Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 98789 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98789 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
“Ari,” I choked out through clenched teeth. “Why are you so good at this?”
“Because I’ve thought about you like this so many times. You don’t know how badly I want to feel you throb between my lips and taste you dripping down my throat.”
“Jesus,” I whispered. Then I was grunting as the orgasm surged through me, unfurling from the base of my spine in hot, rhythmic pulses. In the dark, I felt my hand grow slick.
When the muscles in my lower body relaxed, I opened my eyes. “One sec,” I told her.
“Okay.”
In the bathroom, I took a minute to clean up, my head spinning with the knowledge that Ari had just given me the most intense orgasm I’d had in a long time, and she hadn’t even been in the damn room.
Which was unfortunate. Because I’d be ready to go again in about twenty minutes and would have given anything to have her in bed beside me.
Was that allowed? What were we doing? Where could this go?
I crawled back into bed and picked up my phone. “Hey.”
“Hi.”
“I was just wondering. Are we still friends?”
“Why wouldn’t we be?”
“I don’t usually tell my friends to get on their knees and suck my cock.”
“Sir! I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I laughed. “Never mind. I must have been mistaken.”
“I should say so. This was simply a goodnight chat between friends.”
“That was definitely my intention when I texted you.”
“Was it really?”
I paused. “No.”
“Good.” She laughed softly, and it made me want to wrap my arms around her and breathe her in, feel her skin on mine. “Well, I’m working early. I should get some sleep.”
“Maybe I’ll come in for lunch.”
“Do it. I have a new special for you to taste.”
“There’s only one thing I really want to taste.”
“Goodnight, Dash.”
“Night, Sugar.”
I woke up the next morning to an empty house and a note from my dad on the kitchen table telling me he’d decided to take his little road trip, but instead of driving, he was flying down to visit a friend in Tennessee. Laughing, I took a picture of it and sent the shot to Xander.
I stepped out into the yard with the dog, and it was so nice out, I decided to go for a run. After changing into shorts and a T-shirt, I laced up my running shoes, put Fritz on the leash, and headed out. As I jogged the streets of the neighborhood where I’d grown up, I remembered different things from my childhood—the lemonade stand Devlin and I had on the corner (he was the CEO, I was the employee), the house that gave out the best Halloween candy (full-sized Snickers bars), the races my brothers and I used to run from one end of the block to the other (yes, I came in last. Every fucking time, because those assholes had never let the youngest win).
It really was a great place to grow up. If I had a family like my brother Austin, I’d live here. You had sun and the lake in the summer, you had snow and ski hills in the winter, and fall here was the prettiest season I’d ever seen anywhere. I could understand why Ari had wanted to come back.
I still couldn’t believe what we’d done last night. When I opened my eyes this morning, the first thing I’d done was check my phone to make sure I hadn’t dreamed the whole thing. But those texts were there, ending with Call me.
Then it wasn’t just words on a screen. It was her voice in my ear. Every time I thought about the things she’d said, my body ignited.
Now that we’d broken this barrier, did that mean we could keep going? Would it be a mistake? Or just a great fucking time? I didn’t want to mess with her feelings—Ari was always going to be part of my family, and the last thing I wanted to do was hurt or mislead her, creating an awkward situation for years to come.
But the first thing I wanted to do was get naked with her.
Could we enjoy some sort of friends with benefits arrangement while I was home? I’d never slept with anyone I’d known for so long or considered a close friend, so I wasn’t sure how that worked.
When I got home, I took a shower, wrapped a towel around my hips, and checked my messages. Nothing from Izzie or Ari, but there was one from Devlin asking me to give him a call. I tapped his number.
“Hello?”
“Hey.” I smiled at the sound of my brother’s voice. “How’s everything going?”
“Good. Busy. I hear you’re in Cherry Tree Harbor.”
“Yeah, I came home a little early to spend some time with Dad, although he hasn’t been around much.” I laughed. “I think his social life is busier than mine.”
We took a few minutes to get caught up, and Devlin filled me in on finishing up the renovation at Snowberry. “It took a little longer than we expected to get it all done, but it was worth the wait.”