Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100332 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100332 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Ouch. I nodded. “If you don’t tell me anything, I won’t get to know you.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You sure you want to know about my days?”
Dad never talked about work during meals, but I was sure he shared his daily work life with Mom. Maybe not in every gruesome detail, but definitely the important things. “Yes.”
Maximus put his coffee mug down on the table. “Today, I’m only dealing with standard debtors. One of them has been in hiding for weeks, but I have a lead on him.”
“Be careful,” I said.
Maximus straightened with a sardonic smile. “I’ll make sure I won’t die before I get you pregnant.”
I flushed. “Just be careful. Always.” I swallowed. “I’m really sorry if I offended you with my request.”
Maximus put a hand on my shoulder. The simple touch was more intimacy than we’d shared in a while. His warmth seeped through my clothes, and it felt surprisingly natural. “You won’t ever have to apologize to me, Sara.”
The two days until my ovulation flew by in a blink. On the morning of my ovulation, I couldn’t eat a single bite. The line on the ovulation test still hadn’t reached the absolute peak color, but my period had been very light and short last time, so maybe my body didn’t produce the necessary amount of hormones for these tests. When Maximus sat down across from me and looked at my face, he asked, “Tonight?”
He made it sound like we were waiting for our execution.
I nodded, clutching my coffee cup in a death grip. The protein bar still lay untouched beside my hands. I’d decided to eat more protein, and since I didn’t eat much, protein bars seemed like a good solution.
“I’ll try to be home early.”
“You don’t have to be. It won’t take long,” I said quickly, then snapped my lips shut and felt heat rise into my head. Why did I have to say something like that?
An apology lay on the tip of my tongue, but then I remembered Maximus’s words and was unsure what to do.
His face was stone, his jaw clenched. He gave a hard nod. “Sure.” He shoved to his feet, then hesitated as if he wanted to say more, but then he turned and left.
I released a shaky breath. I wasn’t sure how to keep myself busy until tonight. Maybe I should just have asked Maximus to do it now, but I couldn’t bring myself to run after him.
Since it was the weekend, I didn’t even have any classes. Not that I would have been in a state of mind for them.
I decided to call Isa and ask her to go shopping with me.
“Shopping?” Isa repeated.
“Spring decorations. And I need a few coffee table books for the sideboard in the living room and in my bedroom.”
“All right. If I get the chance to enter a bookstore today, I’ll come along. I’ll be there in thirty minutes.”
Isa was always good at distracting me with her dry, dark humor and I-don’t-give-a-shit attitude, but today, even her presence could hardly stop my brain from dreading tonight.
Maximus returned from work after dinner. He’d sent me a message that he’d grab something to eat at work. I was relieved I wouldn’t have to spend an awkward dinner sitting across from him. I just wanted to get tonight over with.
I was already in the bedroom when he knocked and then came in. I wore a loose-fitting nightgown and no underwear to make it easier for him.
He stopped in the doorframe and regarded me with a hard-to-read expression. He wore black sweatpants, a tight white tee, and white sneakers. Not his usual work attire.
“I hit the gym to let off some steam,” he said.
I searched his face, wondering why he needed to let off steam. But my nerves stopped me from being ready to assess someone else’s reasoning.
When I didn’t say anything, he pushed off his sneakers and kicked them out into the corridor. I almost said something, but then he closed the door and came closer. He stopped at arm’s length from me and glanced down at me. For some reason, his tall frame and muscles stood out more than usual today, and it made me nervous, which didn’t even make sense. It hadn’t been Maximus’s strength that had hurt me. He hadn’t overpowered me. Maximus had never once crossed any boundaries I’d set even though he was more than capable to do so.
“We don’t have to do anything,” he murmured in his deep voice.
“I’m ovulating tonight.”
“You said that already.”
His voice rang with tension, but when I looked up at his face, it was carefully guarded. “Can we just get started? The wait is making it worse.”
Maximus looked down at his feet, then gave a nod. He looked up with the same guarded expression as before and took a step toward me.