Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78250 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78250 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
We’d tried to talk to her the morning after, but it’d gone about as well as I might’ve expected from a woman who flinched when her phone rang. She’d perched on the edge of the couch, her eyes darting toward the window like she was mapping escape routes.
Just as we’d tried to get down to business, her phone had buzzed. She’d damn near jumped out of her skin, checked the screen, said it was a friend, and took the call. She’d never come back to finish the conversation.
That was the moment I knew that whatever she’s running from isn’t minor. Because of that, we’d all agreed to wait. To give her space, just like Boone and Chance had been going on about in the kitchen afterward.
About a week later, one of our biggest corporate clients had been hacked, which meant Chance and I have been putting in sixteen-hour days. Boone has been fielding calls left, right, and center, and Roxie is helping wherever she can with data sorting, compiling reports, and making sure we don’t starve.
She’s slid right into the rhythm of the house like she’s always belonged here, working alongside us to get to the other side of the crisis. Of course, once we’d sorted that out, we were behind on just about everything else, and we’ve been working day and night to catch up.
Now, I’m tired of waiting, and even more tired of pretending she’s just an employee instead of the woman I think about every damn night.
Memories of that afternoon haunt me in my dreams no matter when I sleep, and they follow me around long after I’ve woken up.
Even now, all I can think about is how her pussy had milked my cock and how perfectly her back had arched when she’d come. Eventually, the monitors lose my interest completely. I swivel toward the window and see the sky is already darkening again, sunset bleeding through the trees in golden streaks.
Fuck it. I’ve had enough.
Another day is gone and we still haven’t talked. I shake my head, get up, stretch my arms overhead, then march my antsy ass downstairs.
Roxie’s at the kitchen table with her laptop open, tapping away at her keyboard a mile a minute. Her hair is up in that messy bun that makes me crazy. She definitely doesn’t know how sexy she looks with it like that.
“Hey,” I say, leaning against the doorframe and trying to keep a leash on my baser instincts. “How’s it going?”
She looks up, flashing me a quick, tiny smile. “Hey. Are you done for the day?”
“Not even close.” I cross to her and press my hand down on the laptop lid, gently shutting it. “But I’m calling a timeout.”
Her eyebrows lift. “A timeout?”
“Yep. It’s about time we took a proper break. How about dinner tomorrow night? No laptops, no talking about corrupted files, data breaches, or VPNs, and no racing back to work while we’re still chewing.”
She hesitates, eyes on mine, biting her bottom lip like she isn’t sure this is a good idea. Or maybe she’s just forgotten what it feels like when someone asks her to do something normal.
“Dillon…” She trails off, drawing in a deep breath as she fidgets with the hem of her fitted blue tee.
In the weeks she’s been here, I’ve learned that pretty much all she’d packed were T-shirts, jeans, and a few sweaters. After what the guys and I had talked about, it made me wonder if she’d left home, wherever that was, in a rush, but none of us had asked.
Yet another thing we’d let go for much too long.
“It’s just food, and we’ve got a proposal for you,” I say with a grin when it becomes clear she doesn’t know what to say. “Don’t worry, it’s not a marriage proposal. I promise I’ll even let you pick the playlist.”
Finally, after what feels like weeks, I get to hear her laugh. “Okay. Dinner. Tomorrow night.”
“Good,” I say, backing toward the pantry but keeping my eyes on hers. “Do you like lasagna?”
She arches a single eyebrow.
“Who doesn’t like lasagna?” she asks, that playful edge in her voice that I’ve come to crave.
“Perfect.”
“You’re going to ask Boone to make it, aren’t you?”
I waggle my eyebrows at her. “Damn, you’re a fast learner.”
She laughs. “A girl can pick up a few things in almost a month.”
As I turn to pull ingredients for cupcakes from a shelf, I catch her watching me cautiously, but with a flicker of something else behind her eyes.
Something that makes me think maybe the waiting will be over soon. Anticipation zaps through me, racing down my spine and settling in a hot knot at the base of my spine.
I watch her watch me from the corner of my eye, seriously considering just going over there, kissing her, and seeing what happens. But her eyes dart around again. It makes her look like she’s waiting for the floor to drop out from under her, which means this probably isn’t a good time to push my luck.