Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 81867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
“You screamed,” I growl back, my relief at not finding her battling a serial killer so intense, I’m a little pissed. “What happened?”
She points a shaking finger to the tub. “There’s a spider.”
My eyes don’t leave hers. “A spider?” I demand. “You screamed bloody murder because of a spider?”
“It must have been on the faucet,” she exclaims in defense. “And it skittered across my hand. It’s huge. You would have screamed too.”
“Doubt it,” I grumble.
“And why are you naked?” she sneers.
“I’m not naked. My shirt is off.”
“You were going to work,” she accuses, and I know she’s putting me on the defense because she’s embarrassed to find me in her bathroom while she’s nude.
“Yeah, well, I changed my mind. Decided to… um… get a second workout in today.”
Juniper’s eyes roam over my chest and she waves her hand. “But why? You’re already cut.”
I glance down at my chest and abs. They involuntarily contract knowing that Juni’s eyes are on me, and a six-pack pops out. I work hard for it too. At least my hard-on was quelled when she screamed or else this would’ve been embarrassing on a whole new level.
“I mean,” Juniper says softly, and my gaze snaps back up to find her not just looking but ogling. She snorts, then giggles but never takes her eyes off my torso. “Like… you’re just as cut as you were when you were a young man.”
I frown, not sure if that’s a compliment. “Are you calling me old?”
Her eyes meet mine and she smirks, but she uses her free hand to draw an X over the shower curtain that rests across her chest. “Promise I’m not calling you old.”
She giggles again.
“You’re drunk,” I say dismissively and then turn to the tub to take care of the original source of her angst.
And well… damn… it’s a pretty big fucking spider but they’ve never bothered me. I can see why she’d scream though if it caught her unaware.
I nab a tissue off the back of the toilet and scoop up the spider. I turn toward the bowl, intent on flushing it, but Juniper yells, “No… don’t kill it.”
Rolling my eyes, I offer her the tissue and spider. “Do you want it?”
She cringes, trying to melt backward into the wall while still clutching the shower curtain in front of her. Pointing with her free hand, she says, “Let it go outside.”
“Jesus, Juni. Still a regular fucking Snow White with the critters.”
I act affronted as I leave the bathroom but truthfully, that was the real Juniper Ryan. The woman who wanted to save even the creepiest of little creatures and found joy in the songs of birds. It’s nice to see it.
So there’s a smile on my face as I trot down the staircase to let the spider go per her request.
With that done, I head back to my bedroom. The desire to jack off is gone, but I’m still feeling good about Juniper’s afternoon. I want to see her happy and today was a good day for her. I change into a pair of sweatpants and another T-shirt. In the kitchen, I grab a bottle of water and then settle into my home office to watch game video of the players I’m going to attempt to acquire the day after tomorrow when the free agency period opens. I’ve been over the video already, but I want to watch it again. Later I’ll go over the stats sheets as well as the financial matrix that the accounting department put together. I can plug in and remove players and the cap will automatically adjust.
I’m deep into watching a compilation of hits that Rafferty Abrams put on his opponents last season when there’s a knock on the door. It’s not closed, but it’s Juniper’s way of making sure not to intrude.
I hit pause and smile at her. She’s wearing leggings and a tank top, her hair is partially dried and her face is free of makeup. She looks fucking sexy as hell. “What’s up?”
Juniper walks in, holding her phone. She settles into one of two wingback chairs I have by the window and curls her bare feet under her. “Julia called when I was in the shower. I need to call her back but thought maybe… um…”
Her words trail off and her gaze drops to the phone cradled in her lap.
“Thought what, Juni?” I ask, intentionally using her nickname. It’s informal and I hope it makes her feel closer to me as a friend.
Her head lifts and she tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. “I’d like you to be involved in the conversation. I want to make sure I’m doing the right thing and I’m afraid that maybe I’m not able to be objective. When I last talked to Julia, she wanted to know so much information and I’ve got all these emotions swirling around that… that… I’m afraid I’ll say or do something wrong.”