Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 68697 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68697 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Gunnar spreads his arms wide as if boasting for a crowd. “Famous for blowing a kiss after a home run. That’s me, gentlemen.” Then he turns to the guy in the specs. “Thanks, Owen. I’ll read it over.”
Ah, that’s Owen. The PR guy. Marlow said she’d have him bring my invitation to Gunnar.
After he blows Owen a showy kiss, Gunnar turns and jogs back to me. I tilt my head and give him a look. “Owen gets kisses now?”
“Don’t be jealous. You know who the kiss after the homer was for.” The edge is back in his voice. So this garrulous side of him is for Owen and Teddy, people he likes. I’ll have to earn my way back into his fan club.
Fair enough. I’ll use this time wisely.
We reach the sleek black limo and my driver gets out, coming around the front to open the passenger door for us. “Here you go, sir.”
“Thank you, Barrett.”
“Thank you so much,” Gunnar tells the man who’s driven me around since I moved to California.
Once we’re inside, the ballplayer slides across the soft leather seats, seeming to drink in the details—the console with scotch, champagne, tumblers, and ice; the blue lights that run along the roof of the car; the plush, U-shaped seats, perfect for so many of my favorite activities.
Gunnar whistles approvingly. “It’s good to be the underwear king.”
I smile as I sit on the same bench a foot away, enjoying his lighter mood. “It can be.”
The car pulls onto the road, and Gunnar stares out the window for a while at the city drifting by. Then he turns back to me, his eyes intense. “Where are you taking me as you give me the third degree? A diner? A dance hall? A sex club?”
There’s a hint of flirtation in that last suggestion. “Would you like that? A sex club?”
His blue eyes flash with heat, and I know the answer is yes.
“You would, wouldn’t you?”
Gunnar meets my gaze, unflinching. “I don’t know, Rafe. Isn’t that the issue? That I don’t know?”
His words come out stripped bare and vulnerable, putting me off-balance again. That’s what I want though—his openness. After the lies Lucas told, I crave truth like I need air.
“Whatever this is”—I point from Gunnar to me—“it needs to be honest.” Then, I draw a deep breath and give a bit of myself. “I don’t like lies. I’ve experienced them in the past. You might think this is dramatic, but deceit tears away a little bit of my soul.”
He gives a soft laugh. “That is dramatic—putting the details of my sexual inexperience on an equal level to your soul.”
“I do,” I say, not mincing words. “Because the kind of sex I want to have with you should be soul-shattering.”
He blinks, swallows roughly, and fans himself. “Point to the Brit. Well played.”
I laugh lightly, then resume my serious tone. “That’s my point. What you shared tonight is something huge.”
“It definitely wasn’t a little thing,” he says under his breath.
I stare at him sharply. “No bullshit right now, Gunnar.”
“Why?” he asks defiantly. “Why is it such a big deal that I’ve never had sex? Explain it to me.”
Does he really not know? I’m shocked he doesn’t get it. “Because I fucked your mouth like a savage. I told you to take me deep. I made you choke.” I hiss the words. “I could have hurt you.”
He leans forward, getting in my face. “And I liked it. So I’m not seeing the problem, Rafe.”
That’s a fair point, but regret overwhelms me. “Had I known, I would’ve gone easier on you.”
Gunnar doesn’t give an inch. “I don’t want you to go easy on me.”
“You don’t know that,” I say.
“You’re acting like I can’t possibly know what I want because I’ve never had sex before.” He taps his temple. “I know what I want. It’s all up here.”
“That’s not what I mean.” I try to sort through my strange feelings as the limo swings up Columbus Avenue, turning through North Beach.
“Where are we going?” Gunnar asks. “If you’re just going to interrogate me, then thanks but no thanks. This has been fun but I’m done. I’ll walk.”
I don’t think I’ve ever been given an ultimatum like that before. And I have no doubt he’d follow through. For the first time in a long time, I’m unsure how to handle someone. How to handle a man.
This is not what I expected when I met him at the dance club, nor when I sent him dirty directions. And this is nothing that I anticipated when I secured the owner’s suite for tonight.
The car slows at a light then stops. Gunnar reaches for the handle, and I’m sure he’ll leave. I have to decide how much of my past I am willing to share in order to spend more time with this man. And with his hand already on the door, I’d better decide really fucking soon.