Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 154037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 770(@200wpm)___ 616(@250wpm)___ 513(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 770(@200wpm)___ 616(@250wpm)___ 513(@300wpm)
“I know,” I told her.
“Auntie, I finished the whole thing, and I think I did a really good job, so I think you should probably pay me about a million dollars.” Nolan’s little voice broke through the tension that strained the atmosphere, and I pulled away and pinned a smile on my face as he came bounding out into the main area of the shop.
“You finished them already?”
“Yup, because I’m a really good worker.”
He held the bundle up for inspection. Most of the flowers had been smashed, the stems bent and petals falling off, half with crooked bows and the other ribbons were in knots.
I suppressed a laugh. “Wow, you did amazing.”
“Do I get a million dollars?”
I ruffled my fingers through his hair. “Not quite, but how about twenty?”
He lifted the flowers overhead. “What? Twenty whole dollars? It’s a deal.”
He shoved the flowers into my hands then jumped toward Charleigh. “Mommy, you gotta take me to the store to get a new toy because I worked really hard, and when you work hard, you gotta play hard. That’s what my uncle Otto told me.”
Stark affection rolled out of her as she brushed back his messy hair. “Sure, we can do that. Why don’t you go use the restroom really quick before we leave?”
“On it!” he said as he fist-pumped the air then went scampering into the back, the door of the restroom slamming behind him.
When he was out of earshot, Charleigh slanted her attention my way, mischief on her face. “And Otto is working extra hard today, so I bet my BFF is hoping he wants to play extra hard tonight.”
I tried to stop it, but a cackle got out. “How did you know exactly what I was thinking?”
“It’s written all over you.”
My gaze moved to Otto. It didn’t matter that cars were traveling back and forth on the street between us. I could still feel the intensity of his stare cutting across the distance and burning into me.
Anticipation slithered down my spine. It was precisely what I wanted.
I wanted Otto Hudson written all over me.
FORTY
OTTO
“You about finished?” I stood just inside the main door of Moonflower, a sentry standing guard, watching Raven as she flitted around her shop, finishing her daily tasks. All her orders had been picked up or delivered, and she was tidying and wiping down her workstation.
Wearing another one of those dresses that drove me out of my damned mind, though this one was short as fuck, pure black and frilly, a pair of five-inch heels to match.
Of course, now that I knew the real reason she wore them, it only made it five-thousand-times worse. The greed that rolled in my stomach as I watched her move through her space.
Fluid and lush.
The girl in her element. So fucking free and beautiful as she managed this shop that I knew brought her a ton of pride and joy.
“Ten minutes max.” She peeked back at me, playing innocent, like maybe she was attempting to do what I’d asked of her earlier and forget every delicious thing that had gone down between us.
Acting typical.
The way we always interacted.
Would have bought it, too, if it weren’t for the way those inky eyes dragged over my body in a slow slide of appreciation, flaring as she succumbed to what clearly played out in her mind.
With that single look, I was hooked, my dick kicking in my jeans and the greed I’d barely kept tamped all day threatening to bust out of its confines.
Doing my best to ignore it, I busied myself by glancing at the giant farmhouse clock on the wall.
Five o’clock.
Thank fuck.
Closing time.
I reached over and flicked the lock on the door, then I turned back to her, rumbling, “What can I do to help?”
Needed a distraction. Something to get the temptation that was this woman out of my head. Quite the quandary considering it was my duty to keep her within fifty feet of me.
“Um…you could finish wiping down these counters while I close out the totals for the day?”
“Sure.” I pushed off the doorjamb and ambled through rows of flowers that took up the center of the store and around the long counter. Each step I took, it brought her closer to me. Her aura becoming more potent.
The sweet honeysuckle moonflower scent hitting me like a landslide.
Her kindness.
Her belief.
The vixen underneath.
Was never going to get over the way she’d shouted my name when she came. Would never get over the way she’d gazed up at me with those eyes as she had my cock shoved down her throat.
I scrubbed a palm over my face to try to break up the onslaught of visions, and I edged her aside and took the rag from her. I started wiping down the counters while she turned to the computer she had set up facing out toward the main part of the shop.