Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 39756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 199(@200wpm)___ 159(@250wpm)___ 133(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 199(@200wpm)___ 159(@250wpm)___ 133(@300wpm)
Reluctantly, Ehren met his gaze and shrugged. “Never mind. It’s not a big deal.”
“It’s a very big deal. I would love to see your place and spend more time with you, but I’m afraid of things getting out of control. I’m very attracted to you, but I also want to respect your needs. You’ve lost a family member. You’re exhausted from travel. You’ve also had to deal with a horrible ex. You’re emotionally vulnerable, and I will not take advantage of that.”
“Wow,” Ehren breathed. “I’ve never been told no and felt more turned-on in my life. Do they teach that in shrink school?”
“Some,” Stephen admitted, trying hard not to laugh.
“Would it help if I told you that I’m totally attracted to you too?”
“No. But if you’re attracted to me now, I trust that you’ll still be attracted to me when we meet for our second date, and you’ve had more time to process and recover from all that’s happened.”
Ehren sighed heavily but topped it with a small grin. “Yeah, you’re right. Thank you, Dr. Sands, for saving me from my libido.”
“Smartass,” he muttered.
“Then just come in for coffee. Only coffee, I swear.”
“I don’t know…” Stephen was weakening and he knew it. He was only so strong, and Ehren was so very adorable. He could hold on to his self-control. He wouldn’t break.
“It’s not even eight o’clock. Still early. We’ll have one tiny cup and chat some more. You can tell me about your family.”
“Okay, but only one cup. We can figure out what we want to do for our next date.”
It didn’t take Stephen long to realize they were both lying to themselves.
Chapter Two
Ehren wasn’t sure which of them broke first. But he was so glad that it happened.
The walk from the restaurant to his high-rise condo was only a few blocks, giving them the chance to talk more.
And yes, he was stupidly giddy over the fact that they’d held hands almost the entire way.
Everything in his brain was screaming that Stephen—no, Dr. Stephen Sands—was too good to be true. Once he’d gotten over that whole pretending Stephen was supposed to be his date and treated it like a blind date, it was one of the best dinners he’d had in far too long. Stephen was funny, sweet, and so very charming. He wasn’t just intelligent, he had emotional intelligence as well.
Clearly, Ehren had spent way too much time dating men whose great existential question was: Can I stick my dick in it or rub my dick against it?
Not that there was anything wrong with sex. Ehren was simply tired of feeling like sex was the only thing.
But then they got into his elevator and all those high ideals, morals, and sensible thinking went the fuck out the window.
They were standing side by side, shoulders barely brushing. Somehow the temperature skyrocketed to a thousand degrees and there was no air. Ehren’s skin tingled in anticipation, and there wasn’t supposed to be any anticipation. It was just coffee and talking.
He looked up at Stephen, because of course this gorgeous man had about three inches in height that left his inner bottom bitch screaming, “Bend me over, daddy, and fuck me hard.” Maybe Stephen read that in his eyes. Maybe he heard the tiny whimper he couldn’t quite hold in.
The next thing he knew, Stephen was molded to his body while pressing him into the wall. The elevator railing dug into his spine, but that was nothing compared to the hard dick rubbing against his hip. Stephen kissed like a dream. Lips soft and full. Tongue wickedly stroking along his in a firm, insistent way that Ehren could feel all the way to his cock.
No one had ever kissed him like that. Hungry and desperate but with just enough control that left Ehren feeling completely safe with him.
Digging his fingers into Stephen’s back and ass, Ehren pulled him in tighter, wanting to feel every inch of his taut body while pillaging his mouth. He made sure he gave as good as he got. He chased Stephen’s tongue, wrestling him on his home turf. Someone moaned. It was probably him. Stephen felt amazing, and Ehren was confident that he was doing his best slutty porn star impersonation.
The elevator dinged and he managed to look up to find that the doors had opened at his floor. For half a second, he thought about staying right there, but his condo had flat, soft surfaces. His condo meant naked.
“My floor,” Ehren mumbled.
“Huh?” Stephen grunted and glanced around, seeming confused about where they were and why they were there.
“My floor. My place.”
Stephen blinked and shook his head, waking from his kissing stupor. “Fuck.” He smiled sheepishly at Ehren before jumping away to catch the door as it tried to close.
By the time they were walking down the hall, Stephen’s expression was schooled into something more serious, which meant the blood had flowed to his brain, thwarting all of Ehren’s hopes of getting off.