Total pages in book: 167
Estimated words: 157175 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 157175 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
‘Is that thing mine?’ She looks alarmed. Welcome to my world, honey.
‘Nope.’
‘Then what’s it doing in my drawer?’ She tries to reach around me to claim it, frowning at me when I step away, keeping a firm hold.
‘No idea.’ I turn and stalk away, set on finally throwing it in the trash. The last thing I need right now is a machine replacing me. Never. I need all of her pleasure. And I need her to need it, too.
As I make it to the stairs, I take the first step, but stagger to a stop when my arm is jolted, the vibrator suddenly gone from my hands. I swing around and find Ava inspecting it, her eyes running up and down the sparkly shaft. ‘Give it back,’ I warn, with all the threat I really mean.
Eyes flicking to mine, she smirks. ‘But it’s mine.’
‘No,’ I correct her, cupping my cock and mildly thrusting my hips forward, delighting in her eyes falling to my groin. ‘This is yours. That thing isn’t needed.’
With her lips pressed together, she gives me a wicked smirk. Then she flicks it on. The buzz. That fucking buzz has haunted me for the past twelve years. When is the damn thing going to die? ‘Do I use it much?’
I’m not having this conversation. ‘Never. Give it to me.’ I make a grab for it, but she’s speedily taken it behind her back.
There’s a playful glint in her eye, one that I would pay endless amounts of cash to see permanently. I’m not the kind of man to pass up an opportunity, and standing before me is an opportunity. One that is goading me.
Clearing my throat, I stand tall and roll my shoulders, my head cocked, my smile cunning. ‘Three,’ I state clear and low, taking one step forward, encouraging Ava’s one step back.
‘Oh, like that, is it? Your silly little countdown?’
‘Silly?’ I chuckle, if only for effect, briefly looking down at my bare feet, scuffing the carpet with them casually. ‘No, no, lady.’ I peek up through my lashes, nibbling on my bottom lip. ‘You think it’s far from silly when I catch you. Two.’ Another step forward for me, another step back for Ava. I’m not worried. She could put a mile between us and I’d still catch her.
‘Remind me what happens when you catch me.’
‘One,’ I counter, lunging threateningly, smiling like a crazy man when she jumps back, startled, before quickly composing herself.
‘Then I guess I’ll find out for myself.’ She shrugs, blasé, and flicks the vibrator off. ‘I’m a fast runner.’
I fall apart on the inside. Her bravado is cute. And a complete waste of her time. ‘Baby, I always win. If you remember anything, you would do well to remember that.’
She scoffs.
I grin.
She narrows her eyes at me.
I grin harder. ‘Zero, baby,’ I whisper, and she’s off, though not as fast as she would like, her limp evident. And I suddenly wonder what the fuck I’m doing encouraging this. She’ll do herself damage, and all because she wants to prove a point. ‘Ava, stop!’
‘No way, Ward.’ She hobbles off down the stairs, and I mentally kick myself repeatedly for being such a careless fool.
I don’t run after her, I walk, though I walk fast, ready to shut down this game immediately. ‘Ava, I’m not playing.’ I see her round the corner at the bottom of the stairs, the vibrator waving above her head, now buzzing again. She’s laughing. I’m not. I’m not in the least bit amused. ‘Ava, for fuck’s sake, stop running!’
‘Not so you can catch me. I know your game, Ward.’
I speed up, my pace now urgent. ‘Ava!’ I roar, my patience fraying. Has she no fucking self-awareness? ‘I swear to God, if you don’t pack it in, I’ll—’
‘What? Give me the countdown?’ She cackles. ‘That ship’s sailed, Ward.’
I throw myself down the final few steps, now fuming fucking mad, mixed with a ton of panic, too. If she doesn’t kill herself with this recklessness, then I’ll do the fucking job myself. I hear the back door slam. The garden? ‘Ava!’ Flying through the house like a hurricane, I just manage to yank the door open before I throw myself through the glass. I see her running across the lawn towards the trampoline. I’m gaining on her, and she looks back over her shoulder, her smile splitting her face. ‘Stop,’ I warn, running after her.
‘I can’t believe you’d get so worked up over my Weapon of Mass Des—’ Her words scream to a halt, and so does her body, so quickly that I nearly charge her down. I catch her arms, and she looks at me, her face vacant. ‘Destruction,’ she breathes, half-unsure, half-exhausted, her stare stuck to the vibrator in her hand. She drops it like a hot potato, like it could be on fire, and takes her palms to her temples, squeezing her eyes shut.