Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87142 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87142 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
“What I’ve noticed are a lot of people trying their best to get close, and the ones who do fight to stay.” She squeezed the honey into our teas, and I removed the bags and stirred.
“I’m sorry I woke you up,” I said after my first swallow.
“I don’t mind. My boss sleeps late.” She flashed a teasing smile.
“When he sleeps,” I admitted.
“Have you slept tonight?” she asked, holding her cup between sips.
I nodded.
“What woke you up?”
I set the tea on the counter. “I have nightmares.” I shouldn’t have told her, but there it was.
“I’m sorry. Are they memories or fears?” Her pinky hooked over mine.
I froze at the question—not the touch.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me. I just wish I could help you.”
My focus shifted from our linked fingers to the smooth, creamy skin of her thigh, and I wondered if it was as soft as it looked. “You said something about me not being interested,” I said, dragging my gaze up her body to meet hers, well aware of my subject change.
Her brow puckered in confusion.
“A couple days ago, when we had the incredibly awkward conversation about that kiss,” I reminded her.
“Oh.” Her lips remained parted. “Sorry, I was trying to say that I understood.”
“I didn’t contradict you because it would open a door.” I shifted so I stood in front of her. “And usually I don’t give a shit about what someone thinks, but with you, it’s different.”
“I don’t understand.” She leaned forward slightly, bracing her palms on the counter.
“We said the kiss wouldn’t happen again,” I reminded her, moving closer. Her knees brushed against my stomach, and the contact tensed my abs.
“Right. I remember that.” Her gaze flickered downward but jerked back to my face.
“I agreed with you because it shouldn’t.” My eyes focused on her lips. “Because you work for me. Because we’re living together for the next few months. Because I’m not supposed to embark on any relationships fresh out of rehab, and you don’t strike me as the one-night stand type of girl.”
“I’m not,” she blurted.
“I know.” My face felt so tight it almost hurt to smile. “Those are my reasons. It has nothing to do with not being interested. Trust me.” I let her see it—the hunger I felt for her—as I stepped forward.
“But we’re not going to let it happen again, right?” Her knees parted and her breath hitched.
“Right,” I agreed. “Because we both know it would end badly.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Her words were at odds with her thighs, which split, leaving me enough room to stand between them.
“Because I keep enough secrets, and we’re together too much to not be perfectly honest about this.” I gripped her hips and tugged her to the edge of the counter, until she was flush against me from the juncture of her thighs to her breasts.
Too far, my brain warned me. I was taking this too far. But she felt so damned good against me. Warm, and soft, and lush.
Her fingers skimmed my shoulders, then came to rest behind my neck. “But we’re not going to let it happen again.”
“We’re not,” I agreed, lowering my mouth so it hovered a breath above hers. “I just didn’t want you to think it was because I didn’t want you, because I do.” Energy hummed through my body, and my lips ached with the need to kiss her.
“You do?” she questioned, her voice pitching higher.
“I do. And if you were anyone else, I’d have you naked already.” My hands flexed on her hips. I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d denied myself someone I wanted—or the last time someone hadn’t wanted me back, and if the speed with which her breaths hit my lips was anything to go by, Zoe felt exactly the same way I did. “But you’re not anyone else.”
“Right.” Her fingers slid into my hair, and it took everything in my power not to groan and give in to the situation I’d put us in.
“Just wanted to clear that up.” I leaned in.
She pushed off my chest and scrambled back across the island, then spun and jumped to the floor. “Glad we got it sorted out. Night!” She practically ran from the kitchen.
My dick throbbed as I hung my head, struggling to steady my breathing. It had been a stupid move, an easy way to change the subject, but that wasn’t the only reason I’d told her. Maybe I was sick of feeling like I was the only one tortured here.
Maybe the best thing for us both would be for me to find a willing woman at the show in a few days, so at least I wasn’t strung out on my need for Zoe.
Problem was, I didn’t want some random hookup.
I wanted the only woman on the planet I couldn’t have.