Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 110201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 551(@200wpm)___ 441(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 551(@200wpm)___ 441(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
He pulled his shoulders back like the information had been overwhelming and confusion washed over his face. “Wait. You’re not supposed to like him?”
I swallowed a breath. “I’m not supposed to, like romantically. We agreed no love or feelings. It’s only supposed to be a sexual relationship, and he promised to teach me about, well, all the stuff we’ve been doing.”
Something flitted through his eyes like a glimmer of hope, but it was gone too quickly for me to be sure. “But you like him romantically,” he said. “And you’re saying it’s the same for me?”
He’d asked his question as if he suspected the answer, and I was too distracted to pick up on his subtle approach until his hand gently cuffed my wrist. His touch was disarming, and I spoke more to myself than to him. “I don’t know if it’s allowed.”
My voice had been feather-soft, but his was solid and confident. “Then we should find out.”
His statement seared deep inside, filling up the space around the kiss he’d given me last night, and as soon as it did, I had to make even more room because he tugged me toward him and lowered his lips to mine. His mouth stifled the gasp I made, which shifted into a content sigh, because this kiss?
It was blistering.
Everything else ignited and burned away in the fire of it.
“Clay’s house,” he said as he came up for air. “Eight-thirty. We can talk to him then.”
It was more of a request than a question, but that was fine with me. I’d fallen so deeply under his spell, I didn’t care that I was at work or what I looked like. All I wanted was his kiss. “Okay.”
His tongue slid into my mouth, caressing mine, and pleasure rushed between my legs. For a brief moment, I was angry with how he’d been kept from me, but his hand was on my waist, and he tilted the angle of our kiss, increasing the intensity of it, and all was forgotten.
“Dr. Eckhart?” a female voice called from behind the door.
It was like a needle dragging across a record and instantly his lips were gone, severing our kiss. He stepped away, pulled open the door, and cast a glance back at me. “See you tonight, Lilith.”
My face was warm and my lips still tingling as I watched him go, and I didn’t move until the hallway drained of people. But Cassidy was there, lying in wait for me, and one quick look told her something had gone down while Travis and I had been alone.
Her tone was hushed but playful. “What was that about?” Her mouth curled into a smile. “I swear, that’s got to be some kind of record.”
“What?” We trailed behind the rest of the team, and it was highly unlikely they could hear us over the rattling wheels of the cart.
“You always get hit on and that guy got you alone in, like, ten seconds.” She shook her head in amused disbelief. “Not that I blame you. He’s a hot and a doctor.”
“And we all know how much you like those,” I teased, then sobered. “I know him. His name’s Travis and . . . he’s the other guy I’m sleeping with.”
“Oh, wow.” She pulled to a stop just inside the doors, while the rest of the group continued down the walkway to the truck. “Wait. Sleeping with? You did it more than once?”
My gaze followed Travis as he supervised the cage being loaded and shook hands with the clinic staff. I took in a shallow breath. “Only one time,” I said, “when Clay wasn’t watching us.”
Her head swiveled to me and her jaw dropped, but she didn’t produce a sound. My admission hung awkwardly until she closed her mouth with an audible snap.
“You weren’t fucking kidding,” she gave me wide-eyed look, “when you said it was complicated.”
“No, I wasn’t.”
And I was beginning to think what I had with Clay and Travis was exactly the right kind of complicated.
At eight-fifteen, I went down the stone pathway in front of my house and out the gate, heading toward Clay’s with a new pair of red strappy sandals on and a head full of worry. Travis had said to meet him at eight thirty, but I planned to use the time before to play with Noir while I rehearsed what I was going to say.
But when I unlocked the front door and pushed it open, the alarm didn’t chirp as it normally did. Oh, God. With what had happened with Travis yesterday, had I forgotten to set the security system before leaving?
No, wait—I had. I remembered doing it, plus Clay had his app on his phone. If I’d forgotten, he would have eventually noticed and armed it himself. I only made it a few steps through the entryway before seeing the light on in the kitchen.