Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 58090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
“It’s going to look a lot worse if you don’t do it.”
“Paxton, get it downloaded, hurry.”
It’s only halfway loaded, and she’s not going to make it. It’s not pleasurable anymore. For either of us. “Just pull it out.”
“Hell no, not here. I’ll go to the bathroom.”
“You can’t sit still. You think you can walk across the entire restaurant to the bathroom without drawing attention to yourself? Just slip your hand under your dress, Hartford. Nobody’s looking.”
She appears pissed and panicked. “No. I can’t,” she moans out, her eyes closing.
“Holy crap, I’ll do it.”
“No way.”
She leaves me with no option. I stand and move my chair next to her. She reaches over the table and tries to stop me, knocking over her glass of water, which spills onto her lap. She jumps up and yelps, a slight tremor passing through her body.
“Are you all right?”
“It shocked me,” she says, fighting back tears.
“Like a take-you-to-the-hospital shock or a static-electricity shock?”
She steps away from the table and wipes her dress with a napkin. “Like a pay-the-bill-while-I-sit-in-your-Jeep-and-remove-this-broken-thing kind of shock.”
She walks away while a few onlookers stare at me with curiosity.
I shrug. “Well, that didn’t go as planned.”
Chapter Nine
Hartford
I haven’t spoken to Paxton since the other night. Since the incident at Moore Restaurant, which is now being referred to as “The shock heard round the world.” I’m too mortified to face him, but I need to put this behind me and move on.
Paxton took me home after leaving the restaurant, and it was the most awkward car ride ever. The vibrator suffered irreparable damage, and, honestly, I don’t know how I feel about that. I almost wanted to bury it and give it a proper funeral.
It will be missed.
Before the Biddies Book Club walked over to our table, I was enjoying myself. A little too much.
I was so turned on, and knowing Paxton was in control made it so much more.
Now I’m sitting on my couch, laptop on my lap, working on my article and researching other things we can try. BDSM has many factors, and there’re different kinks to explore.
After a few searches, I come across something that looks enticing. Bondage play.
It doesn’t look too sexual in this scene. I’ll be dressed in a bodysuit and Paxton can cut the clothing off me as I’m tied up.
I trust him completely and feel this won’t break any of our agreed-upon rules.
I send a text to Paxton with my idea, and he agrees all too quickly. A zap travels through my body when I see the simple “yes” written in his text.
It doesn’t take me long to find the perfect outfit on an erotic website and purchase it. Now to wait and think about all the ways I want Paxton to cut this outfit from my body.
I slam my laptop shut, trying my best to push the images of Paxton’s green eyes deepening as he looked at me while controlling the vibrator. It was intense.
I know we agreed to stop if things got weird, but there’s no way I’m stopping now. I want to know what it would be like with him.
What having him desire me would be like.
I’m sure he was just caught up in the moment and didn’t get turned on by watching me. I’m being silly.
I push my laptop to the side and stand. I need to get out of here for the day. The Book, Spine, and Sinker bookstore is close to my house, so I hop on my bike and pedal my way there.
I love the smell of old books.
I love the smell of new books too.
I love the smell of all books. I’m not picky.
I pull up to the shop and park my bike on the sidewalk. This is one of my most favorite shops in all of Magnolia Ridge. The top half of the store is built with deep-red brick while the lower portion is a bulky, clunky forest-green wood. Through the paned-glass window I can see Millie inside her shop. I head inside, breathing in the smell of books.
“Hi, Hartford,” Millie Mason, the owner of the bookstore, says to me. Sunlight pours through the windows, casting an angel-like aura around her blonde head.
“Hey, Millie.” I’ve known Millie for a long time. She once dated Brock Atwood back in high school for like five minutes, and now she’s living out her dreams of owning her own bookshop. She grew up with books, since her mother owned the store before her, and she also hosts the Biddies Book Club.
She’s also the youngest member of the club. Which I can see that they’re all here in full force. There’s hardly a day that goes by where they’re not hanging out at Millie’s shop.
“Hartford, what were you doing out with Paxton the other night?” Helen Lark says. She’s a member of the Biddies Book Club and one of my mother’s best friends.