Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96454 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96454 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
I settle myself on his lap, and his hands move to hold me to him. Those big hands I watch all day are right above my backside. Another inch or two and he’ll be cupping my cheeks. I study him for a minute. I’ve never been this girl either—the one who needs to take her time so she remembers. Sex is very much a biological function. It’s an itch to scratch.
He doesn’t feel like an itch. He feels like a blanket that soothes me, that warms and surrounds me, so I look at him, really look at him. I let myself do something I’ve wanted to from pretty much the minute I’d seen him. I run my hands through his hair and let myself feel how soft and silky it is despite the fact the man has no conditioner.
His eyes close as though he deeply appreciates the physical contact. “What made you change your mind?”
“I decided maybe you’re not playing me.”
His eyes open again, a brow rising. “Baby, I don’t know how to play anything but games, and I mean the video and board game kind. I will screw you over if we ever play Ticket to Ride, but otherwise you’re safe with me. I know this is going to come as a shock, but I don’t have a string of exes across the city wishing I would come back. I’ve had two serious girlfriends—one in college and one right after I started my first job. I haven’t dated anyone in over a year, and that also means I haven’t had sex in over a year. You seem to have some misconceptions.”
I put a finger over those gorgeous lips of his. “No misconceptions. Just a whole bunch of baggage that you have recently promised me you can handle.”
His hands move more confidently now, molding my hips as his lips curl up. “I am absolutely capable of handling all your baggage, Ivy. Trust me.”
I shouldn’t, but I do. That trust is precisely why I’m risking everything on him. Harper would think I’m dragging him further into my web. This is the opposite of what I should do, but I can’t stop myself. I can’t not lean forward and let my forehead rest against his. I can’t not breathe him in.
His forehead rubs gently against mine as his hands move, shifting over my thighs to my waist and almost up to my breasts. Like he’s learning that part of my body.
It’s been so long since I let my brain shut down and my body take over. Even the last year with Nick had been fairly sex deficient. We’d worked and fought, and then he’d started traveling more and more. I hadn’t even realized he was using the travel to interview.
“Hey, stay here with me.” Heath gently tugs on the braid, getting my attention. “You’re here with me. No one else.”
He pulls me away from the insecurity that’s plagued me for almost a year. He’s right. I don’t have to think about anything but him and the way he makes me feel.
One of those big hands finds the back of my neck, drawing me down to him. Our lips meet and then all thoughts beyond him are gone. I need this. I need the rest of the world to fall away.
When I feel his mouth open, I let him in, let his tongue find mine, the caress sending shots of arousal through my body. They feel like lightning flashes, waking me up from a long slumber. He kisses me over and over, taking his time. His hands slip under the big sweatshirt, and I shiver at the sensation of him touching me.
His fingertips trace my spine as his tongue plays with mine.
It’s intimate in a way I don’t know I’ve experienced before.
When he starts to pull the sweatshirt over my head, I lift my arms and feel the cool air on my breasts. His eyes are warm and filled with desire as he looks down and palms a breast.
“Do you have any idea how much I’ve thought about you?” he whispers. “Twenty-four seven since the minute I met you.”
I’m not entirely sure if he’s talking to me or my breasts. It could be either, but I smile anyway. “The minute you met me?”
He leans over and nuzzles my neck, like a big, affectionate lion. “I told you. We have chemistry, and yes, I was attracted to you the minute I saw you. Why do you think I gave you half my company?”
“Forty percent,” I whisper back because he’s kissing his way down my chest, his lips seeming to brand me wherever they touch. “And I thought that was about my business acumen.”
“You are the whole package, baby.” The words skim over my skin as he continues moving down my body. “That’s why I’ve been lying in wait for you. I’m a patient predator, but I knew I wanted to make a meal out of you.”