Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 95264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
He smooths his hands over his face to rub the sleep out. “Because of you and that trap between your thighs.”
A rough cackle escapes me. “I guess I’ve found my new strategy.”
“To destroy my career? I think so.” But I hear the amusement in his voice.
“Oh, shut up. You weren’t complaining last night.” Not through several rounds of mind-bending sex in various positions, until we ran out of condoms. But it didn’t end there. He earned himself a good-night blow job, and the way he gripped my hair as he lost himself in my mouth and groaned incoherent things … no, he had no complaints.
“Remember what I said about getting distracted if I stayed in town?”
“Vaguely. You should skip the meeting.”
“It’s with the town planning department.”
“You should definitely skip it, then.”
He chuckles, the sound vibrating in my belly. “I can’t, Justine.”
“Fine, lie back down with me, just for a minute.”
“I’m not falling for that.” He peers over his shoulder to show me tired eyes. “We’re meeting to go over my proposal for the park redesign.”
My plans to mount him the second he was within reach shift to the background. “You’re actually doing that.”
“You sound like you don’t believe me.”
“Because I don’t.” Do I?
He stands with a long reach-to-the-ceiling stretch.
My mouth goes dry as I watch him fish his track pants off the floor. That was all mine last night. “Are you?”
“Am I what?”
“Going ahead with it?”
“Yeah. I want the proposal ready in time for next month’s town meeting.”
“The same meeting as the one about the variance?” How convenient.
“It happens to be the same, yes. But the sooner I can show Shirley that I’m not like RGI Corp., that I’m good for my word, the better.” He yanks his pants up, tucking my new toy into his waistband.
I pout. Though I still have the top half of him to appreciate.
“I don’t like it when people question my integrity.”
I’m not sure who that warning is directed at. I’ve not only questioned Garrett’s integrity but I’ve pissed all over the idea of it. “Then you should give them reasons to take you at your word.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to do.” He pauses. “Any advice, as far as Shirley goes?”
“Are you asking me for insider intel on the granny gang?”
“Yeah, I guess I am.” He lingers at the end of my bed, waiting.
I falter. Am I betraying her confidence by helping Garrett?
God, I can’t think straight with him in nothing but track pants, fucked-all-night hair, and swollen lips.
Staring at me.
I sigh with reluctance. “Shirley doesn’t like people thinking they’re smarter or know more than she does. So … think about running those park plans by her. Make her feel like she’s a valuable part of it.” Sometimes I wonder if all the fuss Shirley kicks up comes down to needing to feel useful.
He smooths a hand through his hair, though it does little to tame the wild. My fists did a number last night. “I can pay a visit to Bonny Acres again one Friday night. Would she be agreeable to that?”
“She’ll give you grief. That’s just the way Shirley is.” I hesitate. “Sneak her in something from the bakery. Nothing vegan or healthy. She loves pistachio.”
“Pistachio,” he echoes.
“But there can only be one pistachio thing in a selection, or she’ll know I tipped you off.”
He laughs, as if this is amusing. “Got it.”
“And this”—I wave a finger between him and me—“stays out of it. She can’t know about this.” She’d call me an idiot, a fool. It would bother me to disappoint Shirley like that, and I’m not used to caring about what other people think.
He smirks. “And what exactly is this?”
The best sex I’ve ever had. “I am taking advantage of your finer assets, while you are trying to get in my good graces in hopes that I don’t create any more obstacles for your project.” Do I believe that anymore?
“Right. Of course. That’s what this is.” He smiles, but there’s a hint of something else behind it. “I’m heading to Philly after my meeting, and I’ll probably stay there because, well …” He waves a hand between us.
“Yes, this deadly snare of mine.”
“Exactly.” His gaze drags over the blankets I’ve burrowed under. “Should I expect more nudes while I’m gone?”
Is that his way of asking me to text? “Never know.” I slide my foot out from beneath the covers, flexing my toes in the air. “Any idea when you’ll be around again, so I can plan my next attack on your career?”
“Not sure. I’ve got a lot of meetings over the next few days.”
“What about all those Polson Falls babies you still need to kiss?”
Rounding the bed, he leans down and lays a soft kiss against my lips. “There. Done.”
I smooth my palm over his stubbled jaw, remembering the delicious burn of it scraping across my inner thigh. I don’t want him to leave.