Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 80045 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80045 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
“You're telling me that douchebag Brian was the first guy you've ever been with?”
I can feel the blush work its way up my body, and I can only hope that I'm not too red, that the low lighting in the ballroom will hide it.
“That's a really personal question, don't you think?” I ask, but my tone is light as we turn around on the dance floor.
Lawson shrugs. “You made a joke about my past romantic history last week. I know mine is pretty public, but as far as personal goes, I have you in my arms,” he says, and leans down so we're cheek to cheek, his lips at the shell of my ear. “And I've had your tongue in my mouth, have felt your body against mine more than once now.” He pulls back, looking down at me with a confident smile. “If that's not personal, I don't know what it is.”
I'm on fire.
This man gets me hot in so many different ways, one is needy and achy and the other is angry and explosive. But he's not wrong, I poked fun at his extensive and public romantic history before.
“Yes,” I finally answer. “He's the first and only.”
Lawson goes still for a moment, pausing our dance and taking a few seconds before he realizes he stopped and starts us back up again.
“What's that look?” I ask.
“I feel awful,” he says.
“Why?”
“I mean, it's natural for your first to be bad, but for your only? That's just downright depressing.”
I gaze up at him. “Who says Brian was bad?”
Lawson flashes me an incredulous look, then spins me and dips me once more before bringing me back flush against him. “Trust me, I saw the guy, and from what you've told me about him, he fits the bad-in-bed bill. I bet he never even took more than ten minutes with you.”
My eyes fall to his muscular chest, unable to keep looking at him after that comment. How could he tell? How is it that Lawson fucking Wolfe seemed to know more about me and my life than even I did? How could he read me so easily?
“It's a damn shame,” he says, tipping up my chin so I'll meet his eyes again. “If I was given the honor,” he continues, “I’d take much, much longer than that.”
“How much longer?” The whispered question is out of my mouth before I can stop it, my pulse skittering beneath my skin at the way he's looking at me. I already knew his kiss awakened something in me nothing else ever has. I couldn’t imagine what would happen if I actually let him into my bed.
Explosive indeed.
Lawson visibly swallows. “Do you really want to know, damsel?”
Did I? We always have fun bantering, but this feels like dancing on a tightrope—one slip and we’ll cross a line we might not be able to come back from.
But I felt safe with him. Not just in his arms but also in conversation with him. So, there isn’t any harm in enjoying those safe things, right?
I nod.
Lawson leans down again, his lips back at the shell of my ear, and I find myself tilting my head slightly, some instinct wanting to offer up more of my body to him. It’s quite clear in this moment, in his arms, I want to give him full access to anything he wants.
“I would take hours,” he says. “The first of which would be spent working over your entire body and figuring out exactly what it is that makes you tremble. The next few would be making you come so many times you would quickly pass out from exhaustion right after. And once you woke up, after I'd fed you properly, I'd start the process over again.”
Heat pools in my core, and I have the irresistible urge to shift against him to try to soothe the pulsing ache between my thighs.
Lawson pulls back, nothing but desire and mischief in those eyes. “Hypothetically,” he adds, and I can’t help but laugh. I find myself doing that with him more than I ever thought I would.
“What if after an hour you didn’t want anymore?” I ask. “Hypothetically.”
“There is no version of that fantasy that exists where I wouldn’t want hours with you, Blakely.”
I swallow hard, my heart hammering in my chest as we gaze into each other’s eyes. God, I want the fantasy he’s painted. I want to feel alive. I want to burn like his kiss makes me burn.
The song comes to an end, and I immediately detach myself from Lawson, needing space before I do what my friends suggest and climb him like the tree he is.
“Restroom,” I mutter the word, the only one I'm able to get out without him being able to notice the shakiness in my voice.
He nods, watching me walk through the ballroom and out into the hallway where the restrooms are located. I quickly go in the lady’s room and splash some cold water on my face, just enough to shock me out of my lust-hazy vibe and not enough to mess up my makeup.