Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 126602 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126602 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Her face lost all hint of amusement. “You watch me on there?”
I nodded.
“How long? Since we started—”
I shook my head, halting her. “Before that,” I confessed.
An emotion passed over her face. Then Shayla grabbed my hands and slid her fingers between mine, looking almost relieved to be hearing that from me. She smiled.
I smiled.
Fuck, I smiled a lot around this girl.
Then her gaze lowered to my neck. “That’s new,” she said, running the tip of her finger just above the collar of my shirt, where Fiona had dragged a marker earlier.
“Fiona,” I explained, watching Shayla’s eyes grow wider.
“Those lines you have tattooed…she did them?”
I nodded.
“Did she draw that little stick figure on your arm?”
“Nah, that was Caroline. Fi likes patterns. That’s her thing.”
Shayla grabbed my face and rolled up onto her toes to kiss me. “You’re sweet.”
I wasn’t, but I told her to say that again, because I wanted her speaking inside my mouth.
She smiled, then whispered, “You’re sweet. I always knew it too,” before licking my bottom lip.
I slid my hand through her hair to the back of her head and held her still while I kissed her. I pushed my tongue inside her mouth and made her moan. I sucked and I licked, until my lips burned and hers begged my name on a whisper. Then I kissed her cheek, her jaw, down to her neck where I growled and cursed, because I wanted her, right there in that spot on the floor again, and that couldn’t happen.
“What?” Shayla leaned back to study me. Her mouth twitched. “Ohhh, you want to get freaky all over the house, don’t you?”
“I’d settle for right here, but yeah.”
She grinned and slid her arms around my neck. “This is when you realize during all that fixing up you did, that you should’ve soundproof insulated your bedroom and reinforced it with a steel door.”
“That wouldn’t stop my girls. They’d find a way in. Trust me.”
Knowing Caroline, she’d figure out how to tunnel through the floor.
I brushed a strand of hair off Shayla’s cheek and tucked it behind her ear while she kept grinning, most likely picturing my girls busting in on us. “You hungry?”
“Nope. I ate bar food.”
“Want somethin’ to drink?”
“Sure. A water would be good.”
I gestured at the TV with my head. “Got cable installed. You wanna watch one of your dumbass shows?”
“Hey.” She softly punched my chest, laughing, then she slipped out of my hold and rounded the couch. She dug her phone and keys out of her back pockets and dropped the items on the end table. “Just for that, I’m putting on the most obnoxious reality show I can find,” she warned.
“Like I give a fuck. I’ll be watchin’ you anyway.”
Shayla whipped her head around and blushed. “Mad flirting skills,” she said, lifting her hand to her face and pointing at me. “Look at you.”
Grinning, I padded to the kitchen and got her a water, grabbing a Coke for me, while she flipped through the channels.
“I talked to Dominic tonight,” Shayla called out. “He wanted to know if there was anything else around here you needed help with. I told him I’d ask you.”
“I wanna get started on the basement soon. Could use his help with that.”
“Awesome. I’ll let him know.”
“How’s he doin’?” I stepped out into the living room and walked around the couch.
Shayla smiled at me as I claimed the seat beside her. “Good, thanks to you. My mom says he’s not nearly as angry anymore.”
“That’s good, babe. But if he does go back to that place, the offer stands whether I got shit here that needs demolishing or not. I don’t mind talkin’ to the kid.”
Her smile reached her eyes. “I’ll pass that message along.”
“What about the other one? He doin’ all right?”
“Yes.” She leaned over and kissed my shoulder. “Thanks for asking.”
“You don’t gotta thank me.”
“Yes, I do.” Sitting back, Shayla reached over and touched the new threads around my wrist as I cracked open the can. She was back to smiling.
I stared at her, ignoring the TV like I’d said I would. I didn’t give a fuck what was on.
“Does Fiona make you anything?” Shayla asked, toeing off her boots. She twisted to face me, swung her legs up and tucked her feet under her hip, getting comfortable. Then she took the glass of water I held out.
I shook my head. “Just likes to draw on me. That’s her thing. Caroline’s only done the stick person on my arm. The rest is Fiona, and shit I put on there.” I took a swig of Coke and sat the can on the end table.
“I saw their names, and the footprints. That’s so sweet.”
I shrugged.
“Do you have anything for Val?”
Shayla looked hopeful, like she wanted something representing my ex inked on me, which I did not fucking get. Still, I brought my left arm across my body and dropped my hand to her thigh.