Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 116455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
JT was doing precisely what I wanted by backing off. Obviously. It would be ridiculous to be unhappy that the man respected my standards.
And this made things much, much simpler. No conflict of interest. No worrying about what he really wanted from me.
It was all for the best. Definitely.
“I mean, you laid out your terms for me on the first day, and shredding the contract was kind of a clue that you weren’t happy with the offer.”
I huffed. He made me sound unreasonable and cranky when I hadn’t been. Had I?
“You were so upset you even shredded the folder.” JT’s voice caught with amusement. “And returned it to me as confetti.”
Great. I officially sounded like a serial killer. Just what every boy longs to hear. “Yes, I know. I was there. And I’m the one with the ruined paper shredder. Can we not talk about this anymore?” I demanded.
I made a half-hearted attempt to get away, but JT tightened his hold on my waist and sank his teeth into the tendon at the join of my shoulder, holding me in place.
Shit, that felt good.
“Stay,” he muttered after a long, teasing moment, and to my chagrin, my body locked in place like a dog following a command.
He inhaled deeply and groaned, as though the scent and flavor of my skin was getting him off, and I suddenly stopped worrying about how embarrassing I was being. Was there anything more arousing than having the sexiest man in the world want you as badly as you wanted him? I was pretty sure I’d reached some kind of personal lust pinnacle right there against that tree.
“I’m for sure not going to wait,” JT growled in my ear, “for you to decide whether last night was explosive enough for us to repeat it. Because it was.” He sucked lightly on my neck, and I gasped as my dick started to get very, extremely excited again. “It will be.”
So arrogant. So bossy. I was going to tell him so. Any minute now.
“O-okay,” I breathed shakily instead. I cleared my throat and tried to redeem myself. “I mean, I suppose there are worse ways to spend an evening.”
JT chuckled. “You just keep tempting me to remind you, huh?” With gentle force, he backed me up a pace, and then another, and another, until my shoulders knocked against a tree trunk. His grin was feral… and gorgeous. “Being inside you was one of my top five ways to spend an evening.”
“Top five?” I gasped, torn between outrage and laughter.
Damn but I liked sparring with him.
I was starting to think I’d always liked it. That maybe being at odds with JT Wellbridge was more satisfying than being perfectly peaceful and content with anyone else.
“Yep. The list also includes having your cock down my throat.” His teeth scraped across my jaw, then down to the point of my chin. His scruff—which was more like an actual beard these days, and I was not complaining—dragged against my skin, setting every nerve ending alight. “Having my tongue in your ass. And, ah…”
He stepped back just slightly, pulling me far enough away from the tree that he could wrap his arm around my waist while his other hand clasped mine. He grinned at me triumphantly. “And slow dancing with you in the Tavern.”
Oh.
I was light-headed. Caught in his eyes and the inescapable rightness of this moment. I tried to force myself to think of a reply, of anything that would get us back on firmer footing, but the best I could do was “That’s only four things.”
He let go of my waist and twirled me before reeling me back in. “Sure. I’m saving the last spot. I’m sure you’ll find some way to fill it.”
“Well… I do have ideas.”
JT threw back his head and laughed. From this close, I couldn’t help but notice the way his eyes crinkled at the corners, just a little, and how one of his bottom teeth was just the slightest, endearing-est bit crooked.
JT Wellbridge was far from perfect, no one knew that better than me, but standing there in his arms, watching him happy… it was a perfect moment. Maybe the most perfect of my life.
My heart, which was already racing a mile a minute, skipped a beat in pure terror.
“You can tell me all about those ideas,” JT promised. “Starting… tonight.” He phrased it like a statement, but I knew that he was asking me permission. That somehow he wasn’t sure I was going to grant it.
Neither was I. For a long beat, I simply stared at him while warring factions battled between my heart and head. Eventually, one of them won.
“Yeah.” I nodded slowly. “Okay.”
“Really?” He smiled brilliantly and, for the first time all day, pressed his lips to mine. A contract sealed. “Look at the two of us, having actual conversations and getting along. Who even are we right now?”