Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 128260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 641(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 641(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
I put on a little bit of makeup and spritzed some perfume on. Taking a cue from what Carson was wearing, I had pulled out a pair of dark gray shorts and a loose, black, tunic-type top. It was casual but I still felt like I looked nice for a date. I paused. Was this a date? Or was this just pre-sex dinner between practical strangers? My hormones had simmered down under the cool spray of the shower, but now I was feeling nervous again. Maybe I just needed to stop trying to define things and go with it. God, I was so bad at that. I craved structure and definitions and control. And here I was throwing all of that to the wind. For sex. With a porn star. I put my hands over my mouth to stifle a hysterical giggle as I met my own wide, blue eyes in the mirror in front of me. How was I going to feel after this was all said and done? Was I really going to be able to dismiss this as a weekend romp and easily leave it behind? I mean, technically, it was my plan. Only, this wasn’t anywhere near how I pictured it going down. Was I capable of this? My decision in my room had been too quick. I needed time to make a pro and con list. I needed a few minutes to—
A knock came at the bathroom door. “You in there talking yourself out of this, buttercup?” Carson asked.
I pulled the bathroom door open and was met with Carson’s beautiful face. He was smiling knowingly, and before I knew it, he had taken my face in his hands and was kissing my lips in a way that distracted me from all my bathroom musings. It was quick, but it was what I needed. It was what I was here for, right? And I’d needed the reminder. This didn’t have to be complicated. My shoulders dropped and I relaxed my tight muscles.
He leaned back and raised a brow. I laughed a small laugh and shook my head at him, remembering that he had asked me a question. “No, I’m not talking myself out of this. Let’s go.”
CHAPTER 5
Carson
I grabbed Grace’s hand as we walked out of the hotel. She looked over at me with a surprised expression on her face but didn’t pull away. I was having a hard time keeping my eyes from drifting to her legs in those shorts and heels. From what I could tell, Grace’s body was exceptional everywhere, but those legs… Christ, I never knew what a leg man I was until I got a glimpse of hers.
Her expression, however, still looked tense. I realized that I felt a little nervous too, but mine was with anticipation not worry. She looked downright worried, if not just a little panicked. That brain of hers was still working on this a mile a minute. I had known that that was what she was doing in the bathroom too by the way all the sounds stopped, and there was silence coming from the other side of the door. In my mind’s eye, I could see her standing there talking herself out of this weekend and I felt a bolt of fear shoot down my spine. I had her where I wanted her to be—I’d be damned if I was going to let her walk away. Not yet anyway.
Her feet slowed as her eyes darted around nervously. “Carson, I—” But I didn’t let her finish that thought. I knew she was trying to back out again.
I pulled her hand, leading her to the wall of the lobby, rather than toward the doors where we had been heading.
“Come here a minute,” I said, stopping and turning to face her fully. She stared up at me expectantly and I took hold of both her hands. “Grace, this is different for me too.” I looked into her eyes, hoping she’d understand what I was saying. “I know you’re still questioning this and I don’t want you to. If you want to leave, I obviously won’t stop you. But I really hope you’ll stay, and I really hope you’ll let yourself enjoy our time together. Because the simple fact is that, for me, two hours wasn’t nearly enough. Please tell me it wasn’t enough for you either.”
She searched my face for several moments, apparently finding something that relaxed her because she squeezed my hands and finally smiled up at me. “Not nearly enough,” she said quietly.
I exhaled. “Okay, good. Can we focus on that then?”
She nodded, still gazing up at me. “It’s just…things seemed to change so quickly between us. I kinda hated you and now I’m spending the weekend with you.” She laughed quietly. “I’m having a hard time catching up with myself.”