clenched my heart.
“Yes, I’ll be leaving next week to spend a year with Doctors Without Borders,” she said as she handed her card to Becket.
He swiped the card again, watching me surreptitiously. Probably, wondering at what I’m sure was an appalled expression on my face. Not only had I just been informed that my time with Autumn was more limited than I’d thought, I was suddenly picturing every horrible thing that could happen to her while she was on a different continent.
Autumn sprang to her feet and grabbed my hand, dragging me towards the exit without looking back. I took the opportunity to ogle her delicious ass and though the disturbing thoughts were still in the back of my mind, I was sufficiently distracted by Autumn’s eagerness and the realization that my fantasies about her were about to come true.
6
Autumn
A romantic dinner with a sexy stranger on the roof of one of the most extravagant hotels on the strip. Backstage passes to meet Griffith Thorne. Gambling a hundred dollars a hand at the Blackjack table and winning. As amazing as it all was, it was also completely out of character for me.
So was having sex with someone on the first date, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me from dragging Drew up to my fancy hotel suite so I could have my wicked way with him. Or at least that’s how I thought it was going to go until the door shut behind me and Drew flipped the script on me and took control.
He tugged me close and cupped the back of my head with one hand and my jaw with the other. “I’ve wanted you since I first laid eyes on you, sunshine.”
He made it sound like he’d waited forever to get this close to me. “It’s only been a day.”
“It’s been a little more than a day,” he corrected.
I shook my head a tiny bit and his thumb brushed against my cheek. “Wrong. I was there when we met last night, and it’s definitely been just one day.”
His blue eyes darkened to a light shade of navy. “It’s been twenty-six and a half hours since I spotted you.”
I did a quick mental calculation. “That can’t be right. I’d barely walked into the hotel by then.”
“You were standing in line, waiting to check in.” The hand at the back of my head slid down, gliding along my spine and stopping to rest an inch above the swell of my ass. “It shouldn’t come as a surprise to you that the view from behind snagged my attention.” His thumb stroked my cheek again. “Then you turned around.”
I had been incredibly gratified by the compliment he’d given me, but now I was confused. If he’d been so drawn to me when I’d been standing in line, why didn’t we meet until a couple of hours later? “And what? The front view didn’t live up to your expectations, so you decided not to approach me?”
His hold on me tightened, and I found myself pressed tightly against his body. His hard length left me without a single doubt as to how much he wanted me, and I softened against him when he growled, “The front view was somehow better than the back, which should’ve been impossible considering how spectacular your ass is. I went from wanting you to needing to have you, and I resented every single minute I had to wait until I saw you again.”
“Drew.” For the first time since I’d signed on with Doctors Without Borders, I second-guessed my decision. My conference was scheduled to end tomorrow at one. Then I was supposed to fly home the next morning. And then I only had a few days to finish wrapping up everything at home so I’d be ready to get on another plane for my twenty plus hour journey. It didn’t give me much time to spend with Drew. “I’m leaving—I can’t—”