Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 102719 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102719 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
I hand out plates. “Right? It’s a work of art.”
“You really do have a talent.” Marsha says, helping herself to a big scoop of salad. “Thank y’all for having us. What a fun impromptu double date.”
Lu’s eyes flick to meet mine. I’m worried she’ll be put off by the word date.
But instead, her expression is soft as she eats. Sated.
She turns the conversation back to Mom and Marsha. She asks about them and they ask about her. We laugh. They drink more wine. Finish every last bit of Lu’s gigantic seven-layer salad.
By the time our guests get up to go, it’s the kind of dark I haven’t seen in what feels like ages. Midnight dark. Stars are scattered across the sky. A full moon hangs heavy above the marina, creating a glittering white alley on the surface of the water.
Mom wraps me in a tight hug before she goes.
“I want to know everything,” she whispers. “Call me tomorrow?”
“Always do.”
“Love you, honey.”
“Love you too.”
My heart feels like it’s about to burst right out of my chest when it’s finally just Lu and me again. Together we clean up the table. I tell her to get ready for bed as I do the dishes.
“I can help,” she says.
I shake my head. “You cooked. Go get your jammies on. And by jammies, I mean your naked jammies.”
Her cheeks flush. “Yessir.”
“I like it when you call me sir.” I pivot my hips away from the sink so she can see the hard-on tenting my bathing suit. “Now get to it, Legs. You best not make me wait.”
twenty
Lu
Coffee in the Morning
The light pouring through the cabin’s windows is pale and thin when I wake up.
It’s early. I feel the gentle rise and fall of the boat. Hear the seagulls looking for their breakfast nearby.
Riley is on his back beside me, his chest billowing out in deep, even breaths. He’s got one arm bent over his head on the pillow. His stubble is dark in this light.
My knee is pressed against his thigh underneath the covers. My body floods with arousal at our nakedness.
I can smell the sex we had on the sheets.
So. Much. Sex.
We went through two more rounds after dinner last night. I came both times. The realization hits me that I’ve had more orgasms in the past three days than I have in the past year.
My heart does a neat pirouette inside my chest. I knew Patrick and I had a problem with intimacy. But I also thought maybe that part of me had just died—the erotic part. The one capable of feeling sexy.
Of wanting sex.
I’m happy to report she’s back. And she’s back in a big way.
Smiling like an idiot, I stretch, arching my back. I’m sore everywhere—especially between my legs—but that doesn’t stop me from wanting more.
I should be exhausted. Plugging my phone in a charger I borrowed from Riley last night as we were finally going to sleep, I saw it was nearly one A.M. If I had to guess, it’s not even seven right now.
But instead, I feel energized. Like I’ve already had my cup of coffee.
I blame the handsome slab of a man sleeping peacefully beside me. My stomach dips at his indecent gorgeousness. Everything about him—his face, his hands, the way his body is put together—is beautiful.
I blink, resisting the urge to pinch myself. Is this real? How did I end up sleeping with this man on this yacht? And how did it happen so quickly?
Fear, familiar and fierce, creeps in. This has been fun. Really, really fun. But fun doesn’t equal forever. And is forever even what I want after what I went through with Patrick? Of course I still want to find my soulmate and have kids someday.
But now I’m also thinking a lot about that cookbook I’d planned on writing. What if I wanted to focus on that instead for a while? What if I made that dream come true before committing to any others?
Then again, Riley’s the one that kept that dream alive, even when I was determined to let it die. I meant that much to him.
And Lord, I think he’s already starting to mean a lot to me too.
He stirs, turning his head on the pillow to face me. He sleepily blinks his eyes open, meeting mine. His face immediately creases into a gigantic grin.
My heart lifts. Skin heats.
Rolling onto my side, I put a hand on the muscled plane of his stomach. He groans when I toy with the happy trail of dark hair there, moving my hand lower until I meet with his erection.
I cock a brow. He cocks one too.
I read the question there, clear as day. You ready too?
Wordlessly I drape my leg over his torso and take one of his hands in mine. I guide it to my pussy, wiggling my hips to open myself wider to his touch.