Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 85167 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85167 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
What a view. He’d always been a sucker for big eyes and long hair. Okay, she was shorter than he preferred but her legs looked amazingly fit in those teeny-tiny jean shorts. Maybe not the curviest on top from what he could see under the oversized T-shirt that hung off her in enthralling folds, but he was an ass man anyway. Her cheeks were rosy and her lips shone like she’d licked them recently. Sexy, for sure, in an innocent kind of way that made Driver imagine sneaking out of the house to make out and getting laid in the backseat of his grandparents’ Lincoln. Yep, he might just lose all those numbers and have a little fun with the girl next door instead.
It’d been a long time since his heart beat this fast at the idea of hooking up.
As he stood, her gaze wandered over his bare chest and arms, then lower to his boxer briefs and thighs. He flexed, he’d admit it. He wasn’t shy and liked to show off. Except it wasn’t exactly desire on her face. No. He knew desire. This was something else, more like curiosity mixed with wonder, as if she were wrestling with something she didn’t quite understand. Strange as it was, her inspection filled him with heat he couldn’t deny.
“Didn’t mean to shock you.” Driver covered his junk, mostly because he’d started to get a stiffy and didn’t want to shock her. Then he gave his best self-effacing laugh to put her at ease.
She didn’t even smile.
“Oh.” Snapping out of her perusal, she furrowed her brow. “I guess I can come back later.” She turned to leave.
Damn. That move always worked. “No, um. It’s okay. You don’t need to go on my account.” He kicked off his pants, tempted to chase after her like a crazy person. “I’m not self-conscious.”
She paused in the doorway but didn’t turn. So fucking strange, but he felt like something important hung in the balance.
Driver held his breath.
* * *
Tam clenched his teeth and tightened his grip on the basket at his hip, annoyance stealing the calm he’d maintained all day. He’d just wanted to do his laundry in peace, was that too much to ask? He looked over his shoulder.
The stranger invading the quiet stillness of the building’s basement laundry room was everything Tam went out of his way to avoid. Everything about him was rough, from the five o’clock shadow to the tattoos that colored his skin in a kaleidoscope of artwork. Except his voice, which was smooth as silk and he knew it. Arrogant as all hell, standing there in his tight boxer briefs like it was no big deal. And, worst of all, he’d looked Tam over with interest.
His friends might think him naive, but Tam knew what lust looked like. He couldn’t do what he’d done and not know.
He debated his choices for as long as it took for the challenge in the stranger’s eyes to get under his skin.
He could either wait until tomorrow night to wash his clothes, which would throw him off schedule and might be a problem because he was down to his old ratty briefs, or face the issue head-on.
Ugh, he hated getting off schedule. And it wasn’t like he couldn’t defend himself if necessary. His best friend, Ansel, the unofficial leader of the Sassy Boyz, had taught him self-defense years ago.
Grinding his teeth, Tam crossed the threshold, and the guy smirked liked he’d won. Tam, never one for violence, had the sudden urge to punch this stranger right in the mouth.
But, damn. He’d walked right into it, hadn’t he? Tam glared, which only made that irritating smile grow.
Focus on the task and get the hell out of here.
Tam dropped the basket to the floor. “Would you mind?” He waved a hand at the random crap that littered the top of the second machine.
“Sorry.” In short order, the items were stuffed into the army-green duffel on the floor. “I didn’t expect anyone else to be down here this late. It’s not like I have some kinky fetish to corner strangers in my skivvies. I promise.”
Tam ignored him.
“It’s just that this is the first time I’ve had a chance to wash my clothes in a couple of weeks and I wasn’t sure when I’d get another opportunity, so I figured I’d take advantage, you know?”
Tam didn’t. He had a plan that had carried him through his stay at Prism Center and now to his very first apartment. It had taken some adjustment, but his routine had settled into a simple schedule that allowed him to avoid his neighbors, most of the time, and still keep his belongings clean. It was the only way. He’d never go a whole week without doing laundry.
Yeah, his plan also meant he was washing his intimates tonight. Had to be, right? It couldn’t have been towel day? Tam pinched his lips together and did his best to hide each strip of silk and lace as he loaded the machine.