Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
I growled and kissed her harder, parting her lips with my tongue and claiming what I’d come to think of as mine. When her breath hitched and she leaned in for more, I pulled back. “You’d better get your words in, or I’ll be in you.”
She laughed and sat up, shaking her head as she started to type. “Thankfully, I’m the writer, because that line was awful, Asher.”
“Oh, I’m just not bringing out my A game because I know you have shit to get done. Trust me, love, if I wanted to turn you on, I’d tell you how much I love it when your pussy ripples around my cock, especially when you come super hard that second time—”
Her hand slapped over my mouth. “No, no, no. You keep all your naughty little thoughts to yourself, mister.”
We settled in, and I reached to the nightstand for my book. I knew the world had moved on to e-readers, but there was still something to be said for the weight of a hardback in my hands. The first chapter flew by and I started reading another.
Would Daisy ever have a hardback book if she never tried the traditional publishing route? Any publisher would be lucky to have her, no doubt…and she had said there was something to be said for being in bookstores and airports. I’d seen her eyes stray to bookstores more than once as we’d walked by over the last seven weeks.
Maybe there really was something I could help her with.
“What do you think about getting a book into bookstores?” I asked, but she didn’t respond. A quick look told me why. She was fully focused on her work, her fingers flying over the keyboard. “Daisy?” No response.
There could have been an earthquake, a tsunami, or hell, her boyfriend talking to her and she wouldn’t have noticed.
It made me smile and chuff a little laugh. She was just as intense about her work as I was, and it was obvious to see that the world had fallen away and nothing else existed for her besides what was on her pages. I had meetings and calls that pulled me from whatever project I was feeling passionate about, but Daisy’s focus was what allowed her to get her books written, and it was pretty damn enchanting to see.
Everything about the woman was bewitching.
I shook my head, smiling to myself as I turned back to my own book, and by the time my eyes ached, ready for sleep, I put my hardback on the nightstand, then turned off my nightstand light and turned onto my side.
I watched Daisy as I fell asleep, the clacking of her keys an unlikely but soothing lullaby.
12
DAISY
“You know,” I said as we walked deeper into the forest. “When you said we were going on a date, this was the last thing I expected.”
Asher glanced down at me, his hand in mine as we walked the trail, lush vegetation on either side of us. “Why is that?”
“You have a private jet,” I explained. “You’ve whisked me across the globe before. Between personal chefs, sports cars, and running an empire, a hike in one of our local parks seems random for you.” I shrugged, my heart so damn full.
It had been over a month of these stolen moments with Asher where somehow, he’d fit me into his rigorous schedule permanently. We’d both fallen into this effortless rhythm where we both worked our asses off during the day and spent most nights together, unwinding from said work days.
I couldn’t be happier or more into him. My heart continued to whisper just how much I was into him, but I continuously ignored her, not wanting to put a label on anything so fast. But it was kind of hard when Asher Silas kept surprising me, kept growing with me, and the more time we spent together, the more I fell for him.
Asher tugged me toward him, tucking me under his arm. “You’ve never been impressed by that stuff and you know it.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “From the first day I met you, you were more impressed with the way James could make eggs than you were with my wealth.”
I laughed, unable to deny that. “I’m sorry,” I said as we rounded a bend in the trail, the park empty except for the two of us and the deer who liked to munch on the lush greenery around us. “I never said I wasn’t impressed with your wealth. Who wouldn’t be?” Sure, I’d been blown away when he allowed me to accompany him to the poker retreat in Nicaragua, but I’d been more blown away by what happened between us while we were there.
“But…” He urged me on.
“But I’d like you without the fancy cars or planes or endless wealth.”
“Is that right?” he asked, stopping to face me with his arms folded over his chest, a challenging look on his face.