Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 143382 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 717(@200wpm)___ 574(@250wpm)___ 478(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 143382 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 717(@200wpm)___ 574(@250wpm)___ 478(@300wpm)
He swiveled my way when I got close, his bare feet resting on a rung, his long legs spread wide.
I decided to take that as an invitation.
Therefore, I walked right between his legs, felt his hands settle on my hips, watched him tip his head back, and he was so damned beautiful, I decided tease time was over.
I finally got my fingers in that thick, soft hair, dropped my mouth to his, and I kissed him.
He opened for me instantly.
Nice.
My tongue swept inside, and I tasted coffee and warmth and man musk.
I tasted Eric.
And as suspected, he was sheer perfection.
I pressed closer and went for more.
When I did, Eric decided to taste me, and he did this by moving his hands to my ass, lifting me up while standing. He then twisted, planting me on his kitchen island.
This was such a smooth move, I was still recovering from it so he was free to angle his head and take over.
And thus commenced him plundering my mouth.
God, he mastered a kiss.
Absolutely…delicious.
And as a first kiss?
Best I ever had.
By far.
No other came close.
Eventually, and regrettably, he broke the snog, and I wasn’t breathing right because of it, but also, he might have lifted his head, though we were still pressed crotch to crotch, chest to chest.
So there was that.
And one could say I very much liked that.
“Good morning,” I wheezed.
His face grew warm, but his lips curved in that wicked, sexy smile, and he kissed me again.
We went at it, but disappointingly, he broke it again.
Such a damned tease.
“Good morning,” he belatedly replied.
Tease or no, starting my day like that, I couldn’t be in a bad mood (in fact, my mood was so good, it could last the rest of the year), so I smiled at him.
His fingers at my hips pressed in.
“Want coffee?” he asked.
“Please.”
“A bagel?”
“Sure.”
“Wanna spend the day together?”
Oh God.
There was no confusing it anymore, no denying.
This amazing man liked me.
And I loved that.
“Yes,” I whispered.
There was a shift to the expression on his face that made my heart skip a beat, because I knew he knew how glad I was we were where we were (finally), and even better, he wasn’t hiding he was just as glad.
He punctuated all of that by running his knuckles gently along my jaw.
No man had ever touched me like that. No person had touched me with that kind of gentleness.
It was the sweetest touch I’d ever felt in my life.
With perfect timing, because all I was feeling for him was suddenly overwhelming, he pulled slightly away and asked, “Great. Do you hike?”
Suddenly, an unfamiliar feeling took hold of me.
Not true. It wasn’t unfamiliar. I’d had it before in other things, but not with guys.
So I knew what it was.
Panic.
Nope.
Sheer panic.
“Jess?” Eric called.
“I don’t hike,” I replied.
“Okay,” he said slowly, studying my face.
“And I, um…” I couldn’t finish that.
“You what?” he prompted.
Shit.
“Well, I don’t read,” I said quickly.
His head quirked in surprise, which made sense, considering I wasn’t making any.
But, for reasons unknown to me, I didn’t stop talking.
“And I don’t cook. I don’t go to the gym or exercise in any formal way. I can shop, but the mood has to strike me, something it doesn’t do very often. I don’t go to concerts or festivals, because people are rude, and they bug the crap out of me, so if there are a lot of people in one place, it bugs the absolute crap out of me. I like to go to movies, but I prefer to watch them at home. I like going out to eat, because I like food, but mostly I do it so I can check out their cocktail menu to keep sharp. I also go to bars, but I’m not a barfly, it’s usually also for professional research. Or to hang with my girls. I like taking photos of stuff, but it’s not like I think I’m some great master. I just see things that interest me, and I want to get an angle on them and leech the color to black and white because I think the subtlety of that, the shadows and light, is more interesting.”
I took in a massive breath and finished my litany.
“Mostly, when I have time off, and don’t have plans with the girls, I clean my house, pay my bills and hang in front of the TV.”
“Okay,” he repeated slowly.
I was talking slowly too when I admitted, “In other words, I just figured out, I’m kinda…boring.”
For a beat he looked utterly stunned.
Then he busted out laughing.
I was plastered to his front, his face shoved in the side of my neck, still laughing, when I asked, “You think me being boring is funny?”
He raised his head to look down at me. “You think you’re boring?”
“I spend most of my free time watching TV.”
“So do the vast majority of Americans.”