Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 98736 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98736 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
“And before I left for college?”
“Can a man not just hold his girl anymore?” he asks. He’s teasing, but there’s also truth to his words. He just wanted to be with me, and I appreciate that, but I’m missing his touch.
I crave it.
“Before I leave on Sunday.” I don’t say more, because he nods. He knows what I mean.
“We’ll figure it out, baby girl.”
“See that you do.” I wink, and he releases my wrist, and I join the others in the kitchen. All the guys have a plate, while Monroe sits on the counter by the sink, giving them shit about where they’re putting it.
My brother and his four best friends are all good-looking guys. They’re inked up and fit as hell. They all eat a ton, and we often tease them about where it’s going. Not an ounce of fat on any of them. I can feel my thighs expand just thinking about a piece of cake. Men don’t know how good they’ve got it.
Roman joins us a few minutes later. He pats his flat belly and places both of our plates into the dishwasher. “You assholes leave any for me?” he asks.
“You better hurry,” Lachlan tells him. “The mac and cheese is getting low, and Maddox keeps eyeing it.”
“Ticktock.” Maddox grins, shoving turkey into his mouth.
Roman makes himself a plate while I hop up on the counter next to Monroe and watch the guys work their way through the leftovers. She leans her shoulder into mine and I mouth, “Thank you” to her for keeping the guys occupied while Roman and I talked. She nods, and I know without a doubt my bestie would have found a way to warn me if someone was headed our way.
“So, I’ll see you in a few hours?” I ask Monroe.
“Yep. I’m going to my grandparents' for a few hours. You two kids have fun.” She wags her eyebrows, and we both laugh.
“Thank you, Monroe. I hate asking you to lie for us, but I need to spend some time with him before we head back to school.”
“I got you, bestie. Go be with your man. I’ll be at the hotel to get you in a few hours. I’ll text you when I leave my grandparents’ place.”
“I love you. Be safe.”
“Love you too.”
I open the front door and step out onto the porch just as Roman pulls into the driveway. I race down the drive to his truck and hop in so we can be on our way.
“You being chased?” Roman teases as he leans over and kisses me.
“No, but I’m ready to get out of town. I hate that you’re wasting money on a hotel room that we’re not even going to be spending the night in.”
“I can afford to do it, and that’s nothing compared to what I’d do to spend some time with you.”
“You have better things to spend your money on,” I counter.
“Agree to disagree. Now, tell me how school is going? Are you ready for that exam you were stressing about?”
I tell him about school, and he listens intently, all while holding my hand. We make it about an hour from home, and he pulls into the lot of the hotel. Monroe already has my bags in her car. She drove this time. I’ll drive home for Christmas since they’re brief trips.
“It’s obvious what we’re doing,” I whisper to Roman, as we step into the lobby to check in.
“Baby girl, we’re not doing anything wrong. If this makes you uncomfortable, we can go.”
“No,” I rush to answer. “I want to be here.”
“I just want to spend some time with you where I don’t have to sneak kisses or pretend like you’re not all that I think about. No pressure.”
“No way, buddy.” I slip my arm through his. “You promised to make me your snack.”
He freezes, bending to look at me. I smile widely, and he tosses his head back in laughter. “You’re trouble,” he mumbles as he presses a kiss to my temple.
Roman takes care of checking us in and leads me up to the room. “My lady,” he says, holding the door open for me.
I step into the room and reach for my hoodie, pulling it over my head and dropping it to the floor. Next, I shimmy out of my leggings, realizing I forgot to kick off my shoes. I do that, and tear my leggings and socks off after letting them all land in a pile on the floor.
“Stop.” He takes two long strides to reach me. “Let me do the rest.” He runs his knuckle over my collarbone and down to my breasts. “I feel like Christmas came early.” He smiles, and this smile it’s different. Softer somehow.
“Well, you better start unwrapping.”
He steps back, kicks off his shoes, and pulls his joggers off. He does that sexy thing that guys do and reaches behind his neck and pulls off his hoodie and the T-shirt underneath all in one go.