Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 108342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
With a groggy voice, he said, “Porsche, where are you going?”
“Home. I have a lot of work tomorrow.”
She turned to face him. He yawned, his eyes hooded. “I was hoping you’d stay the night.”
“I can’t stay the night. Have to work on some exploratory work for a client,” she explained. The truth was, she needed to get out of there. To think. She liked him too much, and too fast. She blamed Ava. She blamed herself. She blamed him.
His lips puckered. He slowly opened the nightstand and removed a pack of cigarettes. Sliding one out of the pack, he lit it with a snake-shaped lighter. His eyes pierced her soul, and she forced herself to keep looking at him, despite how painful it was.
“At least let me walk you to your car.”
“I can handle it. I’m a big girl. Please, just stay in bed. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?” She blew him a kiss with a shaky hand and made her way out of the bedroom. Moments later, she breathed a sigh of relief as she sought and discovered her belongings on the first floor. She slipped on her boots, grabbed her purse, and then her coat from the closet.
As she was putting it on, her heart nearly leaped out of her chest when his booming voice, less than three feet away, cut through the air.
“Porsche.”
“Goodness!” She placed her hand over her chest. “Don’t scare me like that.”
“Yeah, I’m scaring you, but it’s got nothing to do with me standing here right now. Are you running from me?” He stood there dressed in a white tank top and black pajama pants. That darkness shone in his eyes again, but in a flash, it was replaced with longing. Understanding. Sincerity.
“Okay…” She hung her head. “I just need a minute to process all of this, Nikolai. I wasn’t against dating anyone right now, not even against starting a relationship when the time was right, but… considering how we met, and that things are moving quickly, I just—”
He pressed her against the wall, silencing her with a kiss. Gently stroking her hair, he looked into her eyes.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of. There’s nothing to process. So what about how we met? I’m not the killer. Now, if I was, then yeah, that might be an issue.” He shrugged. “This isn’t one of your investigations, at least not anymore. We like each other. We’ve had some dates. We’ve talked on the phone many times. We know a lot about one another, understand each other, and now, we’ve had sex. Damn good sex, I might add.” Her cheeks warmed. “It’s not complicated, Porsche. So don’t try to make it complicated. There’s no problem here unless you make it one.
“Look, uh…” He scratched his head and looked away, before casting his gorgeous eyes back upon her. “You’re going to stand right here and wait. I’m getting my keys. I’m walking you to your car. I don’t care that you’re a big girl, a cop, and whatever else. You could be one of the X-Men for all I care. So what that your car is parked right outside of my house? I take good care of the people I like… and I like you a lot. Sit tight.”
“…Okay.” She couldn’t help but smile. He had that effect on her.
He kissed her forehead, grabbed his keys from a jacket pocket that was hanging on the back of a chair, slipped the jacket on, then opened the front door. They headed out, holding hands as they made their way to her car. He opened the driver’s side door for her and helped her inside.
“I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?” she said over the sound of the engine and radio.
“Yeah. Okay. Drive safely. Text me when ya get home.” They leaned towards one another at the same time, sealing it with a kiss. Then, he tapped the roof of the car and stepped away.
She put her car in drive, and as she began to drive down the street, she caught him in her rearview mirror. He remained on that spot, watching her. After waving at her, he turned back to his house.
She turned the radio up louder. ‘Fire We Make’ by Alicia Keys came on the air. It was hard to forget his parting words, though she tried to force them to the back burner. Also, how could she ignore the throbbing between her thighs from the way he loved her down, and the warmth and tingle against her lips from his final kiss?
Getting a bit hot under the collar, she slipped off her coat and placed it on the passenger seat. She sniffed her arm as she moved. God, she smelled like him. She sniffed again, and her heart beat faster.
This is how it starts. When I really like someone, this is what I do. I become attached. Then, I have to play it off, like I actually don’t care. I hate that about myself. I’m this big age and still feel this way. It’s immature. I want to get close, but I’m afraid to get close. I’ve been hurt and I’ve done the hurting. I trust myself, until I’m in love…