Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
“Fuck,” he rasped, his eyes traveling over my skin. “You’re so damn beautiful.”
Held immobile against the wall, I watched with wide eyes and heavy breaths as he pumped his hand up and down his shaft, the muscles in his arm working, his abs flexing. His chest rose and fell rapidly, and his jaw was clenched. “I could come just looking at you.”
“Do it,” I whispered. “Let me watch. Put it on me.”
“Is that what you want?” he growled. “My cum on your skin?”
“Yes,” I panted. “You can mark me like no one else ever has.”
Within seconds, he was ejaculating onto my stomach in quick, hot bursts. Then he took his hand and rubbed it into my skin—over my breasts, down my ribcage, and over the bruises on one hip.
Finally, he let go of my neck and pulled me toward him, wrapping me in his arms. He didn’t say anything right away, and it took a minute for his breathing to slow. I felt his heartbeat against my chest.
“There’s something about you that brings out the caveman in me,” he said.
“You’re not always like this?” I asked.
“Never.”
“Good.” I smiled, pleased that this was a side of him he’d never shared with anyone else. “Neither am I.”
“Let me do something nice for you.”
“Like what?”
“Like . . . wash your hair.”
I leaned back and looked up at him in surprise. “You want to wash my hair?”
“Yes. I fucking love your hair. I remember the day we met, when you came back after taking your hair down, I couldn’t stop staring at you.”
“I believe you were scowling at me.”
“That was only because I was mad at you for being so beautiful. For making me want you.” He let me go and reached for his shampoo bottle. “But I won’t hold a grudge if you let me wash your hair.”
“With your man shampoo? Is my hair going to smell like wood chips and baseball glove?”
“It’s all I have,” he said apologetically. “But I am very good at washing hair. I won’t get soap in your eyes.”
I laughed. “Okay. Then it’s a deal.”
Later, when the lights were off and I was tucked against his side in bed, he told me he’d made a dinner reservation for Saturday night at The Pier Inn.
“You did?” I asked, surprised.
“Yes. There was no way we were going to get in so soon without a little help. My cousin Delilah is a manager there. She reserved a table for us at eight.”
“That’s so nice,” I said. “Will I get to meet her?”
“If she’s there, I can introduce you.”
I smiled. “I’m excited. I want to get something new to wear.”
“It’s not fancy or anything.”
“Hush.” I swatted his bare chest. “I want something new for our date night.” As soon as I said it, I was sorry. “I didn’t mean date night like date date,” I said quickly. “I know it’s not a date. We’re not dating. It’s just dinner with a friend.”
“Relax,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what we call it. People are going to see us and make up stories anyway.”
“Really?”
“Definitely. By Sunday morning, everyone will know Austin Buckley took his runaway bride nanny to dinner, and there will be half a dozen rumors about what it means.”
I giggled. “What will they think it means?”
“Well, someone will swear to god they saw a ring on your finger, so it probably means we’re secretly engaged. Someone else will say they saw us sitting at the seawall at sunset, so you’re definitely pregnant. And someone else will say they heard from their sister’s best friend’s cousin’s ex’s dog groomer, who lives in Chicago, that I attacked your former fiancé with an axe right on Michigan Avenue.”
“Those are some serious rumors.”
“Yeah, well, Cherry Tree Harbor is a small town with two specialties: fudge and gossip.”
“But it’s so charming! Everyone I’ve met has been so kind. It must have been a wonderful place to grow up. And it’s a great place to raise a family.”
“It is.” He was quiet for a moment. “Do you want kids?”
“Yes. I’ve always had this dream about belonging to a big family. I was so lonely growing up, so envious of kids at school who had lots of brothers and sisters and cousins around.”
His hand began to stroke my shoulder, soothing and sweet.
“But pursuing that dream wasn’t as easy as pursuing dance. It would have meant handing over a part of me I was used to keeping to myself. My mom always said, Guard your heart like it’s your home. Be careful who you let in. I did a good job of that.”
Austin didn’t say anything, but his hand continued to caress me.
“I think that’s part of why I agreed to marry Neil. I had this idea that being part of a family like his would fulfill that yearning I’d had as a child.” My fingers played with the hair on his chest. “But it backfired. His family was awful. I didn’t fit in, they never accepted me, and I ended up feeling unwanted all over again.”