Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 62128 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 207(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62128 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 207(@300wpm)
I swallow hard. “Somewhat,” I say. “His spirits are high, which is a miracle considering how long he’s been in and out of treatment. He’s always been an optimistic guy. It’s the medical bills that keep getting out of hand. Neither of them has good insurance, and so it’s all out of pocket. I’ve helped with most of them, but after taxes, paying off their house…” I blow out a breath. “Let’s just say that if I get any endorsement deals it’ll be a blessing.”
Something clicks, and she nods. “That’s why you were so eager to keep the views up.” She doesn’t say it like an accusation, just a simple statement of fact.
“It can’t hurt,” I say.
She nods. “I’ll do whatever I can.”
“So, are you going to tell me now?” I ask, desperate to get out of the heavy.
“What?”
“What you three were laughing about.”
“Oh,” she laughs. “I already forgot you asked that.”
“But not what you were laughing at.”
A flush dusts her cheeks and she shakes her head. “I can’t,” she says.
“Oh, you so can,” I say, immediately intrigued. “What was it?”
“Nothing you want to hear about, I assure you.”
“You’re assuming things,” I say. “That’s not fair. How do you know I won’t be interested if you don’t tell me and let me decide for myself?”
She raises her brows, surprise flitting over her features. “Okay then,” she says. “You asked for it,” she murmurs under her breath. “We were discussing…certain nighttime activities and the topic came up of how many times any of us have…arrived on any given occasion.”
I stand up a little straighter. “I’m definitely interested.”
She shakes her head. “Not the part we were laughing at.”
“Oh, please continue.”
“Anyway, they were teasing me. And it was funny, so I laughed.”
“What were they teasing you about?”
Her blush deepens, and my heart kicks up a notch. Whatever she’s thinking about I desperately want to know.
“Um…” She laughs nervously. “They’ve both had times where they’ve had multiple arrivals in one night.”
“So,” I say, shrugging. “What were they teasing you about?”
Her gaze widens, and she looks toward the party like we might be overheard, but the glass doors are closed so there’s no way. Besides, no one is paying any attention to us.
“I haven’t,” she answers. “And they weren’t being mean about it. They were suggesting ways I could have multiple…arrivals in one night. With the right person, and they were getting ridiculously descriptive so we were all laughing—”
“Hold on,” I say, blinking a few times like that might make me understand better.
“Whew!” A rookie comes out onto the balcony, cutting me off. “I needed the fresh air,” he continues. “And this view is awesome.”
“It is,” I say, then grab Reese’s hand and lead her through the party, finding one of the empty rooms in Clay’s suite. I shut the door behind us. “You’re saying you’ve never been with a partner that didn’t get you off at least twice before he took his turn?” I ask.
She clears her throat, shifting nervously on her feet. “No,” she says. “But it’s fine. I’ve had good sex. It’s not like they were bad—”
“No,” I cut her off. “If you only get off once, it’s not as good as it could be.” I shake my head, my mind catching up with the rest of her statement. “And who were the girls suggesting help you with this problem?” Irrational jealousy crops up inside me that I can’t deny or explain. The idea of someone else’s hands on her body has my hackles rising when they have no right to. We’ve only kissed, and this relationship is fake for fuck’s sake.
“You, of course,” she says with an incredulous look. “The popular, bad-boy expert in all things sex,” she laughs.
The breath punches from my lungs.
“Oh,” I say, relief and excitement barreling through me.
“Which I reminded them would be breaking ground rules,” she continues. “Not to mention that you have no interest in me like that whatsoever—”
“You’re assuming again,” I cut her off, stepping closer to her. “I told you in the beginning, there’s a fine line between hate and passion, and after getting to know you better these last few weeks, I know you don’t hate me. There’s still a whole lot here you can’t deny.” I motion between the two of us.
Her lips open and shut a few times. “Okay,” she says. “Maybe I’ll admit there’s chemistry here. But you’re Nash Stokehill,” she continues. “Infamous bachelor. I can’t compete with everyone vying for your attention.”
“As of a few weeks ago, I’m your boyfriend,” I say. “No one else has my attention.”
“It’s really fine,” she says. “So, my sex life has been a little blah. It’s all good. I can do it better myself.”
“Fuck, I’d love to see that.” I cock a brow at her. “But I’m telling you, I can do it better.”