Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 20927 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 105(@200wpm)___ 84(@250wpm)___ 70(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 20927 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 105(@200wpm)___ 84(@250wpm)___ 70(@300wpm)
I lean down and pick him up, happy when he doesn’t make a move to jump down. His little claw sticks in the material of my cardigan and I gently remove it. But he purrs up at me the entire time, giving me his complete trust. “You’re looking so handsome tonight, Mundy. Do you mind if I call you Mundy? I think we’re pretty tight, don’t you?”
He meows as if responding and I can’t help smiling. He’s the sweetest thing I’ve met. My mom is a cat person, and I can’t help thinking about how much she’d like him.
I glance around, trying to pick Gray out of the crowd. It shouldn’t be that hard but there are so many people here and one guy around my age saunters up to me. He’s wearing a Stetson and holding two beers. He offers me one.
I shake my head. “I’m looking for a friend.”
“I can be your friend,” he promises. He’s not leering at me so that much is good. He even has a nice smile. But he’s not the big, burly guy that makes my heart beat fast.
Before I can respond Gray is stepping between us. He puts a hand on the guy’s chest and says in his deep growl, “Get lost, Michael.”
Michael looks at me, but I take a tiny step closer to Gray, making my choice clear.
Gray turns to me the moment the cowboy is gone. But he’s still scowling. “You’re mine, sunshine.”
I should probably bristle at the words. It’s the twenty-first century. A woman can’t possibly belong to a man. But I don’t bristle because the thought of being owned by the hot mountain man makes my panties damp. “What does that mean?”
He steps so close we’re standing toe to toe. Or rather cute leather boot to brown work boot. “It means I want you all to myself during this vacation. I’m not sharing you with any other bastard.”
“I don’t want to be shared,” I reassure him and my cheeks pinken as I realize all of what he said. “And I’d like the other part too.”
His body language relaxes, the tension rolling from him. I think he was prepared to fight Michael and I don’t know why I find that so damn sexy, but I do. There’s something about knowing he’d fight to keep me that makes me feel safe and secure.
“Come on. There are people I want to introduce you to,” he says.
Gray introduces me to his friends. First, there’s Journey. She’s the bride-to-be in tomorrow’s ceremony and her groom is Cam, a firefighter. The two of them are from Courage County, a ranching town not too far from here. That’s why the wedding party is so big. Almost the entire town traveled to be with them on this special day.
“How did you two meet?” I ask while Gray flips the hotdogs. He manages the grill while expertly directing a team of staff members. I don’t know how he keeps everything straight and still keeps up with the conversation, but he does it. He’s a born leader and it’s obvious everyone looks to him.
“We met because of bull testicles,” Journey explains, sending Cam a look like they have a secret they’re not sharing with the world. I love it when couples do that. There’s a special bond, things that only they know about each other.
“Not exactly. She spilled her beer on me, and I told her to make it up to me by going on a mechanical bull,” Cam explains. His hands are on her hips, like he’s anchoring her to the floor.
She’s leaning back against him. She’s almost purring louder than Mundy who’s still in my arms. “Anyway, the prize is the ugliest pair of golden bull testicles that I’ve ever seen, and we won it.”
“She stole them from me after we had hot sex in the women’s bathroom then again in the hotel and—”
She turns and smacks him on the shoulder. It’s obviously a playful swat with no malice but he quickly captures her hand and sends her a warning look. The chemistry between them is so combustible that I look away to give them a private moment.
When I glance at Gray, I find he’s already staring at me. His mouth quirks up in a half grin. “What kind of cheese do you like?”
Mundy yawns in my arms, no doubt tuckered out from a day spent hissing at the staff and hiding Gray’s things. Poor kitty has a rough life.
Once I tell him, he dishes me up a burger. He tries to tell me to go take a seat at one of the picnic tables.
Instead, I grab a chair and drag it near the grill. We talk while I eat, and he continues at the grill. There are too many people milling about for us to have a deep conversation, but I just like being around him. Judging from the way he keeps looking at me, I think he likes it too.