Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 103428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 517(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 517(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
I pushed up on my toes and kissed his lips chastely. “I have to get dressed.”
“What? No. You can’t do that and not let me take care of you.”
“That’s sweet. But…” I looked at my watch. “You have an appointment in five minutes, and I have a session in a little while, and I still need to do some things before that.”
Merrick’s bottom lip jutted out. “I don’t like this.”
I grabbed my panties and bra and started to get dressed. “Oh? You don’t like coming into your apartment to a naked woman and getting a quickie blowjob? I’ll have to remember that.”
“Wiseass.” He wrapped a hand around my waist and tugged me to him. “Can I see you tonight?”
“Can I get back to you? I might have plans.”
He frowned.
I smiled. “Relax. It’s with your friend the real estate agent. I’m looking at apartments.”
“Oh. What time?”
I buttoned my blouse. “What time will I be done?”
“No, what time are you going? I’ll try to get out of the office early.”
I stopped buttoning. “You want to go with me to see apartments?”
He shrugged. “Can I convince you to skip that appointment and come up here and let me fuck you all night instead?”
I shook my head. “I need to get out of my sister’s place.”
Merrick shrugged again. “Then what choice do I have?”
“We could see each other tomorrow night after work?”
“That’s not an option.”
I smiled and finished getting dressed in a hurry. “I’ll text you when I know my plans. You should take the elevator down first since you have a call.”
“They won’t start without me. You go. I need a minute after what just went down here.”
I kissed his cheek. “Hope the rest of your afternoon is as pleasant as this has been.”
• • •
“Do you have anything available on an upper floor?” Merrick asked Nick, the real estate agent he’d introduced me to.
“Not in this neighborhood.”
We’d just looked at our third apartment. This one was a brownstone that wasn’t too far from my sister. It was already empty and ready to move in, and had so much sunlight. I loved it. “I love that it’s on the ground floor, especially since it’s a walk-up.”
Merrick frowned and pointed to the big windows. “You can see right in from the street. Not to mention, it’s easy to break right in, too.”
I shrugged. “I can get blinds, and I want to get a dog anyway.” I turned to the real estate agent. “They allow pets, right?”
He nodded. “Under thirty pounds with an extra security deposit for damages.”
I smiled at Merrick. “Problem solved.”
“How does that solve your problem? What’s a dog under thirty pounds going to do if someone tries to break in?”
I put my hands on my hips. “Are you insinuating size makes a difference in toughness?”
“No, but it makes a difference in the sound of a bark. And a tiny dog yapping isn’t going to scare off an intruder. Plus, how are you going to have a dog when you work all day?”
My face scrunched up. “What’s that got to do with anything?”
“What’s it going to do, sit around all day?”
“What do your fish do all day?”
“The same thing they do when I’m there, swim. Because that’s all fish can do. Dogs are a lot of work.”
“So are relationships…”
Nick watched our bickering like a tennis match. When my last comment stumped Merrick, he looked at me. “So…you’re taking it? This place has my vote. I love it, too.”
“Thanks for being on my side, buddy,” Merrick grumbled.
I bit my bottom lip. “How soon can I move in?”
After I signed all the paperwork, we stood outside. Merrick looked up at the window, shaking his head again. “How about an alarm?”
“I don’t think that’s necessary.”
“It’ll make me feel better.”
I bumped my shoulder to his. “I thought I’d already made you feel better today. Greedy boy.”
He smiled. “I’ll take being greedy if it makes you safe at night.”
“Alright. I’ll think about an alarm.”
“Good. I’ll have my security company come over once you get the keys.”
I shook my head. “You’re bossy.”
“I’ll tell you what, you can pick where we eat to show you how amicable I can be.”
I raised a brow. “Anywhere I want to eat?”
He shrugged. “Sure.”
Twenty minutes later, we were sitting in Gray’s Papaya. Merrick had let me order for him, so we both had hot dogs with the works.
He picked his up. “I can’t tell you the last time I had one of these.”
“You’re too busy at fancy restaurants because you’re all…” I waved my hand around. “Fancy…”
He smiled and sipped his soda. “So what kind of dog do you want to get?”
“Any kind. As long as he likes to snuggle. As soon as I move in, I’m going to go to the shelter to pick the ugliest one that no one wants.”
“I figured you had a certain type of breed in mind.”