Total pages in book: 16
Estimated words: 14671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 73(@200wpm)___ 59(@250wpm)___ 49(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 14671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 73(@200wpm)___ 59(@250wpm)___ 49(@300wpm)
I'm more than capable of respecting Maddie's boundaries, and I'd do myself a favor by implementing my own. The best way to keep my sex drive in check is to keep my mind focused on our safety. She's a perfect stranger—emphasis on perfect. While she's caked in mud, there's nothing that I want to do to make her uncomfortable.
I busy myself with dinner as she bathes in my bathroom. My eyes drift up toward the ceiling, knowing that just above the half-foot of space, there's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen dripping water down her body to wash away the filth of the storm outside.
My groin tightens at the mere fantasy of taking a sopping wet sponge, dredged in soapy suds, and wiping every smudge of dirt off her curvaceous body. A husky breath pushes from behind my lips as I sear steaks, make mushroom gravy, and roast some assorted vegetables I found in the freezer.
The more I concentrate on making this the best dinner I've ever had, the less I focus on Maddie being naked in a room a few feet above me.
"She didn't march through the fields of who knows how many properties to get molested by you, Chase," I mumble to myself.
"What if I did?"
3
MADISON
The shock radiating across Chase's eyes let me know he didn't anticipate me walking in on the conversation he's having with himself. To encourage him and let on that I'm joking, I offer a smile.
"It's okay if you want to molest me a little bit, Chase," I quip with a slight shrug of my shoulders.
His face is stoic., "I don't want to molest you, Maddie. I am not that kind of man."
"I was joking, Chase. You know that, right? I was just trying to lighten the mood."
"How do you feel?"
"I'm warmer than what I was," I reply. "I have to admit that I thought I had more time before the rain came."
"Come and eat so you can tell me how you ended up out here." Chase holds his hand out to hold mine. Warmth and strength pull me gently into the kitchen I just sludged into.
I find myself adjusting the loose sweatpants around my waist. However, I'm thankful Chase answered the door and let me in. He doesn't have to take care of me, and even after I ignored his warning, he's still making sure that I'm safe.
Chase is the first guy to readily care about me, who is not my dad and isn't expecting anything in return. Honestly, even if he wants something for everything he's doing for me, I'm not opposed to giving up my time or talents to help him … professionally, of course.
We sit at a small, round dining table in the cozy kitchen, which has off-white appliances and light yellow subway tiles. The cabinets look more orange than brown, and the parquet floorboards creak under our feet.
A running list of renovations emerges in my head for things I'd change around here. However, when Chase sets a plate of piping hot food in front of me, my mind switches off to indulge in the food he's prepared.
Thunder cracks and lightning flashes as rain continues to beat against the house. There's a rumbling that resembles the sound my car made, but it's coming from above us.
"It sounds like you can use a roof inspection," I mention between delicious bites of steak and vegetables. I moan as the savory food delights my tongue and belly.
"This whole damn place needs to be torn down." He jabs his fork into his food.
"Nothing that drastic has to happen. From what I can see, it has some good bones. I'd love to get my hands on a place like this. That's why I scooped up the Garrett farm as soon as it went up for auction. Did you know the family?"
"No. The bank did some crazy money-moving maneuver to grab up the land out here."
"What do you mean?"
Chase finishes his food and leans back in his chair. "You know that we're about twenty minutes outside of Cincinnati. They got the Bengals stadium and wanted to take this land for like a private air strip and hotel play-land for athletes. They kept saying stuff like it will be like Aspen for country folk and football."
I can't stop my brows from knitting together. "That sounds like a horrible idea. The noise pollution alone would destroy the environment, the wildlife out here, and the aesthetic of quaint country living. Besides, the football season is only, what? Eighteen to twenty-six weeks, including the preseason, playoffs, and Super Bowl? And with the way athletes are supposed to behave, I doubt they'd be taking leisurely trips to a barren playground outside Cincinnati."
He chuckles, which shows off the slightest crinkle in his soft brown eyes. The rugged handsomeness and a few creases between his brows. A slight dimple is hiding under the scruffy beard that will probably be shaved off by the morning. I like the hair on his face, but clean-shaven wouldn't be bad either. He has the attractiveness of a movie star or model but with the down-to-earth hometown feel of a small-town boy.