Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 125135 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125135 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Come on, light… Come on, light…change already.
But it didn’t happen fast enough. A slow, cocky grin spread across Holden’s face and he pointed to mine. “Liar!”
“Oh my God!” I covered my face with both hands. “Fine, I did. I snooped, okay? I just couldn’t help myself, even though I knew it was wrong.”
He shook his head as the light turned green. “Sweet little Lala Ellison, AKA the good one, turns out to be a criminal.”
My face was bright red when I took my hands away. “I’m really so sorry, Holden. Can you forgive me?”
He glanced over with a mischievous smile. “Of course I can.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you. I thought you were going to give me a harder time about it.”
Holden put on his blinker as we approached my office. He held up his pointer. “Not so fast. I wasn’t finished with my sentence. What I was going to say was, of course I can forgive you, once I get to invade your privacy.”
“Invade my privacy? What does that entail?”
Holden pulled into a spot in front of my office and shifted the van into park. He held out his right hand. “Let me see your purse. Tit for tat. I get to see what you keep in there. Then we’ll be even, and I’ll forgive you.”
“What? No!” No way was I letting him look inside my bag, especially since I hadn’t unpacked it from my trip home yet.
But Holden reached over and snatched my purse from my lap. He immediately switched it to his left hand and held it up in the air and out of my reach. I lunged for it, but the damn seatbelt snapped me back into my seat.
“Holden, give it back!”
“Oh? Did you have something private in here? Like the things in my wallet?”
In my panic, it took me longer than normal to release the seatbelt. But when I did, I jumped from my seat and grabbed for the purse. Holden was laughing and smiling. I yanked it from his hands, but the strap was still caught around his arm, which caused an unexpected pull back, and my purse flipped upside down, spilling its contents all over…
Including my vibrator.
My.
Vibrator!
I froze.
Holden’s eyes flared wide.
And of course, Holden being Holden, he proceeded to reach down and grab it.
“What do we have here, lovely Lala?” He waved it around between us. “Were you using this magic wand while watching porn after I left last night?”
I was pretty sure my face was glowing with fire. Snatching it from his hands, I shoved it back into my purse and opened the van door. “I wasn’t watching porn last night! Were you watching porn while you jerked off last night? Are you projecting your guilty conscience on me now?”
“No, ma’am. I haven’t watched porn lately.” Holden’s eyes dropped to my lips. “I’m too busy thinking about the one woman I could never have while I jerk off.”
There was only one way to respond to that comment. Jumping out, I grabbed my boxes, then the door handle, and…slam!
CHAPTER 10
Holden
Thinking about what Lala does with that damn vibrator was the only thing that had been able to get me off lately. Believe me, I wished another woman would capture my attention. This forbidden-fruit fixation on Lala wasn’t healthy, and it was time I moved on from it; I just didn’t know how. The more I tried not to think about her, the more I did.
All this week, I’d once again attempted to put some space between us. But as always, the need to see her eventually wore me down. I’d always convince myself that this time it would be innocent. Such as tonight, when I’d decided to knock on her door to see what she was up to and if maybe she wanted to grab a bite to eat.
To my surprise, when she opened the door, she wasn’t alone. There was a woman there I’d never met before.
Lala’s eyes widened. “Holden.”
“Hey.” I turned to her friend. “Who’s this?”
The dark-haired girl answered before Lala could. “I’m Tia. And Laney clearly has been holding out on me.”
Lala cleared her throat. “Tia is one of my admins from work and a friend.”
“Oh, yeah. Okay.” I nodded. “Nice to meet you.”
Lala turned to her. “Holden is one of my brother’s friends and my next-door neighbor.”
“And sometimes I rescue her from broken-down vehicles and locked doors.” I winked.
“I might have to fake an accident so you can rescue me.” Tia laughed.
Well, alright then. This chick was nothing if not forward. She was practically fucking me with her eyes, too.
Meanwhile Lala’s face was beet red. Of course, I could’ve gone easy on her and left right away. But I was sort of getting off on the fact that my being here made her all flustered.
She finally stepped back, allowing me to enter her apartment, and I made myself comfortable, leaning against the arm of the couch. “What are you guys up to this fine Friday evening?”