Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 122(@200wpm)___ 97(@250wpm)___ 81(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 122(@200wpm)___ 97(@250wpm)___ 81(@300wpm)
“Are you going to tell me why you ran into the house after Meadow like a dog with a bone?”
“Fair point,” he concedes and then walks to the front door. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Once Heath is gone, I make my way up the stairs a little faster than I normally do. It probably has something to do with Briar being in my bed, but I won’t admit that to anyone but her.
After taking care of the kittens and putting them in their beds for the night, I leave the door open for little Mace to roam around the house. He seems braver and more sure of himself than if I unleashed a litter of gangly kittens into the unknown. He even let me pet him for a few moments before he was off to explore.
Now that I’m alone with Briar, I strip down to my underwear and climb under the covers. That’s when I see that at some point she got undressed and is only in a pair of panties.
“Fuck,” I whisper, closing my eyes tightly. This is going to be a long night.
ELEVEN
BRIAR
It takes me a moment to realize that I’m not in my own apartment and it’s not my sister in bed with me. My head rests on Mace’s firm naked chest, and I’m wrapped around his big body like a koala bear. I might crash in bed with my sister from time to time, but I don’t cuddle her like this.
Mace’s broad chest rises and falls with each breath, and I notice my own match his. One of his hands is resting against my back, and we’re tangled together as if we’ve done this a thousand times. I assumed public displays of affection would be off the table and that Mace wouldn’t be the cuddling type. Yet here he is, once again proving me wrong.
Why did he put me in his bed?
Slowly I lift my head to get a glance at Mace’s handsome face, and I freeze when I see he’s awake. How long has he been lying there unmoving?
“Morning, beauty. How's the head?”
Shit, I hope I didn’t say something I don’t remember. I tend to speak without thinking on a normal basis, but drinks make it worse. After a few cocktails, I could have blurted out that I touched myself at night while thinking about Mace masturbating. I do not need him knowing that.
“I got drunk.” I state the obvious and realize my head feels fine.
Then I remember waking up once in the middle of the night to find my way to the bathroom. I grabbed Mace’s discarded shirt off the floor and changed into it. When I returned to the bed, I noticed Mace left water and Advil on the bedside table for me. I must have still been half drunk when I took them and drank down the whole glass of water before I proceeded to crawl back into his bed and cuddle him.
“You feeling all right?” he asks again, brushing some hair away from my face. Why is he being so nice all of a sudden? We’re supposed to be fighting because he keeps bossing me around. Or has he been saving my ass? It’s probably a mix of both.
“Yeah, I’m good, but it’s your fault I got drunk.” I immediately go into defense mode. Old habit, I suppose.
“Okay,” he agrees with me.
“You can’t agree with me,” I protest because that’s not how this works.
“Why not?” Mace fights a smile.
“Because we’re fighting.”
“You’re fighting. I’m lying here enjoying waking up to a beautiful woman in my bed.”
“I didn’t need to hear about your sex life.” I go to get up, but Mace grabs me and pulls me back down. I land right on top of him, and my legs straddle his hips.
“Who said I had a sex life?”
My eyes roam over Mace’s chest once again. No way women don’t try and come home with him on the regular. I’ve never seen it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not happening.
“Right,” I snort, trying to get off him again. He grips my hips, keeping me in place, and I motion at his body. “Mace, look at you. Not only that, you got this whole grumpy thing going on. Girls love that.”
“I don’t care what other girls love, but I have noticed you like a grumpy-sunshine trope.”
“How do you know that?” I can’t deny it. Throw in a secret baby, and I’m done for when it comes to a romance book.
“You leave your Kindle lying around at the beach house.”
“Mace!” I slap his chest. “You can’t peek into a girl's Kindle. That’s the same as reading her diary.”
“It’s not locked.”
“That’s your best defense, Mr. Lawyer?”
“As a lawyer, I do whatever it takes to win.”
“Win what?” Mace doesn’t answer my question. In fact, I forget it the second he flips me so I’m pinned under him, and his mouth comes down onto mine. For a moment, I’m in shock, and I lie there letting him kiss me.