Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 32995 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 165(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32995 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 165(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
He chuckles and shakes his head. “I would hardly call a cracked headlight totaled.” Then, he bites his lip and a shiver of titillation rolls through me.
“It’d totally destroy my life if I had to pay for that.”
Now, he’s laughing and it’s musical, and filled with wonder. Once the laughter dies out, he says, “Maybe I should get your number. In case I change my mind.”
“You might change your mind on whether or not to ruin my life?” I gawk, my eyes rounding and brow shooting up.
“In one way or another.”
His voice is full of flirtation and suddenly I’m sure it’s not in my head.
I’m blinking rapidly, absolutely stunned by the boldness.
“Y-yeah, we could do that,” I mutter, and busy myself by withdrawing my phone, mentally cursing as I see all the missed texts and calls from Sierra. Once Rupert’s gone, I’ll have to call her. Opening a blank text, I ask for his number. Tapping in what he says, I send a text with just my name. “There, now you have the name and number of the person to sue, if you…change your mind.”
Rupert chuckles and leans against the truck door. We’re inches from one another—I can barely think around the sound of my own heartbeat. “I can think of a few other things I’d like to do, other than sue you,” he purrs, his eyes glistening.
“Like what?” I ask daftly. I know it’s a stupid question as soon as it comes out of my mouth.
His lips twitch with amusement before he leans in, and I watch his eyes flutter closed. My mind attempts to panic for a split second before it completely shuts off and embraces the moment. I’m not sure when the next time I’ll have the opportunity to kiss such a hunk, and I’m not going to waste it.
His lips press into mine and I swear, I melt like putty. Or ice cream on a hot summer day. Or butter on a frying pan, plastic in the sun, any other melty thing you can imagine.
His lips are soft but firm, moving in a tender way. It’s just a simple kiss, no tongue, no biting, or groping—and yet, I feel sparks. Fireworks.
It’s not that I’ve never been kissed. They say you kiss a lot of frogs before…well, you know. And I’ve kissed my fair share down at the bar in our town, believe me. Between them and shitty Tinder dates, I’ve given more pecks on the cheek that say sorry, but never again than you can imagine.
None of them felt like this.
It’s enough to make my anxiety give way and I’m kissing him back eagerly. I feel Rupert’s hand drop to my waist. Normally, I would be backing away right now, but he’s pulling me closer and I am at his command. Usually, I’m not so submissive with guys but I’m too starstruck right now.
Just as I bravely allow my tongue to gently trace his bottom lip, there’s a car horn blaring next to us. I jump, though our lips being connected for that split second keeps me from screaming in surprise. There’s a man in a convertible idling just a few feet away from us. He’s glaring hard as he lays on the horn again.
“Move!” the guy barks.
“Fuck you, Anders! Go around!” Rupert retorts. While my truck is parked toward the exit, there’s enough road to go around us and not risk an accident.
He’s honking again and out of sheer panic, I reach for the door handle. Rupert firmly places a hand on the door above mine to keep me from getting in. The guy honks again, but then drives off so fast that his tires squeal.
Once the red convertible is past us, Rupert sighs and gazes into my eyes. “Sorry about that. Josh Anders, he’s another polo player… He’s kind of a dick.”
“Josh Anders?” I blink. “That’s the guy who bought my foal.”
It doesn’t matter, I don’t know why I say it other than out of surprise. He hadn’t been present when I dropped off the horse. One of the stable employees accepted him on Anders’ behalf.
Rupert sighs and mutters something under his breath before he opens the truck door for me. “Get home safe, okay?”
“Will do,” I mutter and climb inside.
With the door shut, I glance at him through the window. He’s already watching me with a look in his eye as though he’s waiting for something. Does he want me to say something? Should I say something? As much as I don’t want the moment to end, my mind blanks. I can’t think of anything flirty, sweet, or funny to say.
It’s not often that I’m speechless.
Rupert walks away and I watch his form grow smaller and smaller in the rear-view mirror. My phone is buzzing again and I don’t have to look to know that it’s Sierra. Sucking in a deep breath, I pick up the call and put it on speaker phone as I start the truck. “You’ll never believe the day I’ve had,” I begin.