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)
“Now I have to call the office as soon as it opens,” she grumbled.
“I know. And…I’m sorry. Someone will have to go to my place and get at least four guitars from my studio. I’ll have to juggle and retune a few while Jonas does the whole introduce the band thing he loves to do after the second set, but I can do it with four.” I scratched the three-day scruff I had growing on my face.
“I have to call the office for the appointment, not the guitars,” Zoe corrected me, then sipped her coffee.
“I know you’re pissed at me, but please don’t tell me you expect me to play some off-the-rack instrument tomorrow.” Because that wasn’t happening.
“Your guitars are in my room.” She opened her email on her phone and flipped through.
“What?” I put my mug on the counter.
“You heard me. Your guitars are in my room, but you’re not getting the acoustic back until I’m sure you won’t set it on fire. Oh, good. The plane will be ready for us any time after three. I know you want to spend as little time in Vegas as possible, but any later than that and you won’t be able to make it to dinner with Jonas and Quinn.”
She’d gone out there last night and brought the guitars back. Apparently, she’d rescued the acoustic before I even had the chance to haul it out with the others, which showed exactly how messed up my thinking had been last night. My chest tightened as my emotions bounced between relief, gratitude, and more than a little shame. This was yet another one of my messes she’d had to clean up. She’d known I’d regret my tantrum this morning and sheltered me from the consequences.
I turned her head as I cupped the back of her neck, then kissed her. It was chaste—I kept my tongue behind my teeth—but I put every ounce of my gratitude into it before pulling away slowly. Need flared, shooting down my spine and spiking my heart rate, all from a simple brush of her lips. “Thank you,” I whispered.
Yeah, we were sure as hell on a collision course for something, and her eyes showed it, too, as she glanced down at my lips, skimming her bottom one with her tongue before looking away.
“You’re welcome. So that means you’ll need to be packed by noon,” she stated, like nothing had happened. “The new leathers I ordered for you are already waiting in Vegas, and your therapist will be waiting after the show, as requested.”
My eyes narrowed slightly. How the hell could she ignore the kind of reaction her body was having? Color flushed her cheeks, there was a slight hitch in her breath, and she shifted her weight on the stool, yet she’d already moved on to the day’s travel plans. “Are you really going to pretend I didn’t just kiss you?”
She scoffed. “Just taking a page out of your book. Now, we have a meet-and-greet scheduled—”
I took her face in both hands and filled her mouth with my tongue, kissing her with every ounce of skill I’d picked up from years of nameless women. Zoe. She wasn’t faceless, nameless, or forgettable. There was a hint of peppermint on her lips as she melted into the kiss, her hand gripping the front of my hoodie.
So. Damn. Good. Kissing her only got better and hotter every time. I could have spent the next year of my life doing nothing but kissing Zoe and it still wouldn’t be enough. I wanted more than a kiss. I wanted to taste every inch of her body, then come back for seconds, thirds, fourths. I wanted to feel her orgasm while I was buried deep inside her, to hear my name tumble from those lips, to wear little half-moons in my skin from her nails.
I wanted her, which was precisely why I stopped kissing her, yanking my mouth away before I could change my mind. Thank God I was wearing sweatpants, or I would have had to readjust. Then again, they didn’t exactly help me out in the camouflage department.
She blinked rapidly as her eyes came back into focus.
Let her ignore that one.
“You were saying?” I asked, struggling—and failing—to keep my breathing steady.
“I woke up in your bed this morning,” she said, a clear challenge in her eyes.
My jaw ticked, and I fought the urge to walk away. “You did.” My voice dropped.
“Any idea how I ended up there?” Her eyes softened, the plea obvious.
“Maybe it was the bears.” Kissing the hell out of Zoe was one thing. Discussing whatever this was between us was…something else. I’d already told her she wasn’t a game. How much more could she want? I turned my head and took a long drink of my coffee, uncaring that it was probably scalding the shit out of the vocal cords I’d need later.