Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
“Your cheeks are a pretty pink.” I brush the backs of my knuckles softly against one of them, feeling the warmth of her skin.
Her face goes even brighter, and she giggles like she’s embarrassed. “I was thinking about you helping me into bed.”
Now it’s my skin that’s heating as I swallow a gulp of air. “Do you need help getting to bed?”
Even though I know that absolutely nothing will be happening between us in her bedroom tonight, I’m holding my breath during the silence that follows.
“I’ll be okay.” Her response is barely above a whisper, and she makes no move to go.
She keeps looking up at me as I stroke my thumb over her cheek and down to her chin. Her body shifts closer to mine, her hand touching my hip as I brush my finger across her bottom lip, pressing gently.
When her lips part, I go in, tipping up her chin with one finger, keeping my touch light, giving her plenty of opportunity to pull away.
But she doesn’t.
She doesn’t do anything at first, but as I start to kiss her, she gives a little sigh that sends a rush of blood down to my cock.
Such a sweet, soft sigh. There’s so much I want to do with this woman, and this kiss is only the beginning.
Reminding myself to move slower than a sloth, I pull back and take a breath before returning for another taste of her. My hand slides around to her upper back, and with gentle pressure, I bring her closer.
Her hand rests on my side, light as a feather, but when I angle my mouth and take the kiss deeper, her fingertips curl into me, and now it’s me holding back a sigh.
I’ve been focused on making her comfortable, barely taking the time to savor the fact that I’m finally kissing Ava, and it’s wonderful. She’s beautiful and lovely and perfect, and if her hands keep gripping my shirt, it’s going to get hard to take things slow.
It’s going to get hard, period. In fact, it’s already happening.
I take one final sip of her before I straighten, keeping my hand on her cheek, where I continue to caress her. “How was that?” My voice is quiet, almost hoarse.
This time, the long beat of silence fills me with pride, because her eyes tell me what she’s thinking before she says a word. She enjoyed the kiss, and she’s dazed from it.
AVA
“That was nice,” I manage to say once I catch my breath. Huge understatement. “Good. It was really good,” I add.
It was incredible and amazing, but I’m still processing it, and it would only seem to highlight my naivete if I were to rave about a kiss.
But wow, it was a great kiss.
And from Erik, who, before today, I hadn’t thought considered me anything more than a friend.
He nods, the hint of a smile playing on his lips as he looks down at me. Then he bends and gives me one more quick, final kiss before he pulls away. “Have a good night, Ava.”
“Good night, Erik.”
Leaning on my door, because my legs are a little weak—from the kiss, not the drink—I watch him go. After a couple of steps, he turns around, and my heart flutters when I think he might kiss me again.
Instead, he says, “Don’t forget to lock your door.”
“Oh, right. Goodnight.” I give him a small wave and close the door, turning the locks as instructed.
He’s such a good friend. A big, strong, handsome friend who always looks out for me. A friend who’s kissed me.
“Friends … with benefits?” My mind goes back to Gray’s question, and my heart beats faster at the idea of taking that step with Erik. But would it ruin our friendship?
After slipping out of my shoes, I collapse on the couch and finish off the bottle of water Erik bought for me. Mostly out of habit, I click on the tv and find one of the series I’ve been working through, but after a couple of minutes, I realize I can’t concentrate enough to follow the plot. I pick up one of my crochet projects from the basket on the side table and let my hands work while I ponder.
Everything inside me, from my head to my toes, feels jumbled up—a swirl of sensations and emotions and thoughts that don’t quite come together.
Erik, Brax, and Gray are such different men, and yet they inspire very similar physical reactions in me. I feel a bit wild, having feelings like this for three men, but there’s something special about them.
I interact with plenty of men as I go about my daily life, and none of them have made me feel things like these three do.
But it’s a problem, because I’m not supposed to want three men. I’m not even supposed to be kissing any men outside of marriage, and I’m definitely not supposed to be wanting the things they make me want, just by the way they look at me.