Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 51525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 258(@200wpm)___ 206(@250wpm)___ 172(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 258(@200wpm)___ 206(@250wpm)___ 172(@300wpm)
“Yeah, but I need to talk to your mom. Can you give us a second and wait for us in the kitchen?”
Panic fills me when she nods and he kisses her forehead then puts her down. I want to go with her when she runs off, but I can’t. I need to be an adult and deal with this head-on. I don’t know why he kissed me or what the hell came over me that made me kiss him back, but this can’t happen. My eyes slide closed while my throat tightens with tears, but then spring back open when I feel his fingers wrap around my lower jaw.
“Please step back,” I beg, looking into his beautiful eyes up close. How am I going to deal with being around him now that I know what he taste like, what his hands feel like on me? Never, never have I felt what I’m feeling right now. I didn’t even know it was possible to experience this amount of arousal. My body is coiled tight, like at any moment I might come right out of my skin.
“You’re not going on a date with Mike.”
Wait, what?
“What?” I whisper.
His face comes closer to mine. “You are not going on a date.”
I watch his jaw clench up close and my stomach muscles bunch in response. “Den—”
“No.” He shakes his head, crowding my space until I’m pressed against the wall and he’s firmly molded against me, with one hand on my hip and the other on the wall above my shoulder. “You’re mine, Bre, and I don’t care what I have to do to prove it. But I will prove it to you one way or another.”
Swallowing hard, I shake my head in denial. “Denver, we can’t do this.”
“Oh yes we can, and yes we are. I’ve been waiting, Bre, waiting for-fucking-ever for you to be ready. I’m done waiting.” His softly spoken words slam into me, scaring me to death.
“Please step back.” My voice and body shake in tandem.
“For now.” His warm breath brushes against my lips. “For right now, I’ll give you space, but only until Lyra goes to bed tonight. When that happens, you and I are going to have a long-overdue conversation about what we are to each other.”
“Okay,” I agree instantly, knowing I’m literally stuck between a wall and a hard place and there is no other way for me to get away from him but to agree. I shimmy out of his grasp and duck under his arm. I don’t look at him again. I leave him standing near the door and rush to the kitchen. When I see Ly at the island with her fingers in the icing on the cake, I give her a shaky smile.
“Ly, no one is going to want to eat the cake if it doesn’t have any icing left on it.” I get close, kissing the side of her head as I grab her hand. I pick her up, take her to the sink, and then set her on the counter.
“But it’s so yummy.” She licks her fingers as I turn on the water.
“It is yummy.” Denver’s deep voice makes me jump, and I look to find him licking icing off his own fingers.
Oh, God. My stomach and core clench at the same time while my nipples harden. “No more icing,” I squeak, and he smirks like he knows just what kind of effect he’s having on me. What the hell is happening?
“So where are we with the decorating?”
“You don’t have to help.” I shut off the water and dry Ly’s hands before setting her on her feet. “I’m sure you have more important stuff to do right now.”
“Nothing’s more important to me then you and Lyra.”
“Did you suffer a concussion today?” I ask seriously, wondering what the hell has come over him. First, the kiss, and now that comment. I know Lyra means the world to him, that’s never been a secret. But he’s never, ever made a pass at me, definitely never kissed me, and he sure as heck has never talked to me the way he did moments ago.
“What’s a concussion?” Ly asks.
I look down at my beautiful baby girl. “It’s when someone bumps their head, baby.”
“Oh.” She looks worriedly at Denver. “Are you okay?”
“I didn’t bump my head, gorgeous, but I did get a reality check this afternoon.”
Her worried look becomes a frown. “What’s a reality check?”
“It’s just a saying, honey,” I chime in, ready for this to be done and over with. “Why don’t we get back to decorating? We still have a lot to do before people start showing up.”
“Okay.” She shrugs and skips away from me, heading for the doorway that leads to the dining room. I follow behind her, ignoring the fact that I can feel Denver coming with us.