Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 129951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Oh God.
My belly plummeted, I held tighter around his neck since my legs refused to support me, both because he tasted good and he kissed even better.
I had a hand in his hair and a deep need in my core by the time he lifted his head.
I swam out from under the haze of his kiss, opened my eyes, encountered sheer male beauty and whispered, “Hey.”
His mouth and eyes smiled, up close and gorgeous.
“Hey,” he whispered back.
He probably never said that word in his life, not like that, but to me, it sounded amazing.
“That was for throwing yourself into my arms,” he stated.
“I didn’t—”
“This is for agreeing to stay at The Downs,” he went on.
And he dropped his mouth to mine and kissed me again.
Right.
The other one?
Superb.
This one?
Hot and wild and insane.
After a weeklong tease, we were primed.
God, so primed.
He went at me, and I went at him.
Then I was shuffled back, I hit wall, and he went at me harder, so I did the same.
By the time he lifted his head, I was panting, and thankfully (because I didn’t want to be the only one seriously affected by our kiss), he was also breathing heavily.
“Christ, I knew that mouth would unravel me,” he growled.
Ugh!
He was driving me crazy!
“Stop being sexy,” I warned.
He stopped gazing at my mouth to gaze into my eyes. “Is that what you really want?”
“I’m supposed to be having a drink with your sisters right about now.”
“They can wait.”
“And then dinner with them.”
“Maybe they’ll go on without us.”
“They can’t.” I took my hand from his hair (soft and lush, I’m so dead), smoothed it then smoothed the lapel on his very nice, blue suit. “I don’t want you to freak, but I think today was too much for Chassie.”
Slowly, his head turned toward the door.
I know it would cause emotional pain.
Damn.
He really was such a good guy.
He looked down at me. “She seemed fine when I arrived.”
“Really?”
“She’s down in the lounge, having a drink with Prue.”
“Oh,” I mumbled. “Maybe I’m being overly sensitive.”
“Why did you think that?”
“She got quiet on the ride back from the gardens. Then disappeared during Prue’s tour. Your house is fab, by the way.”
His lips twitched. “Thank you, by the way.”
“You’re welcome.” I used both hands to fiddle with his lapels, watching my fingers move as I muttered, “Maybe she was just being Chassie. Prue and I can talk a blue streak, and Tempie doesn’t keep her mouth shut if she has something to say. Maybe she was just being quiet.”
He gave me a squeeze, gaining my attention. “We’ll have a mind.”
I nodded.
Then I tipped my head to the side. “Who told you I decided to stay at The Downs?”
“Prue texted me earlier.”
Of course.
Prue.
He pulled back just a smidge and started, “Vivienne, if—”
But I put my fingers to his lips. They even felt good.
“I can be prideful,” I admitted.
He wisely kept those lips closed.
I took my hand from them. “It still makes me a bit uncomfortable, but I’ll get over it.”
“Good,” he murmured.
“And I’m sorry I threw your generosity in your face,” I carried on. “That wasn’t cool.”
“Darling.”
That was all he said, sweet and tender, and as it was so much of both, that was all he had to say.
I grinned at him. “Do I get a kiss for giving in about dinner?”
“Only if you wish me to close that door and not see my sisters until I deposit you back at The Downs tomorrow evening,” he paused, “Or Saturday morning.”
“Tease,” I accused jovially.
He shrugged.
I rolled my eyes.
He touched his lips to mine as I did it, so I stopped halfway through.
When he lifted away, he asked, “Are you ready to go down?”
“Just need to put on my lippie and get my bag.”
With two big hands smoothing along the satin of my dress across my back and down my hips, leaving fire in their wake, he stepped away from me.
Total tease.
I successfully avoided the dog on the way back to the bathroom.
Battle lounged in the doorway watching me slick on lipstick.
“And you call me a tease,” he said while I did it.
I took the tube away, looking at him in the mirror. “What?”
“Darling, your ass in that dress?”
I twisted, like I could see my ass.
“Unless you’re so inclined,” he began, “which thankfully, I just discovered you’re not, I don’t believe you’ll react to it the same way I do even if you could contort yourself to see it.”
This hot man thought I was hot.
God, I loved that.
I grinned at him and went back to my lipstick.
It was highly erotic, doing that with him watching me. Even dropping the tube in my bag and walking to him as I finished.
But it was only sweet when he took my hand and led me to the door, Bartholomew lugging himself along with us, as we went to join his sisters.