Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 116232 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 581(@200wpm)___ 465(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116232 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 581(@200wpm)___ 465(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
At least I was strategic about it, saving the best for last. I turned the handle and pushed the door open. “This is the main bedroom.”
It was the room that had sold me on the house. Two thirds the size of my last place, the grand bedroom had a tray ceiling, a built-in bookcase, and a pair of tall windows that flanked the bed.
Which currently was unmade, but I hoped she could see past that and on to its potential.
This room could be sexy.
I just needed her to ignore the chair in the corner that was buried under a week’s worth of dirty laundry.
Charlotte missed nothing. Her throat bobbed with a swallow, and she crossed the room, heading into the ensuite bathroom.
While she explored in there, I hurried to the chair, gathered up the clothes, and chucked them under the bed. It was ridiculous, but my options were limited. My laundry basket, the place where the clothes should have gone, was in my closet, which was through the bathroom.
She’d just finished her walkthrough when I met her in the doorway, struggling to act casual and not to look out of breath. It was wasted, though. She glanced over my shoulder, amused.
“What happen to the clothes that were on that chair?”
I feigned confusion. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Her smile widened. “Right. And if I went back in the bathroom, I’m sure the bed wouldn’t suddenly get made either.”
“We could test that theory.” I meant it too, because if she wanted the bed made—I’d do it. But when I’d thought I had limited time to fix something, I’d decided the laundry was more urgent. Plus, if this evening went how I hoped it would, wouldn’t we be messing the bed up anyway?
“That’s okay,” she said, brushing past me.
I hadn’t started organizing the bookcase, so books were stacked randomly, along with the items I figured would end up there. An old award from winning my department’s fantasy football league. A pint glass from my favorite bar at NYU. A framed family photo from a vacation we’d taken to Paris years ago.
“Is this your family?” She picked it up to study it, and a knot grew in my stomach. Even if it wasn’t a major mood killer, which it was, I didn’t want to talk about them right now.
It felt too personal.
“Yeah.” I strode over, gently pulled the frame from her grasp, and set it back on the shelf. “Let’s talk about something else.”
I was standing close to her, too close for her not to notice. Her pretty eyes blinked rapidly as she peered up at me. “Okay. What do you want to talk about?”
“What’s your stance on me kissing you?”
Her breath caught. “My . . . stance?”
“Yes. Are you for it or against it?”
“Oh.” Heat flooded her expression, and her voice fell to a whisper. “I’m definitely for it.”
“Okay, good.”
And then I reached for her, setting one hand on her waist while sliding the other into her hair. I’d planned to lean down and set my lips on hers, but the girl was just as eager as I was and met me halfway.
Our lips crashed together. It wasn’t the most skilled or seductive kiss I’d ever given, but it definitely seemed to be working for her. Fuck—it was working for me too. Her mouth was warm and soft, and our tongues tangled.
Heat spilled down my spine, and my heart kicked up a notch. Charlotte kissed me back with a ferocity that matched my own, like she needed this as much as I did. I sank my hand further into her hair, and I didn’t mean to, but I began to grip, dominating our kiss.
She let out a little sigh of satisfaction.
My dick jerked and began to harden inside my pants, but that wasn’t surprising. I already had a hair trigger, plus kissing her only a few feet away from my bed was too much. Her fingertips bristled against my whiskers as she slid her hands up to cup my face.
I’d been worried we didn’t have anything in common, but this? It was proving me wrong, because this girl knew exactly what she was doing. Exactly how to deepen our kiss so all I could think about was sinking down on the bed with her beneath me.
Our feet stumbled along as I shifted us closer to it, probably moving too fast for her, but she was able to keep up. Our kiss broke when I eased her onto her back on the bed and she sucked in a sharp breath. But then I was over her. My lips were on her again, and her surprise was forgotten.
The positioning was awkward with me bent over her and the unmade bed, and she must have sensed it. Charlotte crawled backward, getting me to chase her, and as I climbed on the bed between her parted legs, her greedy hands reached for me. They clutched at my shirt, stretching the cotton and urging me to take it off.