Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 113330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
I suppose it makes sense Chad Roman is the only one coming up. He’s the player who went on to get drafted into the NFL, not Roman. He’s the one who then became a superstar player in the league, while Roman faded into football obscurity and opened his gym. The thought makes my heart pang for Roman. No wonder he doesn’t want to talk about his college playing days. For a kid who grew up dreaming of NFL glory, not making it into the pros, for whatever reason, must have been a tough pill to swallow.
“Hey, Copilot,” Roman says. “Is that the trailhead?”
I jerk my gaze up from my phone to find Roman slowing the car and pointing to an almost imperceptible clearing in the thick rainforest alongside the highway.
As the car passes the spot Roman’s indicating, I quickly swipe from my browser to my navigation app before sheepishly confirming, “Yeah, that was it. Oops.”
To my relief, Roman chuckles. “You had one job, Copilot.”
“Sorry, Pilot. My mind wandered for a minute there.”
Roman pats my thigh. “No worries, sweetheart. Let your mind wander as much as you need.”
My shoulders soften. Sweetheart. Brandon wouldn’t have reacted like that if I’d messed up in the same way. He’d have chastised me for getting distracted after he’d expressly told me to pay attention.
A short distance from the trailhead, Roman parks the car, and when we exit the vehicle, he doesn’t hesitate to peel off his shirt and shove it into his backpack, along with our supplies.
My God, he looks like a god among men. “If you’re going to hike shirtless,” I say, trying not to ogle him, “let me spray you with bug spray and sunscreen.”
Roman snickers. “Are you a preschool teacher, by any chance?”
“Safety first,” I chirp with my index finger raised, and Roman hoots with laughter.
I spray him down carefully, admiring my canvas as I do, and Roman returns the favor. But as he rubs everything into my skin, he leans into my ear and murmurs, “I hope you’re happy, you sadist. I’ll be starting the hike with a big ol’ boner, thanks to you.”
I giggle. “You won’t be alone. I’ve got my own version of a boner.”
Roman walks me two steps backward and gently pushes me against his car before pressing his hard-on into me. With a wicked grin, he says, “What can I say? I’m hot for teacher.” With that, he leans in and kisses me, and we make out against the car for several delightful minutes. When it’s obvious he’s gotten me extremely hot and bothered, Roman slides his hand into my shorts and fingers me so deliciously, I wind up having an orgasm against the car, just as a random vehicle zips past us on the highway.
“Shoot,” I blurt, as the car disappears down the road. “We need to be more careful. What if they recognized me?”
Roman laughs. “They were going fifty miles per hour, at least. If they saw anything, it was the blur of a horny couple kissing on the side of the road.”
I exhale. “Still, I can’t risk going viral again. Never again. I need to stay out of the limelight, no matter what.”
Roman’s smile fades. He touches my hair. “I’m sorry. I’ll be much more careful from now on.”
“Thank you.” I bite my lip. “Also, thank you for that orgasm. That was a first for me—an orgasm in the wild.” I point to the huge bulge straining behind the fabric of Roman’s shorts. “What about that bad boy? Do you want to crawl into the back seat and let me take care of that for you?” I waggle my eyebrows to entice him.
Roman’s dark eyes blaze as he drags his teeth over his lower lip. “It pains me to say this, but no. You’re right. We should be more careful than that.” He waggles his eyebrows the way I did a moment ago. “But this is a rain check, okay? I’ll gladly let you ‘take care of this bad boy’ in the privacy of the bungalow tonight.”
Chapter 16
Iris
“This hike is incredible.” I have to raise my voice to be heard above the crashing of the nearby waterfall. Also, talking is hard when you’re out of breath from hiking.
“I didn’t overpromise?”
“Not at all.” I can’t believe Roman’s not out of breath in the slightest. Is he even human?
Roman stops walking, so I do, too. Thank God.
“I think I remember the best viewpoint being somewhere up there,” he says, gesturing toward a nearby grouping of boulders—a configuration that looks awfully steep and slippery to me.
“That looks kind of treacherous,” I say warily. “I’m wearing gym shoes, not top-of-the-line hiking boots with thick tread like you.” Not to mention, I’m not superhuman like him.
“I’ll carry you on my back,” Roman says breezily, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “You’ve gotta see this view.” Before I reply, he slides off his backpack, squats down, and offers his broad back to me. “Hop aboard.”