Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 100275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
She slowly hunches, lowering her butt to the counter and letting her legs dangle off the side. “Calvin Fitzgerald.”
“Jaymes Andrews.” I stuff my hands into my pockets but can’t hide my impish grin.
She bites her lip, partially disguising her smile. “You are the most intense person I have ever known. But at the same time, you don’t have a serious bone in your body. That makes you an enigma. Most days, I can’t decide if you like me or can’t stand me.” Her lips turn into a pouty frown.
I rest my hands next to hers on the edge of the counter. “I like you too much.”
“I’m not having sex with you, Fitz,” she whispers when my gaze drifts to her neck and lower to the outline of her nipples beneath her tight shirt.
“If I had a dime for every time I heard that”—I lean in until my nose touches her neck, inhaling her floral scent while my lips skate along her collarbone—“I’d have zero dimes.”
Her body vibrates with laughter, and I wish it would shake me out of this. Whatever this is.
Am I bored?
Lonely?
Having an early midlife crisis?
I don’t want a girlfriend or a wife because I’m happily married to my job. Kids? Hell no. I don’t need anyone to leave behind. Being left behind is fucking awful.
Still, my hands slide up her arms, and I kiss her neck. Something’s overriding common sense. This is headed for a self-preservation debacle. Will I destroy her to protect her from my past? My biggest fear. Or will I lose myself in whatever this is between us and resent her for being my weakness?
Jamie draws in a shaky breath that silences her laughter while her head lolls to the side.
I’m a dumb fuck. There’s no denying that.
Self-torture? Check.
Risking my current residence? Check.
Disregarding Will’s nonnegotiable house rule? Double check.
Maybe that’s okay, since I have no plans to let it go past this. I’m technically not breaking any rules. I’ll keep my lips above her shoulders and my hands in neutral territory.
Our lips fuse, and I fight my mind’s urge to make sense of this.
Does this have to make sense?
I’ve dined on SPAM marinated in Kool-Aid. To the average person, that doesn’t make sense. And it doesn’t have to.
Her hands rest on my chest and slide south. I grab her wrists. “Nope,” I say between kisses.
She bites my lower lip, and I’m forced to suppress a moan, which channels all the tension straight into my dick. We might need our own set of rules.
SNAP!
“Ahh!” She leaps off the counter, wrapping her arms and legs around my torso.
“What’s going on?” Maren’s accusatory tone is the cherry on top of this clusterfuck as the front door clicks shut behind her.
Fuck. That was close. Too close.
Jamie’s gaping eyes fill with distrust.
I peel her arms and legs off me.
“Yuck. Yuck. Yuck!” Jamie runs out the back door—no shoes and no explanation to Maren.
I retrieve the trapped mouse and hold it in the air.
Maren doesn’t flinch. “Will’s going to be thrilled.”
“Unlike Jamie.” I smirk.
Maren laughs, shrugging off her brown wool coat. “That did look suspect for a moment. Is that why she was holding on to you for dear life?”
“No. She suddenly felt really horny. I tried to push her away, but—”
Maren snorts. “I’m not buying that one.” She collapses onto the sofa and checks her phone.
Good. I don’t want her to buy it.
“I’m going to toss Mickey in the trash and make sure our new roomie isn’t stuck in the corner of the shed in the fetal position.”
“I love that about her. She’s not like the rest of us. It’s refreshing.”
“It’s something,” I mumble before heading outside to dispose of the mouse. Once that’s done, I knock on the shed door.
“Come in,” Jamie calls in a muffled tone.
When I open the door, she glances up from the bed, where she’s dangling upside down off the side, looking underneath it.
“Seeing if Mickey has a family?”
She flips her head up, kneeling on the bed, and flicks the hair out of her eyes. “Fitz, you killed that mouse. I swear I heard it scream. Did you hear it? And, oh my god.” She covers her mouth for a second, eyes wide. “We. Almost. Got. Caught.”
I acknowledge her with an easy nod. “We should stop.”
I 1,000 percent don’t mean it.
After a long pause, lips slightly parted, she nods. “Probably.”
Well, shit.
“No pouting.”
Her nose scrunches. “What? I don’t pout.”
I cross my arms and widen my stance. “It’s easy to say that now because I just gave you what you wanted. But in a few days, when you’re having withdrawal, I bet the pout comes out.”
“Um . . . no. If anything, you’ll be sulking because the only woman in the world who gets you has now banned you from kissing her. And that’s going to suck for you. Maybe try to avoid Will and Maren until you can get a grip on your sulkiness.”