Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 59659 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59659 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
“If she wanted you back—” she said suddenly, her voice slicing through the silence of the room, despite the crashing sounds above. “If she called you right now and said she wanted you back, would you go?”
I didn’t hesitate to answer. It was a question I had asked myself plenty of times, and the answer hadn’t changed since a week after she’d left.
“No,” I said firmly. “I don’t love her. I thought I did before. Maybe I did. And for a brief moment after she left me, I probably would have taken her back. But not now. Not even if a gun was held to my head.”
She nodded. “Hmm,” she said, not giving any indication whether that was an answer she wanted or expected or not.
“I am attracted to you, though,” I said.
“Excuse me?” she asked. “What the hell kind of a thing is that to say right now?”
“I just thought you should know,” I said. “Before the storm hits.”
“Before—” she began then made an exasperated sound as she threw her head back on the couch. Then she leapt up and paced the floor for a moment, shaking her head. “I cannot believe I’m stuck here with you.”
“Me either,” I said.
“I could have been stuck with anyone. Anyone. I could be down here with Amy or Norma. Or hell, one of the stupid customers that didn’t want to leave even though they could see the damn storm coming with their own eyes. I could be down here with anyone. But I’m here with you.”
“Yup,” I said.
“Do you have any idea what you have done to me in the last couple of days? How much your mere existence has absolutely wreaked havoc on my life?”
“I have a general idea,” I said.
“Shut up… just shut up,” she said.
“Hey, look, I know this isn’t an ideal situation for you,” I began.
“An ideal situation?” she thundered back, interrupting me. “Are you joking? Seriously, are you kidding me right now? An hour ago, I was in your living room. I was standing in your living room thinking something… real was going to happen between us. And then your wife walked in.”
“Ex-wife,” I corrected. It didn’t seem to help matters. When she spoke again, her voice was low and gravely, and her eyes were focused in anger.
“Fine. Ex-wife. An ex who feels it necessary to hunt you down halfway across the damn country when she wants to speak to you and who called me a whore. An ex who might just own part of the store that I already had a problem with you owning. And now I am looking at possibly having to deal with both of you and whatever is going on between you two?”
“Nothing is going on between us,” I said hotly. “Sarah just showed up because she cannot handle the idea that I might be enjoying my life. She wants me to be miserable because if I’m miserable then she is still exerting control over me.”
“Yeah, right,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“It’s true,” I said. “She wants to ruin anything I get joy from. Because she hates that she couldn’t do anything on her own and eventually she will figure that out.”
“Sure,” she said, continuing to pace and crossing her arms over her chest.
I stood and closed the space between us, making her stop in her tracks.
“I mean it. I am done with her. As soon as my lawyer shows her how incredibly wrong she is about her claims of ownership in my investment, I will be cutting off communication with her entirely. Then she’ll never be involved in my life again.”
“Well, good for you,” she said.
“Then I’m free to pursue whatever I want.”
“Good!”
“Whoever I want!”
“Fine!”
“Like you!”
“Oh yeah?” she said, her face getting closer to mine, so our noses were nearly touching.
My temples were pulsing with the blood pumping through them, adrenaline was coursing through me, and my hands were clenching. But it wasn’t anger. It was something else. Something more intense even than anger. And it was being reflected back at me from Melanie. Her eyes burned with a fire of passion that I had never seen in another person. It screamed for release.
“Yes,” I said.
Our lips crushed into each other, and her arms wrapped around my neck. I lifted her off the ground and grabbed her ass to hold her in place. She crossed her ankles behind my back, and I walked her to the wall, pushing her against it as my tongue slid inside her mouth and I tasted her.
Hard, staccato moans and hurried, sharp breaths punctuated the sounds of our lips pressing into each other. My hand slid up her body and touched the skin of her stomach, eliciting a sharp breath from her. Her arms left my neck, and at first, I thought she was going to push my hand away. Instead, she reached down and yanked up the hem of her shirt, pulling it over her head and tossing it away.