Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 86571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 433(@200wpm)___ 346(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 433(@200wpm)___ 346(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
It seems I am missing something. “Why?”
“Because I don’t want you to see me naked.”
My head tips back, and I laugh, and laugh, and laugh, and I don’t stop laughing until Claire throws something at me, which is a shoe.
“Stop laughing and get out. I need to get dressed, and I can’t with you in the room.”
“What? Are you afraid that something might happen?” I tease. “Something you might like, something that may make you scream my name?”
We haven’t had sex again since the night before, even though I’m hard every second of the day. I can’t help it, Claire has that effect on me.
A deep flush spreads onto her cheeks. “If you’re trying to convince me to leave with you, this isn’t helping.”
I frown, get off the bed, and walk over to her. She retreats like prey, taking a step back for every step I take toward her. Fuck me, I want her.
I want to rip that towel from her body, spread her legs, and place her right on my face, so I can feast upon her like she is my last meal.
Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen.
Stopping right in front of her, I can see her pulse fluttering in her throat. Her green eyes are wild, filled with half lust, half anticipation. I lean into her face and watch as her lips part and her pink tongue darts out over her bottom lip.
I am reminded of the very first time I kissed her, the day she was going to go to lunch with Gregg. It had been the only time I had ever kissed a woman, the only time I ever wanted to. Today, I want to kiss her too, so I do. I lean in, my nose brushing against hers, and press my lips firmly to hers, swallowing up every little sound she makes.
She tastes sweet, sinful, and I deepen the kiss, my fingers tangling in her hair. I pull her closer, wanting there not to be even an inch of space between us. One of her hands sinks into my hair, and the other snakes around my neck, and it’s about then that we both realize she no longer has a grasp on the towel.
I pull away, panting, ready to fuck her against the wall, but smiling. The towel slips down her body, and the look on Claire’s face mimics that of an angry kitten, her nose is snarled, and her eyebrows are drawn together.
“What was that you said about not wanting me to see you naked?”
Snatching the towel off the floor, she gives me a dirty look, and I snicker as I walk out of the room. The door slams shut behind me, and all I can think is I have to get her to come back with me. I have to.
The corner booth in the diner becomes my home for the next six hours. I drink my weight in coffee, forcing Claire to return to my table to fill my cup over and over again. It’s amusing as hell. She glares at me each time, but I know she likes the attention.
An hour goes by, and a strange man walks into the diner. I narrow my eyes at him across the room. He’s watching Claire with far more interest than I like, and it makes me squeeze the coffee mug a little tighter in my hand. I don’t need to make a fucking scene, especially not with Claire here, but this guy better look away, or I’ll have to gouge his eyes out.
“Claire, trash,” one of the older ladies yells.
Claire frowns and shoves her notepad into the front of her apron.
The guy continues to track her every movement like a hawk. I’m pretty sure he wants me to gut him like a fucking fish. When Claire disappears into the back of the diner, and the creepy fucker rises from his seat and rushes out the door in a flurry, I follow.
I know a sick fuck when I see one, and the way he was watching her, coupled with how fast he ran out of the diner when she disappeared into the back, tells me he was a snake lying in wait. Shit luck for him if he thinks he’s going to touch her.
The wind howls through my jacket, and I turn the corner just in time to see him crowding Claire at the back of the alley.
“You’re a pretty girl. Maybe give a guy a chance?” I can barely make out what he says, but what reaches my ears has me seeing red. My hand slides into my jacket, and I grab the knife strapped there. I stalk toward them, intent on slitting his throat when Claire notices me out of the corner of her eye and intersects, crossing in front of the fucker at the last second.