Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 111980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 373(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 373(@300wpm)
“I do. My sister got it for me,” I say, then gesture to the other plants Rachel picked out—perched on the coffee table. “That’s a Chinese money plant. And a lipstick plant. She calls them Dick, Bill, and Pucker Up.”
Chloe snort-laughs. “Let me guess. You call them Plant.”
“All three of them,” I say.
“But how do they know who you’re talking to?”
“It’s a mystery,” I say.
“They look well-tended.” She taps her temple. “I’m filing this away in the Sawyer file—you have a green thumb.”
“Does this surprise you?”
“Not one bit,” she says, then gives a sassy shrug. “I am terrible at tending to plants. I can’t even keep a succulent alive.”
I tap my temple. “I’ll put that in the Chloe file.”
“I bet it’s a huge and fascinating file,” she says.
She has no idea how often I flip through it. “Sure is. All sorts of likes and dislikes. Mostly your likes—my dick, my dick, my dick.”
“Shut up,” she says, laughing.
“The truth is hard to swallow, isn’t it?”
“Like your dick,” she says.
I laugh, then loop my arm around her waist and tug her close. “I told you so.”
She furrows her brow, suspicion in her gaze. “Told me what?”
“That I wanted you here. That I wasn’t keeping this from you. My home,” I say, more vulnerable than I’d planned to be. But she’s earned it.
Maybe we’ve earned it.
“Show me around then. Make your bedroom the last stop.”
Doesn’t take long. Pretty sure we’ve got other things on our minds, but I also suspect her dog will appreciate the tour more than Chloe. It’ll make him more comfortable here. And if he feels at home, that’ll make our time together even better.
After I take her through the kitchen, the small office and the downstairs guest room, I show her the back door. “There’s a tiny yard, but it’s fenced in, so he’ll be safe every time he’s here,” I say, patting Captain’s flank, then stopping when I replay what I just said.
Every time he’s here.
I pull my gaze back to her, and Chloe’s lips are parted…maybe in surprise?
Shit.
I hope I haven’t said too much. “So that’s it. But it’s all mine,” I say, and wow, that’s not terribly nice. Can I underscore any more that I’m scarred from my last romance?
“Nothing wrong with being all yours,” Chloe says, offering a smile maybe of understanding.
Possibly it’s a reminder that we’re both in the same boat—we’re on the anti-romance ferry? Except, I hardly feel anti-romantic with her.
I feel…a little too much.
And feelings are dangerous.
“Let me show you upstairs,” I say and gesture to the staircase.
“What? No ride up the steps?”
In no time, I scoop her up and toss her over my shoulder, grabbing her duffel and the bag full of dog toys too. I hike her dress all the way to her fine ass, then push up the lace covering one cheek. “For that, you need to be spanked.”
“Oh no. Not the spanking,” she says dryly.
I swat her ass as I climb the steps.
And her tone is no longer dry. It’s hot and bothered as she squirms over my shoulder, a sexy little murmur falling from her lips.
I swat her again.
“Ohhh,” she gasps.
And my woman likes spanking. She couldn’t be more perfect for me. I slide my hand over one exposed cheek, soothing the sting.
She wiggles a little bit as I take another step. I’m near the top when I lift my hand once more and my palm comes down hard on her flesh.
She lets out a long, craven whimper.
It goes straight to my balls. And somehow, incomprehensibly, to my heart. Why the hell is a sex moan doing funny things to my chest? No idea, but my heart beats a little faster as I turn the corner.
We arrive at my bedroom a few seconds later, and I set her down on the bed, red dress and black heels and all my fantasies spread out on a gray cover.
I drop the bags next to her as she runs a hand across the linen. “Of course your duvet is gray. It’s so serious.”
“And I will seriously fuck you on it,” I say, then pull down her panties and toss them somewhere. With her half naked, I grab her waist, flip her over, and whisper in her ear, “You want my hand again, sweetheart? You want this perfect ass all nice and red? You want me to make you wet with the way I spank you? Then fuck you till you’re coming all over my gray cover?”
Her breath comes in a harsh pant. “Yes, please.”
“Good answer,” I say.
“But first,” she says, then dips her hand into the bag and grabs the alligator. She tosses it to the doorway. A quick glance tells me Captain’s there patiently waiting, and now he’ll be busy too.
I hike Chloe up to all fours, and fuck, there’s never been a more gorgeous sight than Chloe in her red dress, the material spilling over the bed, her ass on display, and her pretty pussy glistening already.