Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 70630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
“I’m well, Mya. I see you found Georgia’s weakness,” Mary said with a smile.
That would be because I’d already started digging into the bag of food that’d been in Mya’s arms.
I was positively starving.
Running with Nico, even if it was for a short period, was most definitely a workout. He didn’t let me slack off, even going as far as to taunt me to get me to run further or faster.
I’d nearly died in my front yard once we’d made it back. Then Nico had gone on to run the rest of the loop around our streets, which was over six miles.
He was such a loser.
No, really though, he was in great shape for thirty one years old. Amazing shape, in fact.
All the while I was scarfing down an obnoxious amount of Chinese food and not feeling the least bit guilty.
“The girl’s always had the ability to eat and stay skinny,” Mya said dryly.
I snorted. That was the best lie I’d heard in weeks.
I ran so I could eat. I ate a lot so I had to run a lot. End of story.
“Well, I’ll let you two…finish lunch,” she said laughingly. “Have a good day, honey, and let me know if I can help you with anything.”
I just opened my mouth to take another bite when Mary turned abruptly. “I forgot!” She exclaimed.
I raised my brow since my mouth was currently occupied by an egg roll.
She grinned. “Angel’s had someone interested in adopting her, but they’re waiting on legal to get back to us on whether the family is actually gone. I’ll have Missy call you with the details. They expect them to get back to us by Monday morning.”
I held a thumb’s up, and she grinned.
As Mary left, I turned my accusing eyes on Mya.
“You didn’t tell me that all the hoopla with the cop shooting the pregnant woman was Nico,” I hissed.
She grimaced. “I didn’t want you to worry. You were in your last months of school. What would you have done if you’d known?”
I deflated somewhat.
She knew exactly what I would’ve done. I would’ve been there for him.
Now I felt like a complete shit.
I may have been avoiding this place like the plague, but I wasn’t avoiding him.
Or at least that’s what I told myself.
My mind wandered back to that night. The night before my life was ruined.
***
My eyes were closed, and I was trying in vain to go to sleep.
Nikki was snoring away beside me, her glass of water sat untouched next to her bed.
She’d ruined my potential kiss for nothing.
I rolled over on the couch and my eyes snagged on the muted light pouring out from underneath Nico’s door.
My eyes went to the wall clock in the corner, noting that it was less than three hours until I had to get up for the day and be back home.
I don’t know what made me do it.
But, suddenly, I found myself in front of Nico’s door.
I listened to the sound of the TV through the closed door, wondering what exactly he was watching. It sounded like a comedy of some sort, because there was laughing in the background.
I found myself knocking without conscious thought.
And I froze for a solid two seconds before I decided to make a run for it.
I was two steps into my flee when a steely arm slid around my belly and pulled me into the room.
I gasped in surprise and stared at the closed bedroom door in shock. The wrong side of the closed bedroom door.
I could feel the hard length of Nico at my back.
My bare thighs, the ones no longer ensconced in shorts, were pressed up against the thin fabric covering Nico’s lower half. I started panting in anticipation of what he’d do next.
“Why are you running?” He rumbled against my back.
I shook.
“Um,” I licked my lips. “I forgot to put my shorts back on.”
I felt him pause, and then, very slowly, he let his free hand slip down the outside of my thigh.
He started at my hip where my t-shirt came to a stop. But it ended just below the curve of my ass. Then…nothing but my panties.
I hated sleeping in restrictive clothing.
If I didn’t live with a house full of brothers, it’d probably be even less than panties and a t-shirt.
His hand froze once he felt the smooth expanse of my thigh.
Everything I’d ever thought was true about Nico was put into crystal clear clarity in the next moment.
For instance, his beard did feel wonderful against the soft skin of my neck.
Also, his body felt perfect around my own. His arms felt like they were made to wrap around me.
And his penis. There were no words. His penis was definitely large. Larger than I’d ever imagined as I felt him pressing against my backside.
I swallowed thickly and took the chance.
I turned in his arms.
He let me, and suddenly I had an eye full of hot, sexy Nico. My best friend’s brother. The man I never, ever thought I’d have a shot in the dark with.
His hands froze as I turned, and, slowly, returned to where they’d been before. Which had been the front of my thighs. Except now they weren’t the front of my thighs anymore, it was the back of my thighs. And he was extremely close to the part of me that felt like molten lava was pouring out of it.
I inhaled, and the smell of him entered my lungs. Spicy, like I’d always imagined he’d smell up close.
I leaned forward and kissed his collarbone, causing him to inhale as well.
“You’re playing with fire, niña,” he rumbled darkly.
I looked up at him, saw his taught, clenched jaw, and the tic at the corner of his eye.
I held my hand up and ran the tips of my fingers along the scruff of his beard, coming to a stop when I reached the seam of his lips.
His mouth opened, and the tip of his tongue licked the pad of my thumb.
I hissed in a breath and pressed more fully into him.