Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 59236 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59236 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
“I’ll go,” I said abruptly, steadying myself with one hand on the table as I got to my feet and backed away from him. I was coltish and wobbly after sitting so long on his lap. He reached out to help me, but I shook my head.
“I’m sorry,” I said, something like shame settling in my stomach as I backed away. “You were so nice to me, and I like talking to you, and you even found an oven I can afford. I should have just said thank you. I’m sorry.”
“Enough apologizing. We had a bite to eat, one kiss led to another, and we stopped before anything happened. No reason to feel some kind of way about it.”
“I owe you a great deal. You came at short notice and helped me. And you found me a salvage oven that will work better than anything I could have located in twice that amount of time. I’m obligated to you for all that help.”
“Well, that made it weird,” he quipped. “I wanted to tell you in person that the oven problem was solved, and a buddy of mine can help me put it in. As far as owing me anything, I wouldn’t mind free muffins once in a while.”
“You can have free muffins for life, that’s beside the point. There’s no way that a few muffins can balance out the way your whole family has helped me, but you most of all.”
“Noah is the one who called me, who saw the problem and knew how to save the day,” he said loyally.
“I’m grateful to him, too. But you were the one who rolled up your sleeves and fixed things.”
“I guess that makes him my pimp,” he joked.
“So do you have to give him part of every free muffin?”
“Only if he finds out about them,” he said. “Do you have a lightbulb?”
“In the closet back there, why?”
“Will you go grab one?”
“Sure.” I grabbed a new bulb off the shelf and brought it to him.
Leo was on a ladder, his shirt riding up to reveal a strip of tanned skin above his jeans as he reached up and changed the bulb that had been out above the sink for a while. I watched him as he climbed down, and I wondered how I got so lucky to meet people like the Fosters who were kind and considerate.
“Thank you,” I said, “I tried a couple times but even with the ladder I’m too short to reach it.”
“See, having an electrician around comes in handy,” he said with his cocky grin.
I grabbed the front of his shirt in one hand and lifted on my toes to kiss him. He hooked an arm around my waist and hauled me against him, lifting me off my feet. The kiss was fast and hard, leaving my lips tingling and my head spinning. When he set me on my feet, he kissed my cheek again.
“Good night, Madison,” he said, and then he waited silently for me to lock up and he walked me to my car.
“Good night, Leo,” I said, and when I got home, it was all I could do to unlock the door and shuck off my clothes to get in the shower. While steam rose from the water, I grabbed my favorite vibrator from the drawer. It wouldn’t take much. I was so keyed up.
I stepped under the stream of water and leaned back against the shower wall, braced one foot on the soap ledge and let my eyes drop shut as I fired up the wand to level two. I let myself unspool the fantasy of what I’d really wanted, how I wanted tonight to end instead of alone in my apartment with a shoddy, battery-operated substitute.
Leo came down off the ladder and with a cocky grin backed me up into the storage room. He bent my head back over his arm as he kissed me slow and deep and satin smooth. I clutched at his arms and his shirt. He unfastened my jeans and pushed them down. I held onto him as I kicked them off and his big hand stroked my stomach, working down until he cupped my sex possessively. I felt him smile against my mouth as I sucked his tongue and whimpered my want. I was stammering, wanting him to hurry, to just fuck me right there. He turned me around, took my hands and pressed them to the wall.
“Bend over,” he instructed, and I swear I grew wetter from his words. Trembling, I bent forward and felt his hand hot as it slid down my spine. Once he held my hips, I was panting for it. He stepped between my legs. I looked back over my shoulder, my teeth chattering with need. He pressed me down with one hand and I loved it, that tender but firm mastery of me, that control he had over the situation. His eyes met mine and he kissed my shoulder.