Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 28386 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 142(@200wpm)___ 114(@250wpm)___ 95(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 28386 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 142(@200wpm)___ 114(@250wpm)___ 95(@300wpm)
“The story of the Wanting Tree. The tree where I heard you calling to me.”
I love the sound of her voice layered over the pelting water so much, I have to lean my forehead against the wall of the shower and close my eyes. “I heard you calling, too.”
A beat passes in silence. “My grandmother told me that when she was in her early twenties, one of the farm hands went to the Wanting Tree and begged for his soul mate. She watched him disappear. They never saw him again.”
My eyes fly open.
Haphazardly, I flip off the shower spray, my pulse going ninety miles an hour. “Shiloh.”
“What?”
I peel back the shower curtain, momentarily forgetting that I’m butt-ass naked. And I remember pretty fast when bright pink spots stain her cheeks and she hurriedly glues her eyes to the ceiling. “Dude.”
A grin spreads my lips. “Sorry, throw me that towel?”
She feels for the ratty blue terrycloth and lobs it at me.
But I catch her peeking. Just for a split second.
Suppressing my sly smile, I towel off, my thoughts pivoting quickly back to the story she told me. “Shiloh, you won’t believe this, but I have an uncle by marriage named Marlin. My parents are always joking that he fell out of the clear blue sky one afternoon when my aunt Lucille begged the Wanting Tree for her soul mate. He married her when I was a kid. There was something…different about him. He always looked sort of bewildered. You don’t think…”
She seems to be holding her breath. “I don’t know. Maybe that’s the ranch hand. My grandmother never told me his name. So…each soul mate has to be wishing at the very same time, I guess.” A line slowly forms between her brows. “There was another piece of the legend I can’t remember, but I’m sure it’ll come to me.”
“Was it the part about returning home?” I ask, securing the towel around my hips.
A heavy silence falls. “Do you…want…well, obviously you want to go home.”
In the wake of her statement, I look up, noticing her stricken expression, though she hides it quickly. “Just to be clear, I’m not going anywhere without you. Not back in time, not forward to the future, nowhere.”
“That’s…” She blinks in rapid succession, making me think she likes the vow very much, but maybe she doesn’t want to like it. “That’s quite a promise.”
I look her in the eye and nod. “I intend to keep it.”
She blinks at me. “You’re nothing like other men I’ve known.”
“So you’ve mentioned,” I say dryly, climbing out of the tub and sauntering toward her, enjoying the way her breath hitches, her eyelids appearing heavier.
“Only, this time I mean it in a good way. You say what you’re thinking. Sometimes what you’re thinking is piggish and old-fashioned, but other times it’s incredibly nice. The forthrightness of you. The honesty. You’re one of those men who shakes hands to seal a deal and doesn’t go back on his word, no matter what happens. Aren’t you?”
I stop in front of her and reach around to grab that spectacular ass, yanking her hips up against mine, chuckling quietly over the way she ogles my chest. “Damn right, I am, Shiloh.”
“What are we going to do tomorrow?” she says, sounding dazed.
“You can show me your world. How it’s changed from mine. We can get to know each other inside and out.” I dip my head and lick open her mouth, feeling my cock rise another degree, thickening. Aching. Lord, my hunger for this girl is almost blinding. I can feel my balls pulsating, my heart gift wrapped in my throat, every molecule in my body roaring for more of her closeness. “But right now, Shiloh?” I press my mouth to her ear and bring my voice to a whisper. “I’d like to bring you to bed, shove that slut dress up to your hips and leave a load inside of my woman. And then you’re going to go make me another fucking sandwich while it drips down your thighs.” I snag her lobe, tugging gently. “Your pride isn’t going to let you say yes, so just nod and I’ll take care of the rest.”
When I pull back to judge her reaction to my plan for the night, I don’t see what I expect. Instead of eagerness or gratitude, the girl looks like she’s ready to take a hacksaw to my family jewels. Before I can ask Shiloh which part she finds objectionable, she pulls a little glass toy out of her back pocket. She taps the front of it and a rectangular screen lights up, her thumb zipping like a roadrunner over the reflective surface.
“What the hell is that?” I ask.
“Hey Siri,” she says, ignoring me. “What is the female orgasm?”
Would you believe that goddamn toy starts talking back to her? I nearly come out of my fucking skin when a nasally, electronic lady voice responds with, “Here’s what I found,” and a whole host of words starts popping up on the screen. I lurch backwards, my shoulders hitting the hallway wall, the towel around my waist nearly slipping straight off.