Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 89758 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89758 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
“Come on in,” she said, stepping back, and I caught sight of her bare feet. Even those were perfect.
I came inside, and her scent hit me. I paused and inhaled deeply. Then turned to look down at her. “You are trying to kill me,” I whispered just as Cullen came running back into the room.
“And Rio knows the man who owns the candy shop. He can tell him that you’re nice and we can go inside.”
I saw her stiffen, and a forced smile touched her lips. “That’s wonderful,” she told him tightly. “The pizza place and the candy shop,” she said, turning her fake smile my way.
“Yeah, I’d like to know more about that later,” I told her.
She only nodded once, then turned back to Cullen. “You’ve had a very busy morning. It’s time for a nap. If you don’t nap, you’ll never make it to eat that pizza.”
Cullen’s shoulders slumped. “Okay,” he said, then looked at me. “You’ll be here when I get up?” he asked.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I told him. Especially with your aunt dressed like that.
He walked slowly back to his room and closed the door.
“I’ll come check on you in ten minutes. You’d better be in bed,” Bryn called out to him. Then, she looked back at me. “So, he was good today?” she asked.
“Perfect,” I replied. “Tell me about the pizza place and candy store,” I said, stepping closer to her.
She sighed. “The man at the candy store said he didn’t sell to people like me who vandalize others’ property.” She lifted her gaze from the floor to mine. “Same with the pizza place,” she added.
The fucking Jeep . Jesus, were they still holding that shit against her? Why hadn’t I known about this already?
“I’m sorry,” I said, reaching out to touch her hand because I needed to touch something. “I had no idea.”
She shrugged. “You’re well liked in this community, and I bashed your Jeep. They took your side.”
The knot in my stomach was back, and I wondered what else she’d suffered because of her taking the fall for what her sister had done to my Jeep. Fuck, I hated the idea of her being turned away like that. My chest hurt.
“You look like you’re about to be sick,” she said, squeezing my hand. “It’s fine. Trust me, that was not the first time I’d gone through that. When Tory slept with the Baptist minister in the last town we lived in, I had much worse things said about us and to us. They won’t even sell you milk in town after something like that.”
I needed her to stop telling me this shit long enough for me to deal with the fact that she’d been turned away in this town. Because of me. I closed my eyes and muttered a curse.
Her other hand touched my arm. “Let’s talk about something else. Tell me what y’all did today,” she said in a cheerful voice.
I opened my eyes and looked down at her. It hurt that she was so beautiful. I let go of her hand and reached up to cup her face. Her lips parted as I ran my thumb over her bottom lip. I placed my other hand on her hip and pulled her closer to me until our bodies were touching. Her breasts were pressing against my chest, and she was leaning into me, telling me clearly that she wanted to be here.
Lowering my head, I heard her shaky breath just before my mouth touched hers. Her hand gripped my bicep, and she trembled in my arms. When her mouth opened for me, I dived in, tasting her. I’d thought about this for so long, and not one of my fantasies compared to the actual thing. She tasted of honey and sunshine. She was sweet and warm.
She was holding on to me with both her hands now, as if she needed me to hold her up. Her scent, her taste, the way she felt against me—I wasn’t sure I could ever let go of her. I moved the hand I had on her hip down to cup her bottom. I grabbed it with both hands and picked her up. She wrapped her legs around me, and I walked us over the few steps to the sofa to sit down with her. Never once breaking the kiss.
I ran my hands up her thighs, and she gasped. I only pulled back a little, so I could look at her. My right hand was just inside her thigh. Her legs were open as she straddled me. The sundress was pushed all the way up, so I could see the lacy pink panties covering her. I lifted my eyes from that view to look into her eyes. Moving my hand slowly, I watched her.
“I’m just going to touch you there,” I said, my voice thick with arousal.