Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 137077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
After dinner, Grace disappears upstairs, saying she wants to talk to Bella and Trinity again before school. She hasn’t revealed too much of their conversation and I’m trying to give her the time and space she needs, hoping tomorrow goes well for her.
It could go wrong. Or even really wrong depending on how far Hannah wants to take things.
But Grace seems prepared, or at least she isn’t asking for advice on how to fistfight Hannah, which I’m taking as a win. I can teach her a lot, but how to throw a punch isn’t one of them. The last time I tried, I sprained my wrist and had to wrap my hand for two weeks.
“Tea?” I offer, holding two empty mugs.
“Yes, please.”
Cameron starts the dishwasher as I microwave the water, and with teabags slowly sinking into our mugs, we step onto the back patio. The full strength of fall is in the air tonight, making it chillier than it has been, and even though I’m still in jeans and a sweatshirt, a shiver runs through me.
“Brrr! I’m gonna get a blanket.” I turn back into the house, grab one of the soft, fluffy throws from a basket in the living room, and reappear back outside in mere seconds. In that time, Cameron has flipped the switch for the fireplace and taken his usual spot on the far end of the couch. He’s playing absently with the teabag in his mug as he stares out over the dark back yard, looking like something is weighing heavily on him.
He was fine all day and at dinner, which leaves one thing likely on his mind. This morning.
I make an impulsive decision and sit down right beside him so we can share the blanket. But as I unfold and spread it over the two of us, he balks. “Riley.” He drags out my name like it’s a warning in and of itself, which is sometimes the case. Luckily for him, I’m not trying to cause drama. This time.
“Don’t make it weird. It’s chilly, and we can share like adults.” He makes a sound of disagreement, but I don’t give him the chance to argue. “It’s not like I’m giving you a hand job under the covers or you’re rubbing me off…” I lean his way to deadpan, “Again.” My laughter runs through every word.
Okay, maybe a little drama. Just to keep him from going back to his stiff, uptight ways.
He chokes, even though he hasn’t so much as sipped his still steeping tea. “Goddammit,” he curses, side-eyeing me with a sharp frown. “Could you not? Grace might hear you and get the wrong idea,” he hisses through clenched teeth.
“Calm down,” I say with a smile as I bump his shoulder with my own, trying to bring him down to Defcon 5 instead of the panicked, near-nuclear level he’s operating at now. “Grace is upstairs on the phone, blissfully unaware of anything going on outside her bedroom door. I think the one you’re worried might get the wrong idea is… you.” I point a delicately pink-painted nail his way and smirk.
“Seriously, we should talk about this morning, seeing as we’re such adults and all.” He throws my own words back at me with a wry twist of his lips.
He makes it sound like we haven’t already addressed this. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a done deal, so I shake my head, sinking down deeper into the couch and pulling the blanket up to my chin. “Nope, no need. I get it. Sleep sex oops-a-daisy.” I cut my eyes to him. “Unless you’ve got some kink about fucking sleeping people?” I arch a brow, questioning whether that’s the case. “I’m not one to yuck someone’s yum, buuut…”
“What? No,” he sputters.
He’s totally spinning. I bet he’s never even thought of a kink like that, and I can’t help but grin because I’ve been spinning since this morning, so it’s only fair he gets a little taste of his own medicine. I’d known instantly who was behind me, even in a half-woke state. The feel of Cameron’s arms around me, the lingering scent of scotch mixed with his soap, and the low groan that’d rumbled in his throat. Oh, I knew exactly who he was and what he was doing.
And I welcomed it.
Maybe in the light of day, with a clear head, I would’ve had second, and maybe even third thoughts, but in that moment, I’d let the way it felt carry me away into a bad decision. Because it felt amazing.
I did, however, think he’d known what he was doing and who it was with. That had been a smack to my ego, but I’ve decided to forgive him for that because honestly, the orgasm was worth it.
“Alright, then, we’re fine,” I tell him, shrugging dismissively. “We fell asleep, and a body against yours feels good, especially for two near-celibate people like us, and we got a little reckless.”