Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 45210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
She rolls her eyes. “I can’t eat if you’re staring at me.”
I avert my eyes, but I don’t want to. There’s a need inside me to see her eat and know she’s nourished. I’m going crazy, that’s all I can think. I’ve never felt an urge like this, but I can’t stifle it. “All right, I’m not watching. Can you eat now?”
From my peripheral vision, I see her lift the sandwich and take a bite. Relief settles over me.
I keep my eyes averted while she eats some more. When she’s eaten half the sandwich, she sets it on her plate. I get up to grab her a drink, chips, and fruit from the kitchen. I set it all down in front of her and then remember the cookies in the cupboard. I go grab those and then set them down in front of her too.
She’s looking at me wide-eyed. “What are you doing? What is this?”
“I want you to eat.”
She laughs. “I am eating, but if I eat all this, I’ll gain ten pounds.”
“Can we talk?”
She grabs a napkin from the table, wipes her mouth, and sets it down. “Yes.”
I push the fruit toward her. “You can eat. I’ll talk.”
She picks up a strawberry and bites off the end of it. I avert my eyes from her lips. “Okay, so house rules.”
She stops chewing, starts again, and then swallows. “House rules? You want to make house rules when I’m only going to be here for tonight?”
I don’t want her to leave. That’s the first thing that comes to my mind. I run my hand across my scruffy chin. Ignoring her comment, I continue, “So house rules. You can’t leave.”
Her jaw drops, and then I realize how that sounded. “I mean, of course you can leave. I’m not holding you as a prisoner or anything, but I mean, no running. If you don’t want to live here, okay. We’ll work it out, but I need to know you’re safe.”
She frowns at me, but she doesn’t disagree, so I keep going. “You eat when you’re hungry.”
She bursts out a laugh. “You’re going to make me eat.”
I wave my hand toward her. “I don’t want you to be hungry. If you want something to eat, you eat. If you want something I don’t have, tell me and I’ll get it. But you don’t go hungry.”
She shifts uncomfortably in her seat. “I really don’t think you have to worry about me eating, Kanan. Have you looked at me? I eat.”
“Yeah, and you’re perfect.”
She starts to stutter, and I know I’m saying too much. I push my chair back and walk away from the table. “So no running, and you eat.”
She looks confused. “So I can’t just run away, and you want me to eat.”
I nod.
She shrugs. “Sure, okay. Sounds easy enough.”
I move to the couch and sit down. “I need to sleep.” I know I sound like an asshole, but I need to put some distance between us. She grabs the leftover food and carries it to the kitchen. I watch with hooded eyes as she goes back and forth between the table and the kitchen, putting all the uneaten food away. I shouldn’t be thinking the things I’m thinking, and I clench my eyes shut and try to get the image of her, the one burned in my brain, out.
She walks to the bedroom. “Well, good night, Kanan. Thank you again, and I promise I’ll be out of here soon.”
I don’t answer her. I’m holding my breath and don’t let it out until she shuts the bedroom door. I sit up and slide my shoes and socks off. I hate the idea of Emerson seeing my arm, but there’s no way I’ll be able to sleep with long sleeves on, so I undo the button-up and pull it off. When I get to my T-shirt, I leave it on. After tugging off my pants, I force myself to lie back and try to clear my mind, but it’s fuckin’ impossible. She’s lying in my bed, her face is on my pillow, and I wonder if I go in there tomorrow if her scent will be left on my bed. My cock hardens, and I reach down, wrapping my hand around my girth. The need to come is overwhelming, but I’m not going to do anything about it now. I can’t.
I release my hold on my cock and cross my arms over my chest. I burrow into the lumpy couch and know that no matter how hard I try, I’m not going to be going to sleep anytime soon. No, because all I’m going to be thinking about is a curvy Emerson in my bed and how badly I wish I was in there with her.
CHAPTER 6
EMERSON
I’m exhausted, and I thought I’d be able to go to sleep easily. I thought as soon as my head hit the pillow, I would be out of it, but that’s not the case. For the first hour, I tossed and turned. The comfort I thought I’d get from lying in Kanan’s bed and being surrounded by the smell of him excited me more than relaxed me. The second hour, all I can think about is how my life has gone to hell and I’m not sure how I’m going to fix it. My mom is gone, and I have no idea where she is. I have five hundred dollars to my name, and I have no car and no home. I’ve pretty much pushed myself onto Kanan, and I know I’ve put him in a bad place.