Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 79850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
“Thank you for finding my baby,” she told me and then jolted. “Oh my God, I don’t even know your name.”
“It’s Maks. But Gunther’s the real hero.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“Mostly Gunther, with a bit of me.”
She nodded.
Twenty minutes later, Lauren was sleeping under her book, her mother was passed out beside her, and Gunther was snoring. When Gale came in, Gunther came instantly awake, lifting his head.
“Hey, buddy, I’m a friend,” he told the dog, who must have thought Gale was okay because he plopped his head back down and closed his eyes.
“You are Gunther approved,” I whispered as Gale walked to the chair I was in and crouched down beside it.
“Yeah, well, I wanna be Maks approved,” he said, hand on my thigh. “You were amazing. How did you know where Lauren was?”
“Just being observant.”
“Well, that was awesome, and if I didn’t think you were a good man before—I mean, geez, Maks, have you saved kids before?”
I had. Many. But this was not the moment to tell him, not with him looking at me like he was utterly spellbound.
Leaning sideways, I kissed him, hard, and he lifted and kissed me back, and I felt all the longing and desire there. It was a long, slow kiss, the kind I’d never had before him, where we both took our time and there was give and take on both sides. I never wanted it to end.
Before everything combusted and we woke up the room, he eased back and stared at me. The flush on his face and throat, his blown pupils and swollen lips, had me mesmerized.
“You wanna come home with me?” he asked, his voice soft and husky.
“Yes, please.”
He scooped Misha off my lap and put him on the floor before helping me with my jacket. Once it was on, he held on to the collar and eased me forward for another kiss. It was quicker the second time, and then he passed me Misha’s leash and walked toward the door.
“Will you come back and see me?” Lauren whispered.
“Yes, I will,” I promised her. “And you can come see me, and see the sheep.”
“Yay!” she said, a bit too loudly, but her mother settled back as soon as she put her hand over her mouth. If Gunther’s face was any indication, he just wanted us out.
On the drive home, Gale told me he’d reported everything, and since there would be no trial, no one would be looking at the official report.
“And people love hero animals anyway.”
“Yes, they do,” I agreed, smiling when he reached over and put his hand on my thigh.
“So is that how you stayed alive in your former life? Being vigilant?”
“There was no other way to be.”
He was quiet for a bit.
“What’re you thinking about?” I asked him.
“That if Colby Landau had a gun, he might have shot you and Lauren before I made it to his house,” he rasped. “It keeps running through my head.”
“That’s a mistake,” I told him, covering his hand with mine. “I’ve done that a million times, and it does nothing. You have to live in the moment and be grateful.”
He took a deep breath. “Okay. I’ll live in the moment.”
It was good to hear.
TEN
It was late by the time we got home, so I went for a quick shower, thinking we’d go to Gale’s right after, but when I came out, I was surprised to find Gale in my living room in a T-shirt and shorts, the rest of his clothes neatly folded next to him on the couch.
“I thought I was coming to your place?” I said, grinning.
“Yeah, but it’s after midnight and––”
“We both need to get up early in the morning,” I finished for him. “So you’ve relegated us to just sleeping again, no sex.”
“Why do you hafta say it like that?” he whined.
I couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled out of me.
“Maks…when we go to bed, I want it to be great so you’ll think, yeah, having sex with Gale a second time would be a good thing.”
The smile would not leave my face. He was so grouchy at the moment, it was adorable.
“But if I fall asleep in the middle,” he went on, “what kind of impression am I making?”
“I love that you’re worried about this.”
“I’m not eighteen anymore, Maks. I don’t just screw and not care if I’m making it good for you. And I really want it to be fuckin’ amazing so you’ll consider sticking around.”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t have to be perfect. That’s not necessary.”
“No, I know,” he almost whined. “But I’m already getting…invested, so I don’t want anything to go wrong.”
“Nothing will go wrong,” I assured him. “Go take a shower.”
“How do you know? You don’t know,” he grumbled as he rose from the couch, picking up his clothes to take with him. “You’re the first person in years who has all my interest and who gives me heart palpitations simply by looking at me, and what, I’m supposed to assume that everything will go smoothly?”