Total pages in book: 200
Estimated words: 189898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 949(@200wpm)___ 760(@250wpm)___ 633(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 189898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 949(@200wpm)___ 760(@250wpm)___ 633(@300wpm)
“No.” Her eyebrows dipped as a wary look entered her eyes. This one was smart. “What?”
“Offering to let me fuck you and then crashing the party before it even started.”
“I didn’t offer—”
“You did,” I cut her off before she could lie. “I know a woman who wants to be fucked when I see one.”
She chewed on her lip before looking away. “Call it a momentary lapse in judgment.”
“I had time to think about your momentary lapse and came to a conclusion.”
Still refusing to meet my gaze, she shot back, “I’m holding my breath until I hear it.”
And she wondered why I was slowly becoming obsessed.
“You said yes to me.” Her alarmed gaze flew to me, and I smiled. Rich might have a knack for making her smile, and Houston had mastered making her obey, but I was the only one who lowered her guard. Enough to be vulnerable. “And no one can take that away, baby fawn. Not even you.”
“I may not be able to take it back, but I can make sure it never happens again.”
Pressing forward until there was no space left between us, I enjoyed the feeling of her soft body against mine as her breathing became short and quick. “You’re trying to piss me off.”
“Am I? I’d rather not see you throw another tantrum. Can you back up, please?”
Instead of doing as she asked, I studied her. She kept swallowing between pants as if she tasted something, only to sniff the air as if she’d find the answer there. It was subtle and easy to miss if I weren’t standing so close. My stomach clenched as a thought occurred to me.
“You’re a virgin, aren’t you, Braxton?”
She huffed, her face clouded in disbelief. “Why? Because I’m not falling all over you? This conversation is coming dangerously close to sexist, asshole.”
I chuckled because I genuinely didn’t give a shit. She was naïve to think I would. “If by a snowball’s chance in hell you’re not a virgin, I’m guessing you haven’t been fucked in a while. How long has it been?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“Maybe it hasn’t sunk in yet, but you’re not going to get much privacy on this rig. That means we’re gonna know each other real well, real soon. Stop clutching those imaginary pearls and tell me.”
“If I tell you, will you back off?”
“Sure.”
“I mean off me. I can feel your dick, dude.”
“I’d say I’m sorry, but I’m not. What I am is waiting.”
She let out a long groan before fidgeting. “It’s been a while, okay?”
Interesting.
“What are we talking? Days? Weeks? What?” She refused to look at me, which made my heart rate rise. “Months?” When she didn’t respond, I wondered what that meant until she shuffled her feet again and wrinkled her nose. My jaw dropped, making her wince and confirm the conclusion my mind had already drawn. “Are you telling me that you haven’t been fucked in years?”
“It’s not a big deal.”
“Oh, but it is. It’s a huge deal. Gargantuan. Monstrous. Enormous. How did this happen?” I sounded as if someone had told me the world was going to end in three days. If I wanted inside Braxton before, I was foaming at the mouth to fuck her now. I wanted to howl at the moon over her poor, neglected pussy.
“It was my choice.”
“No shit. No one sane would refuse to fuck you, baby fawn. This is one hundred percent your fault. Now tell me why you’d do this to yourself.”
“That wasn’t part of the deal.”
“I want to renegotiate.”
“And I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” she snapped.
I didn’t have to look deep to see that the anger brimming her eyes was real. It latched onto my own rage coiling inside of me as my mind turned over the reasons why until it settled on the darkest possible conclusion. I immediately took a step back, giving her the space she coveted and hating myself for not listening sooner.
“Did someone hurt you?”
The words were out of my mouth before I considered whether I had the right to ask them. I was itching to turn this bus around and tear apart California until I found the dead fuck who dared.
Meanwhile, Braxton was blinking up at me in horror. “What? No! Of course not.”
I stared back at her, unsure whether to believe her or not. Like I said, I wasn’t the most honorable man around, but there were lines even I wouldn’t cross. Even if she were lying, wrestling the truth from her would only make me as bad as the man who hurt her.
“Fuck, I need a drink.” Stupid sobriety pact. I peered down at Braxton. “Ever been to Vegas?” She blinked her confusion at my rapid change of subject, but then her cheeks reddened in embarrassment even as her shoulders deflated in relief.
“I’ve never been outside of California.”