Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
I turn toward her slowly as my hand slides up her chest and around her neck, up underneath her ponytail. I feel her shiver when my fingers touch the tip of her spine. My pulse is pounding. Her pulse is pounding.
She doesn’t pull away. On the contrary, Chloe turns and arches into my hand, throwing kerosene on this fire. She’s so close now that when she wets her bottom lip, I swear I can almost feel it too. Does she realize what she’s doing? Is she aware she’s staring at my mouth like she has a wolf’s hunger?
“Luke?” she asks, breathless. “What if we kissed? Just once…”
“Amnesia?” I ask, wondering if we’re still playing this game, as ridiculous as it might be.
Her eyes spark with desire. “Yes. I’m so good at forgetting. The best at forgetting. I promise.”
She’s already leaning in toward me, and whether I meet her halfway or I’m the one to impatiently close that gap between us, it doesn’t matter. Our lips finally touch. Our kiss is gentle and unsteady. Nerves get the better of us at first. I pull back and gauge her reaction. Her eyes are wide and dilated, her lips parted, and just as I lean in to kiss her again, she tips forward eagerly to meet me. Desire takes over. I kiss her hard and she whimpers. My hand wraps around the back of her neck, twining up into her hair. Her hand touches my knee then, more boldly, it clutches my thigh as she creeps even closer.
Her lips are soft and tentative, but she warms up quickly and starts to kiss me back with equal fervor. She tastes so sweet, and when I tilt her head to the side and slip my tongue past her lips, she digs the tip of her fingers into my thigh, showing me how much she likes it. Blood thunders through my veins. My restraint ebbs with the thought of her hand sliding higher up my leg, her fingers working on my zipper, touching me how we both want.
It’s insane to want her this badly. We know no bounds. We’ve called it a kiss, but we’re well past that point. She has me completely exposed. The knowledge that this moment is fleeting only further ignites us. It’s painful even now to realize this is the only taste of her I’ll ever get, so I’m greedy about it. Her soft moans egg me on. I scrape my teeth across her bottom lip.
The longer the kiss goes on, the faster my restraint crumbles.
I’m tipping us, about to press her down onto the pool deck when she suddenly pulls back to give me a glimpse of her fiery eyes. I can see how close she was to losing control. We’re still entwined together, our chests rising and falling so rapidly.
I’m still looking at her mouth, trying to come down from our innocent kiss when a smile begins to spread across her face.
“Okay, new plan,” she quips. “I’ll quit and make this easier on us.”
The suggestion sends a fissure of panic through me. “No.”
“You could fire me?”
“I’m not firing you.”
She sighs lightly. “Oh, all right. Amnesia it is.”
NINETEEN
CHLOE
I should be getting a letter in the mail from the Nobel Prize committee any day now regarding my genius idea. You see, what you do is this: behave badly and then pretend like you didn’t. It’s really that simple. I don’t know why someone hasn’t thought of this earlier.
Made out with my boss poolside?
Uh? No I didn’t. I have no idea what you’re talking about.
Luke stuck his tongue down my throat? Never happened, sweetie. Get your eyes checked.
I don’t even need one of those Men in Black memory sticks. I wake up the next morning completely and utterly prepared to tackle the day as if yesterday was same ol’ same ol’. My lips remember nothing.
I put on a Florence and the Machine playlist while I make classic French omelets for breakfast alongside oatmeal topped with nuts and berries for Luke and bananas and Nutella for Harper.
When they stroll into the kitchen to eat, I shoo them over to the breakfast table. Then I serve them with a big smile aimed at the cute little family.
If I’m unable to meet Luke’s eyes, it’s only because the sun is shining too brightly in that direction.
“Looks yummy, Chloe. Thank you.”
“Harper, you’re absolutely welcome!”
“Thanks,” Luke adds.
“Uh-huh,” I say, scurrying away before we accidentally have any more contact with each other. If we had made out last night and it had been surface-of-the-sun levels of hot, I’d worry about betraying my emotions in front of Harper. Good thing that’s not the case.
“I’m going on a run after I clean up breakfast, but there are freshly made granola bars cooling on the counter over here and a fruit tray in the fridge if either of you get hungry. Okay, bye!”