Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 67644 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67644 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
He stalked towards me, and anyone in his path hurried out of the way. Not that he even noticed since his gaze held mine the entire time, never straying from my face. By the time he reached me, I had goosebumps running up my spine, my panties were damp, and I was wishing I hadn’t changed into jean shorts, a T-shirt, and flip-flops before I came downstairs. This man was so far out of my league, but at least it wouldn’t have been quite as obvious if I was still wearing the dress and heels I’d had on from an early morning meeting before my flight. Although with the way his blue eyes were devouring me, he didn’t seem to mind. Not even a tiny bit.
3
Drew
Autumn looked fucking adorable in her casual clothes and flip-flops that showed off cute, pink tipped toes. Unexpected possession flared up again and I actually hated that anyone was seeing those toes but me. When I saw her approach the cashier earlier, I’d been ready to kick Juan’s ass at the way he’d ogled Autumn. I didn’t know what he was saying to her, but I was confident that if I’d been able to hear it, he would be sporting a broken nose. My expression turned ugly as I stepped into his line of sight and stared him down.
Then the idiot had almost alerted Autumn to her “special status,” having obviously seen that the credit had been issued with my personal code and that she was currently staying in the Silver Suite, which had only ever been used by my close friends and family. Luckily, she hadn’t caught on to his dumbfounded attitude.
I stood at the entrance of the casino and simply watched her for a while. Then she seemed to sense my attention and looked around curiously. When she found me on the casino floor, I considered looking away so that I didn’t freak her out with my intensity. But, her eyes, which I now saw were a dark coffee brown, did their own survey of my body and gleamed with approval.
Our gazes locked as I stalked towards her and though she looked confused at my notice, there was a spark of heated interest. I smiled as I reached her and dropped down onto the stool of the slot machine next to her.
“I considered using a pickup line on you, but I couldn’t think of one that wasn’t cheesy and didn’t reek of desperation. So, I’ve decided to go with the bold and honest approach”—I held out my hand—"I’m Andrew. Drew. And, you are fucking gorgeous.”
Her cheeks flushed prettily but she didn’t shy away. She stuck her hand in mine and her glossy lips—damn, I wanted to kiss those—tipped up. “Autumn. And, you’re not so bad yourself, blue eyes.” I grinned and brought her hand to my lips, brushing them over the back before reluctantly releasing it.
“Out of curiosity,” she started in a playful tone. “If you’d gone with a line, what would you have settled on?”
“Hmmm.” I scratched my beard as I thought for a minute, then winked at her. “If nothing lasts forever, will you be my nothing?” Autumn laughed and the musical sound sent shockwaves of desire pulsing through me.
“Not bad. I might have gone with the one about stars in your eyes.”
“That’s a good one. But, why not go for the true reward right off the bat? ‘Kiss me if I’m wrong, but Dinosaurs still exist, right’?”
This time, Autumn threw back her head as peals of laughter rang out. Her midnight curls hung to her shoulder blades and they bounced merrily, calling out to my fingers. I wanted to feel those soft strands in my fist as I devoured her sexy mouth.
I didn’t want to seem too creepy-stalkerish, so I tore my eyes away from her to look at the machine she’d been playing. “Nickel slots? I think you can do better, sunshine,” I joked.
She shrugged with a grin and gestured to the screen, showing three cherries on a line of five fruit. “I don’t want to lose too much money, just have a little fun. Besides, it says right there that this machine pays out 97%!”
“Don’t you know? Slots have the worst odds.” I looked around before leaning in conspiratorially and stage whispered, “I’ll let you in on a little secret.” Autumn giggled and moved closer so our foreheads were almost touching. “Technically, yes, this machine pays out 97% over the course of play. But, we have no way of knowing the odds of this slot machine. The program assigns each symbol a certain number of stops. Without knowing that information, the odds of hitting three symbols in a row or the jackpot can vary from .16% to 0.001%. Instead, it pays out small amounts at a time, just enough to keep you playing and hoping you’ll eventually win a larger amount and losing more in the long run.” I tipped my head to the side and gave her a wry smile. “House edge.”