Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 92474 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92474 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Not cool.
“No, it’s . . . it’s okay. I just wasn’t expecting . . . I’m not used to being touched.”
He was killing her. No one touched him? Why didn’t anyone touch him? Did he not have a family? Was he like her? Alone and lonely?
You’re not alone. You have Anita.
Who cared more about her idiot boyfriend than her own aunt.
You have friends who love you.
You’re loved. You’re cared for.
But she didn’t have someone special. Someone who put her first. When she got home at night, there wasn’t even a potted plant to greet her.
To think that this gorgeous, strong man might be in the same boat. That he could be lonely and in need of someone to see him . . . yeah, it floored her.
She reached up and ran her hand up and down over his back.
“Damn, you’re tight.”
He let out a low noise that sounded like a chuckle.
“Have you ever considered getting a massage?” she asked.
“I don’t really like people touching me.”
Oh. So, when he said he wasn’t used to touch, it wasn’t because he didn’t have anyone to touch him. He just didn’t like it.
“Sorry.” She snatched her hand back again.
A low growl filled the room, filling her with shocked surprise. But to her amazement, she wasn’t scared of the noise.
“I didn’t say stop.”
“But you said you didn’t like it.”
“No, Gracen,” he replied in that deep voice. She swore that he could say anything, and it would sound sexy in that voice. He could tell her he was going to poop, and it would send a shiver up her spine.
Okay, well, maybe not. That might be a step too far.
“I said I didn’t like people touching me.”
“Um, well, last time I checked, I’m people. Not an alien, I promise. Even though it might have seemed like aliens had taken over my brain last time we spoke. Actually, no, scratch that. You know what? Aliens had definitely taken over my brain. That’s what happened. That wasn’t me.”
“Easy, baby. It’s all right,” he soothed.
He’d called her baby.
Cue swooning.
Her breath shuddered out of her in a long sigh.
“I don’t think you’re an alien.”
“Is there a reason you can’t look at me, though?” she asked.
She felt him take a deep breath, her hand rising as his shoulders moved. Then he slowly released it.
“Victor? Are you all right?”
“No,” he replied.
Oh, no.
“Can I help?” she asked.
“Yes.”
Oh, good.
“Do you need a hug? That always makes me feel better.”
There was a beat of silence, and she thought he was going to reject her. Why wouldn’t he? Why was she offering him a hug? He didn’t like being touched. Plus, he wasn’t a toddler who’d scraped his knee. Who still believed that there was magic in a kiss and a cuddle.
Although, at thirty-four, she still kind of believed in that magic.
But he likely thought she was ridiculous. She moved her hand slowly away. Perhaps if she backed up and pretended that she’d never said that, he’d think it was his imagination.
Yeah, that was a foolproof plan.
“Yes.”
She stood there, frozen, her hand a few inches from his back.
“Yes?”
“Yes, I want a hug.”
Right. What now? A hug? He wanted a hug. From her.
Her mind was spinning out of control. Until she saw the way he tightened up as though . . . as though he was expecting her to reject him.
Suddenly, her mind settled, and her body sprang into action as she threw herself at him. If she’d been thinking properly, she would have moved more slowly. Her face smashed into his hard back and she let out a groan of pain.
How had she forgotten about her face?
“Gracen?” He tried to turn to face her, but she was clinging to him like a baby monkey to its mama. And despite the fact that her arms didn’t reach all the way around him, she wasn’t letting go.
“Gracen, baby. Can I see you?”
“I’m giving you a hug.”
He stilled then took another deep breath. No doubt he’d be doing that often if he spent a lot of time with her.
“I appreciate that. But can I please check on you?”
The please did it. She loosened her hold on him with a sigh of disappointment. “You’re so warm, though.”
Argh, had she said that?
He stiffened.
Great. She wasn’t making any better of an impression than yesterday. If anything, this might be slightly worse.
Although at least she hadn’t offered up her sticky buns to him.
“Oh, no! You didn’t get your sticky bun today, and I don’t think there’re any left.”
He gently grasped her hands, pulling them from him. “That’s all right.”
“I didn’t think you were coming when you weren’t here by seven-thirty.”
Turning, he peered down at her. Then his hand slowly rose to cup her swollen cheek. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”
“No, that isn’t . . . I wasn’t saying . . . I mean, you don’t have to apologize. I just didn’t want you to miss out on my sticky bun—I mean your sticky bun!”