Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 26323 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 132(@200wpm)___ 105(@250wpm)___ 88(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26323 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 132(@200wpm)___ 105(@250wpm)___ 88(@300wpm)
6
Marleigh
I had eaten at least a hundred meals with Wrenley on this couch, but I’d never had a problem swallowing even a single bite of food while sitting next to her on the comfy cushions. But the same couldn’t be said about sharing dinner with Clay. I hadn’t been hungry when he had ordered the food, but that didn’t stop me from shoving bite after bite into my mouth. Eating stopped me from blurting out the inappropriate thoughts that continuously popped into my head. It also kept the low moans trapped in my mouth each time he did something sexy. Which happened a lot.
“No wonder the menu for this place was at the top of the stack.” Clay leaned forward to set an empty container on the coffee table. “That was the best Thai takeout I’ve ever had.”
“Right? Wrenley and I discovered it the same month we moved in, and I think we’ve probably eaten from there every week since then,” I confessed.
“Well, I’m more than happy to keep the tradition. Let’s plan on doing this again next week,” he suggested before taking another bite of his yellow curry.
“Sounds like a plan,” I softly agreed.
Eating wasn’t sexy. Or at least I’d never thought it was until now. I was more turned on than I’d ever been in my life just by sitting next to him while we ate. My breath caught in my throat when Clay’s lips wrapped around his fork. And when his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. Or pretty much just sat there breathing.
I was already a bundle of overheated hormones when my fingers slid against his as we both reached for a piece of tempura fried cheesecake at the same time. Unsure if I should pull my hand back or not, I froze. We were barely touching, but I was hyper-focused on the contact of our fingers and almost let out a mewl of protest when he picked up some of the dessert because I missed our connection.
Clay didn’t leave me longing for his touch for long, though. He lifted the cheesecake close to my lips and murmured, “Would you like the first taste?”
“Mm-hmm,” I hummed before taking a bite. The tempura fried cheesecake was one of my all-time favorite desserts, and it tasted even better with Clay feeding the piece to me. “Delicious.”
His gaze drifted to my lips, his green orbs darkening with desire. Then he lifted the cheesecake to his mouth and took a big bite from the same spot where my lips had just been, and it felt as though my panties were about to spontaneously combust.
Reminding myself that Clay was my best friend’s boyfriend’s best friend—and boy, that was a mouthful to think, let alone say—I quickly demolished the other piece. Then I got up and grabbed the empty containers closest to me. “Thanks for getting dinner.”
“My pleasure.” He uncoiled from the couch and prowled behind me into the kitchen with the rest of the containers.
As I dumped stuff into the trash can, he crowded behind me to do the same. Then I darted around him and rounded the counter and blurted, “I have a busy day tomorrow, so I think it’s past time for me to get ready for bed. Good night.”
His deep sigh followed me out of the room, but I didn’t look back at Clay. I couldn't, not without running the risk of turning around and throwing myself at him. Rushing into my bedroom, I just barely stopped myself from slamming the door shut. Once it was closed behind me, I slumped against the hard surface and pressed my knuckles against my lips as I whispered, “Holy crap.”
My gaze darted toward where I’d left my cell phone on my bedside table, and I thought about calling Wrenley to ask her why she didn’t warn me about how hot Clay was. But I figured that I already knew the answer—she only had eyes for Jordan. She barely noticed other guys existed, let alone how attractive they were.
Once I got my racing heart back under control, I padded over to my closet and yanked open the top drawer of the small dresser I kept in there. As I was pulling out a pair of sleep shorts with a matching tank, it finally hit me…I had to go back out there to get ready for bed.
The outfit wasn’t sexy, not like lingerie, but it didn’t leave a whole lot to the imagination. Changing first was a bad idea, and I probably should have dropped the clothes onto my bed. But I didn’t. Instead, I swapped out my clothes before heading back toward the door and pressing my ear against it. There weren’t any clanging noises coming from the kitchen or footsteps in the hallway. The lack of sound let me know it was safe for me to dart into the bathroom without bumping into Clay.