Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 92397 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92397 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
“Hang on. You agree with it?”
Her answer came in the form of silence.
She rolled her eyes. “We’re perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves.”
He grunted.
“Anyway, speaking of hawks, we need to get you back on the schedule.” She pulled out her phone and showed him the finished drawing of his next piece.
When he grabbed her phone, his long, warm fingers brushed against hers.
The same fingers that had been inside her that very morning.
At the memory, heat shot through her and landed right between her legs. Where she was already sore. But a little discomfort wouldn’t stop her from going back to his place and doing it all over again if he offered.
Only, so far, he hadn’t offered. Maybe she had been awful at it.
Would he tell the truth if she asked? Only one way to find out. “Umm…”
Using two fingers, Ash expanded the picture on her phone and studied it. His face was much softer when he looked up. “Get me on your schedule as soon as you got an openin’.”
She held out her hand. “Let me check my calendar.”
He locked the screen and placed the phone face down on the table. “Just check it tomorrow and lemme know. You’re done workin’ for the night. You were startin’ to say somethin’. What?”
She was? Oh yeah. “I wanted to check…to see if…”
His eyes narrowed on her. “See what?”
“If it was acceptable.” She sank her teeth into her bottom lip so hard, she was surprised she didn’t cut it.
His head twitched and his fingers on the hand next to her phone curled. “Don’t get what you’re askin’.”
Her cheeks burned. “If I was acceptable.” How mortifying.
He blinked.
“If I sucked in bed.” The words rushed out of her before she could stop them.
Oops. That had been too loud. She quickly glanced around. Good thing nobody was sitting in the nearby booths due to how late it was.
“Baby, you didn’t do much. I did most of the work. Should be askin’ you instead.”
“You should ask me if you sucked?” Was he crazy?
“Yeah.” He watched her face closely.
He had to notice her confused expression. “Why would you suck?”
“Was tryin’ to make it good for your first time. From what I hear, the first time usually ain’t good.”
“From what you hear? What…” Her eyes went wide and her lips parted as a soft hiss escaped her. “I can’t be your first.”
“No, baby, I was your first.”
“I meant: I can’t be your first virgin.”
He didn’t confirm or deny it.
Holy shit. “Ash…”
He covered her hand with his and squeezed slightly. “Now you had time to fuckin’ think about it, you good with what happened?”
“Yes. It was what I wanted.”
“Was it what you expected?”
She shrugged. “I don’t have anything to compare it to.”
“Got that. But was there anythin’ you didn’t like about it?”
“No.”
“Good. Prolly’ll get a better handle on it. Figure out what you like and don’t fuckin’ like once you’re with the right guy.”
Why did it look like he struggled to get that last part out?
Time to go all in. “Or you can help me practice.”
He removed his hand from hers and sat back again. “Told you, ain’t for you.”
“You should let me decide that.”
“You ain’t the only one involved. I got a say, too, remember?”
But Lyric didn’t like what he was saying, that was the problem. “Maybe you can teach me more. Like a friends-with-benefits arrangement.”
His eyes shuttered and he sat straighter in the booth across from her. “Deserve better than that.”
“Just who is better than you?”
“Lyric—”
“Who? I trust you, which makes you the best to teach me. It’s true.”
“No, baby, it ain’t.” When he ground his hand back and forth against the back of his neck, he appeared to be gearing up for what he said next. “Tell me what you want in a man.”
“One as wise as my father. Who also looks at me the same way he looks at my mother.”
“Wanna man, not a boy, then,” he concluded.
Of course. But more like one particular man.
“No, not just any man. An extraordinary one. I want a relationship like what they have. You can see, taste, smell, and feel my parents’ love. It’s actually tangible. My father would die for her.” That was both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. Not too many people would be willing to give their life up for another.
“Any OG would die for his woman.”
That was true. Same for his parents, too. “Just as I’m sure as Hawk would do the same for Kiki.”
“No fuckin’ doubt. If somethin’ happened to her and she was still breathin’, he’d go fuckin’ ballistic and get revenge. If she wasn’t, he’d go ballistic, get his fuckin’ revenge, then follow her down the same path.”
Damn. “Would you?”
He hesitated for a couple of heartbeats. “If I had one.”
“What about you?”
“Just answered that.”
“No, what are you looking for in an ol’ lady? The woman you’d die for.”