Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 65944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 330(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 330(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
I come harder than I ever thought possible, with his name on my tongue and lights flashing behind my closed eyelids as he growls, losing himself inside me. I hold him tighter, not wanting to lose our connection, and he collapses on top of me, then rolls to his back with me panting against his chest. I probably should pull away, but instead of doing what will probably be best for my mental health, I slide my hand around his waist, nuzzle into his chest, and drift off to sleep in his arms.
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“Aria.” I open my eyes the next morning when my name is called and wake to find Tide sitting sideways on the side of my bed, fully dressed. “Hey.”
“Hey.” My insides twist when he runs the back of his fingers against my cheek.
“I hate to say it, but I gotta go. I’m meeting my dad to help him with some stuff, but I’ll be back here with dinner, if that’s good for you.”
“Oh, okay, sure. That sounds good.” I sit up and tuck my hair behind my ear as I hold the blankets up to my chest.
“Good.” He stands and rests his fists on the bed on either side of my hips before he kisses me, then leans back to search my gaze. “Have fun with Gia and Gino today.” I nod, not sure what to say, then watch him smile up close before he pushes back to stand and walk to the door. When he reaches it, his eyes come to me and warm. “I’ll see you later.”
“See you later,” I agree, watching him tap the doorjamb twice before he disappears out of sight. When I hear the door downstairs close, I look at the clock on my nightstand and do a double take when I see it’s after nine. “Holy cow.”
I rest my head back against the headboard, not believing I spent all night with Tide obviously sleeping next to me. When I was with my ex-husband, I would wake up off and on all night, and every time I did, I would find it more and more difficult to get back to sleep. It wasn’t that he did something to wake me; he didn’t snore, and we slept apart, him on his side and me on mine. I never knew what it was that kept waking me up, but I guessed it was just having him in bed with me. The only thing good about those times was I would eventually give up on sleep all together and get out of bed to go write.
Unsure if I should try to dissect why I was able to sleep last night with Tide, I toss back the covers, go right into the bathroom, and start the shower. Once the water’s warm, I get in and wash my hair. As my fingers dig into my scalp, a movie starts to play behind my closed eyes, and I shout, “Finally!” I rip open the shower curtain and jump out of the tub, soaking wet. I wrap a towel around myself but still end up dripping water and soap on the floor. I run into my room, right for my bedside table, to grab the notebook and pen I keep there. Franticly, I jot down the series idea that just came to me and end up filling three pages with notes, before I go get back into the shower to finish up, doing it with an excited smile on my lips.
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Sitting on my front porch, with one of my thicker sweaters wrapped around me, I go back and forth between the notes I wrote this morning and the document I have open on my computer. Since I didn’t have a chance to work on my new series pitch this morning and spent the afternoon with Gia and Gino, who is way more adorable in person, I’m doing it now as I wait for Tide to get here. When I hear the rumble of his engine coming up the driveway, I look up, and my eyes lock with his through the windshield, causing a nervous smile to lift my lips.
Today, he sent me a couple of texts just to check in, something I wasn’t expecting him to do, but really liked more than I probably should have. As he shuts down the engine, I see him reach over to the passenger seat to grab something, then a moment later, his door swings open, and he gets out. How a man can make boots, jeans, and a thermal look so good is a news to me, but on him, it looks better than even the most expensive suit hanging in my dad’s closet.
I lick my lips as he comes up the steps and watch his eyes darken in a way that sends my pulse skittering. “I know I might have made a mistake not calling to ask what you wanted to eat for dinner, but I figured there aren’t many people who grow up in the south who don’t like fried chicken, corn, and mac and cheese.”