Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 117915 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 590(@200wpm)___ 472(@250wpm)___ 393(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117915 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 590(@200wpm)___ 472(@250wpm)___ 393(@300wpm)
“A little bit, I guess. There might be a tiny… minuscule… trace amount of boyfriend-missing happening,” I lied. “But mostly it’s that I’ve had a constant whirlwind of work and socializing this week. Truly exhausting.”
That second part was not a lie.
On Monday, when Ava had heard that Champ was out of town, she’d invited herself to the shop for lunch. She’d also invited me to her house for dinner last night so I could spend time with her husband and babies. Since she was an unstoppable force who’d given birth to three immovable objects, watching her love and pride and frustration with her kids was enough to make me a bit broody (which was another thing I wouldn’t be admitting), and I’d really enjoyed it.
Tuesday, Carter Rogers had also invited me over, since Riggs was out of town on the same job as Champ. We’d been planning to watch an artsy French movie, but then Horn of Glory had released a whole new collection of decorative rainbow gourds for Pride month—and they were making generous donations to LGBTQ+ charities for each gourd that was claimed too—so we’d ended up spending the evening playing HOG. I’d told myself I was doing it for charity, but the truth was that I’d gotten kinda-sorta addicted to the game. Honestly, any game with vigilante fire fairies and decorative gourds was a guaranteed good time.
Wednesday and Thursday, Bunny had called me no less than twice a day, absolutely needing to discuss my thoughts on such diverse topics as her and Cherry’s outfits for their upcoming high school reunion (artfully sexy and classy, but no couture), my feelings about the feather-trimmed shorts trend (highly suspicious), the preparations for her autumn fundraising gala (it would be a guaranteed showstopper, and plans were coming along swimmingly), and most recently, whether I’d be willing to help her host a fun last-minute celebration for some old Thicket friends in our backyard this afternoon (a definite yes, as long as she supplied the food). I got the impression that she was pretty lonely, despite being a social maven, and if I were a betting man, I’d wager she’d be moving to the Thicket part-time, like Cherry and Terry had.
And if all that wasn’t enough, I’d been positively slammed with actual work, now that wedding season was in full swing. I’d overseen Posy Martinez’s nuptials over in Nashville last Saturday (including a last-minute switch from emu feathers to bouquets made out of marshmallows and gumdrops), and I had another wedding coming up in the Thicket next weekend too.
“Ah, true. You have had a lot on your plate,” Champ agreed. “No wonder you’re tired.”
I squirmed guiltily against the sheets. It was undeniable that I had a ton going on. My lack of sleep, however, had nothing to do with being busy.
“Fine, yes, it’s possible that I may have also gotten used to sleeping with someone,” I admitted, then quickly added, “You know our new air-conditioning system is really aggressive. It gets quite chilly in the night. I miss having a human space heater next to me.”
“I missed holding you too, baby.” Champ’s voice was a deep rumble in my ear that made my heart stutter and my breath hitch. “Missed your soft skin under my fingertips. Missed that lean body pressed up against me. Missed smelling your skin when you’re warm and sleepy. Missed the way you download about your day before we fall asleep. Missed the way your voice gets all rough and hoarse after I make you—”
“Okay, okay, you win,” I moaned, pushing a hand against the blankets over my rapidly hardening cock. “I missed the fuck out of you, Percival Champion! Now could you please, please finish off whatever you’re doing extra fast so you can get home and finish me off?”
Champ sucked in a loud breath. He said nothing for a long moment while I heard a door close, followed by the sound of rustling fabric over the line.
“You’re hard right now, aren’t you?” he whispered. “Touch yourself for me.”
If I hadn’t been hard already, his words would have done it. “Wait, what’s going on? Where are you?” I demanded. “Is someone overhearing you?”
The thought was not the deal breaker it probably should have been.
“I’m in a closet, and I… Yeah, I’m kind of on a schedule, and I don’t have long. So focus, baby.”
I bit my lip. When Champ got bossy, it was always really hard not to immediately give in. I gave it my best shot, though.
“I really shouldn’t. I have to feed Herc. And… and…” Fuck. I blew out a breath and admitted, “Sex is just not as good without you, okay?”
Now that was some serious truth. The man had hooked me so deeply that orgasms by myself weren’t as satisfying as orgasms with him.
“Ah, baby,” Champ said hoarsely, tenderly, and I let out a shuddery breath.