Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 72362 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72362 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
“Oh.”
“Thing is…I’m worried I’m heading in the wrong direction with you by trying to bring sex into it. And I’m worried I’m going to wind up making you uncomfortable when that’s the last thing I want to do.”
“Keep talking.”
His brows draw down in frustration or misery or some combination of the two. “Do I have to?”
I just nod.
“Shit. I didn’t just worry about you all day. I wondered about you too. Mostly what you looked like naked.” He squints like he’s expecting me to smack him upside the head or something. “Is that okay?”
“Do you often have these sort of thoughts about friends and or acquaintances?”
“No. Or never to this degree. I can’t get you out of my head. But also, I don’t want to,” he says. “It’s been a while since I’ve been this worked up about someone. This situation with us can get kind of confusing, but… I am confused, actually. Can I stop talking now?”
“Sure.”
“Thank fuck for that.” He downs about half his beer. You’d think he just solved the world peace problem. “We going to go sit out and look at the stars or what?”
“It sounds like we’re both worried about the same thing. What if sex wrecks the friendship?”
He pauses to consider. “We wouldn’t let that happen, right?”
“Right. We’re both mature, capable adults,” I say, and it sounds good in theory. “Are you thinking this is a limited-time offer available while we’re fake dating sort of thing?”
“I don’t know. I guess so.”
“Okay. That’s a really ugly shirt.”
“What?”
“Your shirt. It’s repugnant.”
He raises his brows in confusion and looks down at the offending item of clothing. “It’s a plain black t-shirt. I only bought it a month ago.”
“Just unspeakably hideous in all the ways,” I say with my chin held high. “I feel bad for you, having to wear that.”
“You do, huh?”
“Yes. You should take it off. Now.”
He closes his mouth and stares at me like he’s reading my soul or something. Then at long last he says, “Okay.”
He sets his drink down on the table, strips off the shirt, and tosses it aside. Just throws it on the floor. The more of his skin I can see, the better I feel. Not a panic attack in sight. He flexes the muscles in his arms and shoulders as his chest rises on a deep breath. Like he feels better with less clothing too. Which just goes to show—I am a giver. He should thank me.
But instead, he says, “Any similarly strong feelings about my pants?”
“They disgust me.”
“Is that because she bought them?” he asks with his head cocked.
“Thought we weren’t talking about her.”
“Good point.”
“But no. They’re just yucky, you know?” I wrinkle my nose. “I don’t know how else to say it.”
“That’s a worry. Words are usually your thing.”
I shrug. How is my brain supposed to work when he’s showing me so much skin. Impossible. “The pants need to go, Connor. Whenever you’re ready…”
Holding my gaze all the while, he undoes the button and lowers the zipper and down they go. Never has seeing a pair of pants hitting the floor given me such pleasure. Beneath are navy boxer briefs with a sizeable bulge. It’s a wonder I don’t swallow my tongue. His big strong body is a thing of beauty. I could stare for days at his flat stomach and the line of hair leading down. It’s obscene how badly I want to trace the thick vein leading into his boxers. With my fingers, with my tongue…
He stalks toward me. Not stopping until he’s towering over me. “What’s next, Blue? What are you thinking?”
I reach up to wind my arms around his neck. This he allows. But when I rise to kiss him, he moves his mouth out of reach. Which is both rude and wildly fucking unfair.
“You were in charge the last time and it was a disaster, remember?” he asks, tapping me on the tip of my nose with his finger. The man’s lucky I don’t try to bite it off.
“To be fair, that’s not exactly what I said.”
“It’s probably best if I take on the burden of leadership. Since you let the team down so badly and all.”
I open my mouth to call him on his bullshit. But it’s all part of his nefarious plan. In the blink of an eye, his hands are in my hair and his tongue is in my mouth. There’s no hesitation. He touches and takes like I belong to him already. Like I have for a long time.
This is what I want. Nothing else matters. I close my eyes to shut out the world. My breasts are crushed against his chest, and I’m holding onto him tight. He kisses me hot and wet and deep, making my head spin. The familiar taste of him is heaven. Kissing him for hours would not be a chore.