Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 86597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 433(@200wpm)___ 346(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 433(@200wpm)___ 346(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
He sighs over his last piece of turkey. “I worry the evidence might be tracked to my cameras. Speaking of which…” he goes on to tell me about something he accidentally witnessed.
A man was notoriously cheating on his wife, but one day, she came home early so the husband hid the other guy in the garage before accidentally locking himself out in the cold. As he circled the house to return inside, he ran into a bear busy eating from trash cans. As Nico later learned from a newspaper, the husband survived but lost a leg. And his wife.
He promised to show me the footage, as he’s never gotten to share it with anyone, and maybe it’s messed up, but it made me feel kinda special.
“Nobody likes cheaters, right?” I quipped, and we shared a little laugh at the man’s deserved misfortune.
I spent the rest of dinner entertained by my charming (if deadly) host, and I did end up eating pumpkin pie for dessert because why the fuck not? I’m an adult, and nobody can stop me!
We brush our teeth together, and by the time we’re done, my eyelids feel heavy. The clock on the wall tells me it’s almost three in the morning, but as I enter Nico’s bedroom and face its cozy interior, with a sloped roof on either side of me, I’m reminded that he warned me about there being only one bed. I’d ignored that fact, too focused on trying to get out of the basement prison, but seeing the large wooden frame with piles of snowflake-patterned pillows makes my situation all too real.
“Cozy,” I say as strings of fairy lights illuminate the ceiling, providing mood lighting. “And not messy at all.”
“I just want it to be perfect for you.” He bites his lip, but things get serious when he starts unbuttoning his shirt.
Oh, fuck.
Was the dinner date a trap, and he never intended to wait for my invitation after all?
A shiver makes its way up my back, because when I imagine him forcing himself on me, my heart beats faster for all the wrong reasons. I have a few messed-up fantasies he doesn’t need to know about. I don’t want any of them to really come to life, of course, but I’m the one controlling what goes on in the scenarios I imagine, and the vision of him on top, pushing me down hard, does… things to my body. I steady myself and watch him, because if he really wants me to, he’s going to make it happen anyway. Better not to prod the bear.
Or at least that’s what I’m telling myself as I watch his fingers descend down his chest, popping button after button. I can already see some of his chest hair and find myself wondering how it would feel against my back while a body just like this moves on top of me in a hypnotic rhythm.
“Thank you, that’s very considerate.”
“I’m so stuffed!” Nico pats his rock-hard stomach, and I’ve got no doubt this is his way to tease me and humblebrag, because he’s ridiculously fit. He pulls the band out of his hair, letting it loose. With the skylight behind him, the gentle lights caressing his skin, his attractiveness seems unreal.
And he wants me. I know it. If I said the word, I could be getting my dick sucked tonight.
But then, I’d entangle myself more with a killer. Which is not only morally wrong (debatable), but also dangerous (certainly).
“You’re staring, sweetie.” Nico winks at me with his fingers on his belt. “If you’re feeling shy, you can change in the bathroom.” He points to the door behind me.
I definitely should not be getting a boner, but he is tall, and built, and has such pretty blue eyes.
“What if I am staring?” I ask and face the window, looking out into the small town street to calm down. It is in my best interest to slide under the covers, because if I do go into the bathroom now, I might be tempted to get relief from my right hand.
“You’re invited to. I’m just giving your modesty a warning.” He chuckles and the clank of his belt follows. The sound goes straight to my dick.
I will be in bed with an insanely hot guy. Also, the Christmas Killer. My growing erection is extremely inappropriate, so I step toward the bed and lift the covers on one side. I hide under the comforter as soon as the slippers he gave me are off.
“I’ll just stay in the onesie tonight,” I say.
The mattress is made of memory foam, which I register as playing in my favor, because I’ll be far less likely to wake Nico up when I sneak out to call my brother. Or the police. For now though, I give in to temptation and rest against the pillows as my host pulls his belt out, watching me like a hawk assessing if he’s ready for another meal.