Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 75414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
What would happen to me then?
My mind was still on those dark thoughts as I made my way into the clubhouse.
“Lolly,” Cain greeted me from where he was kneeling on the floor with the coffee table turned upward.
“Did someone dance on the table again?”
“And the table finally had enough,” he agreed, reaching for a screwdriver. “Nave ran out. But I figure he will be back soon if you want to wait for him.”
“I think I will.”
“There’s fresh coffee in the kitchen. And leftover pizza in the fridge.”
“Thank you,” I said, giving him a smile.
It was so easy for them. To settle in. To interact. Not overthinking anything.
“You alright?” he asked, head tipped to the side.
“Yeah.”
“Not buying it.”
“I just… how do you settle in so easily?” I asked. “You just got here, but it feels like you’re fully integrated.”
“They make it easy here,” he said, shrugging. “It’s clear from the jump that it’s a family. And they treat you like it from the beginning. Why? You not feeling welcome?”
“I’m just… I’ve been alone a really long time,” I admitted. “I feel really awkward.”
“If it helps, you don’t come off as awkward.”
“That does help, actually.”
“And Nave seems crazy about you. So, you’ve got nothing to feel weird about here.”
“Thank you.”
To that, he shrugged. “It’s nothing.”
“Do you need any help?” I asked, having a somewhat working knowledge of some tools now, thanks to Kit and Ariah.
“Listen, sweetheart. I know we are in modern times where women can and should be able to do all the shit men can. And I think a chick with a power tool is hot as fuck. So I say this with all that in mind: the day I let a woman do manual labor for me is the day I want to be dragged out back and shot.”
“That’s… kind of sweet, actually.”
To that, his smile went a little boyish.
“My job is to do the hard shit so my girl can live a soft life.”
“That’s definitely sweet. I didn’t think you had a girl.”
“Talking hypothetically. Maybe hopefully. You know, in a few years.”
“When you get sick of strip poker and body shots,” I said, making a big smile stretch across his handsome face.
“Something like that.”
“Well, good luck with the table. Maybe reinforce it. I don’t think the table dancing is going to stop anytime soon.”
“From your lips to God’s ears,” he said, making a laugh escape me.
I made my way into Nave’s room.
Breathing in his familiar scent had some of my lingering anxiety falling away.
I had no idea how long Nave was going to be gone, so I turned on some music, then went ahead and took myself into the bathroom to take a shower where my elbows wouldn’t ram into the walls when I washed my hair.
I ran my hands over my body, seeing the changes already. Not, I was sure, from the pregnancy itself yet, but just from a more varied, less strict diet that let me pile on a few much-needed pounds. I was fleshier than I’d been back in the glass house.
I saw more curves, fewer bones.
I liked that more than I could have anticipated. Like my body was my own again, not something that Ben had shaped and molded to his preferences.
I climbed out, wrapped myself in a towel, then used the brush I left in Nave’s drawer to untangle my hair.
And just as I was walking out of the bathroom, the bedroom door slid open.
There he was, already kicking off his shoes before he spotted me.
I don’t know where the urge came from.
I just reached out and undid my towel tuck, letting the material drift to the floor.
Nave’s breath rushed out of him, and a sexy little rumbling sound escaped him as his gaze roamed over me.
Emboldened by his reaction, I moved over toward him, reaching for his hands, then leading him over to the bed.
I pushed him to sit, but before his hands could slide over my body, I lowered myself down between his legs.
I watched as his pupils blew wide, a muscle ticking in his jaw before I even touched him.
My palms slid up his thighs, then teased over his lap before working his button and zipper free.
My gaze stayed on his as I reached inside to free him. With my hand still around his length, I stroked him to the base, then up, letting my thumb move around the head.
A small groan escaped him as his hips bucked up involuntarily.
Eyes still on his, I lowered down, teasing my tongue around him, then sucking him into my mouth.
It was all sensation then—his pleasure, my own at his reactions.
But he wouldn’t let me take him across the finish line.
He took hold of my hair, dragging me upward, then grabbing me, turning me, and pulling me down on his lap with my back to his chest.