Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 89183 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89183 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
“I’ve never done anything like this before. But I believe you. I believe you won’t hurt me again. And I want this. I want you. Eyes wide open. These two weeks only.”
He was so tempted, even though a part of him was saying this wasn’t right. That Josie deserved more than two weeks together in bed. More than being friends with benefits.
But in the end, he wanted her too much to say anything other than, “So we’ll just be friends? Really, really good friends?”
She nodded. “No messy emotions.” She suddenly looked shy as she said, “Just great—”
“—sex,” he finished for her.
“Yes,” she said, barely above a whisper. “Just great sex.”
He couldn’t hold back a smile, even as he shoved his concerns away. He’d be an absolute fool to turn Josie down.
CHAPTER TEN
Josie tried not to let nerves get the best of her as they walked from the manor house cottages back to Malcolm’s houseboat. But there was no way to stop the fluttering in her belly or her worries that she somehow wouldn’t measure up. After all, she hadn’t been with very many men. And she suspected that Malcolm had far more experience than she did. On top of that, what would he think of her body? She was no supermodel. Just a totally normal woman, with unexceptional curves and an average percentage of body fat. What if, once she was naked, he didn’t like what he saw?
Oh, if only this walk weren’t so long. The longest fifteen minutes of her whole life. Long enough for her to think maybe the best idea would be to call the whole thing off. To say she was just kidding. To say it was better if they focused on the project at hand and didn’t tangle things up with friendly sex.
“I swear,” he said, “I can hear every single one of your thoughts.”
His comment startled her, made her laugh. “That obvious, huh?”
He stopped on the path, not caring that other walkers and bikers had to go around them. “Whatever you’re worried about, don’t be. Whatever we do together, it’s going to be great. And if you don’t like it, don’t want to keep doing it, you just tell me, and we’ll stop.”
She swallowed hard, nodding. “I appreciate that. I know you’d never make me do anything I don’t want to do. It’s just…” It was embarrassing to talk about her lack of experience. But if she was about to take off her clothes and roll around with him, she should be able to say this, shouldn’t she? “I haven’t… I haven’t been with very many people.”
He kissed her then. Just pulled her close and kissed the breath out of her. Kissed all the thoughts out of her too. Maybe that was his goal—and if it was, it worked like a charm. “I’m glad, Josie. The truth is, I haven’t either.”
She looked at him in surprise.
“I’m not saying that I haven’t earned my reputation as a bit of a playboy,” he told her. “But it’s far less earned than people think. One-night stands got old pretty quick when I was younger. And I like to think I have some standards.”
Hearing that did help put her mind at ease a little. Maybe the playing field wouldn’t be that uneven.
Oh, who was she kidding? It was still totally uneven. Because he was Malcolm Sullivan. And she was just normal.
“I’m not a supermodel,” she blurted. Then, realizing what she had said and how it sounded, she felt compelled to add, “I mean, of course I’m not. You can see that. You don’t need me to tell you that. But I just don’t want you to—”
“You’re beautiful, Josie. The most beautiful woman I’ve ever kissed.”
That made her laugh again. “That’s really nice of you to say, but you don’t have to lie.”
But he didn’t laugh. He only looked more serious. “I’m not lying. You’re beautiful on the outside. And you’re beautiful on the inside. Let me tell you, it’s quite a combination. Every time you smile, you make my head spin. I haven’t been able to think about anything but you since I picked you up from the airport.”
She blinked at him, wanting to believe him, but finding it so hard to do.
“I don’t know what to say—what to think.”
“Then don’t. Just come back to the boat with me and let me love you.”
He kissed the gasp from her lips. She knew how he meant the word love. In a purely physical sense. That he would be making love to her body. And yet, just hearing him say it did something to her. Made her heart flip inside her chest. Made her feel a little breathless.
Most of all, despite wanting to keep her heart closed off, she longed for an even deeper love. For a love that went straight to the heart and stayed there. The kind of love that would last forever. A love that she had written off after the heartache she’d been through.