Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
He doesn’t gaze at her. His only acknowledgment is a curt nod.
She’s expecting more because her feet don’t move, so I help them along. “Thank you. If we need anything else, I’ll be sure to let you know.”
She tosses me a look and then, surprisingly, a small smile. “You’re welcome.”
She heads to the only other occupied table in the bar. Three women are sitting there, their heads crowded together as they study something on one of their phones.
Rook samples his drink, his eyes closing briefly as he does.
I don’t bother doing the same because water is water. This glass will likely cost more than a few dollars, but that’s just one of the perks that an address this close to Central Park West affords a business.
“Carrie.” My name leaves his lips in a low rumble. “The wedding.”
I stop him with a hand in the air. He’s a lawyer. Judging by what my sister has shared, he’s a very good one, but this is my conversation to start and end when I see fit.
“I told you I was a virgin,” I say, trying to keep my tone even.
My hands are nestled in my lap, out of his view. I don’t want him to know that they’re shaking.
He studies me carefully as he sips from his glass again. “You did.”
I edge forward on my seat. “No one else knows.”
His eyes widen slightly, but he doesn’t say a thing. I see the unspoken question in his expression, and it’s there in the way his brow has furrowed.
“Not even Abby,” I go on, “I haven’t told Telford. No one but you knows that I’ve never…”
“Fucked a man.”
Those words in that voice send a need thrumming through me. I have to look down and take a deep breath to chase back the blush I know is approaching.
I was going to finish my sentence with ‘had sex,’ but Rook has had sex enough times that he’s direct and bold. He’s just telling it like it is.
“Yes,” I whisper.
He downs what’s left in his glass in a single gulp, and before it’s back on the table, his hand is in the air, motioning to the server.
He’s not calling her over, though, he’s halting her in her tracks.
I glance over my shoulder just in time to see her bright smile slip into a frown.
She turns and marches away from us with frustration, driving each step.
Rook leans both of his elbows on the small circular table. His gaze searches my face.
I watch with bated breath as his tongue darts out to line his bottom lip.
He takes a heavy breath and exhales harshly in a sudden rush. “I meant every word I said at the wedding, Carrie.”
I don’t have to rewind my memory to recall what he said because it’s been playing on a loop inside me since. “You said that you wanted to do the thing I hadn’t done yet with me. You said that before you knew what it was, though.”
The words are messy and clumsy, so I revise them. “When you offered to do what I hadn’t done yet, I know that you had no idea I was talking about sex. It’s not as though it was a promise, Rook. Let’s forget the conversation ever happened, and I’d appreciate it if you never mentioned it to my sister or Declan.”
He nods slowly, his gaze never leaving mine. “This has nothing to do with anyone but you and I.”
Relief floods me. “Thank you for not telling Abby what I said that night. It’s deeply personal.”
“Of course.” He tilts his chin up. “What we discuss is none of their damn business.”
I finally take a sip from my water glass, relishing in the way the cool liquid chases away the sudden dryness in my mouth.
“I want to make one thing very clear to you.” Rook’s gaze darkens.
“Okay,” I whisper, unsure what that one thing is.
His gaze never leaves mine. It’s as if his eyes are seeing into me. “I’ve wanted to fuck you for a long time. That hasn’t changed.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Rook
That caught her off guard.
Her hand started trembling, almost causing the water within it to crest the rim of the glass and spill over, but she regained her composure and set it back down.
Her eyes are on me now. They’re the color of emeralds. It’s so stunning that it’s impossible not to stare at her.
Fuck, she’s beautiful.
“Define a long time, Rook.”
This is territory I thought I could avoid, but it’s a direct question, and she’s asking it from a vulnerable place, so she deserves the truth.
It’s all I want to give her.
Well, that and a first time experience that will live in her memory for eternity.
“Since the day I met you,” I confess.
Her hand jumps to the arm of her eyeglasses. She touches it briefly, not adjusting it, just resting a finger against it for a second. “Since then?”