Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 95049 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95049 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
My thoughts go to our date tonight before she was almost taken … the touching, the talking, the banter. She’s so beautiful and damn sexy, but it’s more than the physical attraction that has me wanting more with her. She’s fun to hang out with. I feel like when we talk, she listens and hears me. And then there’s the fact that she genuinely cares about my son. I have no doubt she’d do anything to keep him safe.
“Like … she might be the fucking one.”
Dani grins. “That’s what I thought.”
When I get back to the condo, I thank Bri and Kane for hanging out, and then I head straight to the kitchen, setting the groceries I bought on the way home on the counter.
“Whatcha got there?” Vanessa asks, hopping onto the counter.
She changed out of her dress and into her pajamas—an oversize T-shirt and tiny cotton shorts, which I only know she’s wearing because the shirt lifts, exposing a sliver of them.
“You never got your milkshake.” I pull the ice cream, milk, and Oreos out of the bag, along with the whipped cream, and set them on the counter.
I grab the blender and add all the ingredients into it, then turn it on. Once it’s blended, I pour it into a large mason jar and squirt some whipped cream on top before pushing a glass straw—which Vanessa keeps on hand for her iced coffees—into the jar.
“You didn’t have to do that,” she says, taking a sip of the shake. “Oh God,” she moans. “That’s so good.”
“Keep that shit up, and I’ll give you something else to moan about,” I mutter.
She smirks. “Here, try a sip.”
She opens her legs and moves the straw in front of my mouth, inviting me closer. Once I’m situated between her thighs, I take a sip. I’m not usually one for sweets, but it is good.
“Delicious, right?”
“It’s delicious.”
“Thank you for tonight.”
“For almost getting you kidnapped?” I laugh mirthlessly.
“No, for dinner and for saving me and for this milkshake.” She sets the drink aside and snakes her arms around my neck. “You’re not the cause of all this,” she says. “But you’re the reason I’m safe.”
She wraps her legs around my waist, drawing me in closer, and then her lips are on mine. I let her take control, and the kiss is slow and gentle. Soft, just like her. And then, like the little minx she is, she moans into my mouth, and it takes everything in me not to attack her right here.
“We’d better get some sleep,” I murmur against her mouth even though that’s the last thing I want to do. But it’s late, and she’s been through a lot tonight, and I don’t want to take advantage of that.
“Yeah,” she whispers.
She drinks a bit more of her shake while I put the ingredients away, and then she puts a lid on it, saying she’s going to save the rest for tomorrow.
After I turn on the alarm and turn off the lights, we check on Leo, who’s sleeping soundly, and then I walk her to her room.
She stops in the doorway, glancing back momentarily, and then looks at me. “Do you, um … do you think maybe you could lie with me for a little while? Tonight was—”
“Shh.” I press my finger to her lips. “I know, and, yes, I can lie with you.”
We use the bathroom, and then she slides into the bed. I follow after her, pulling her into my arms so her back is flush against my front.
And as her breathing evens out, I know that I’m already in over my head with this woman. And I don’t know how, when all of this is over, I’m going to let her go.
But as my lids close, my last thought is that I’m going to take my own advice—one day at a time. We’ll figure it out, but it doesn’t have to be right now.
20
Vanessa
“What the hell are you doing?”
Lorenzo’s question, mixed with laughter and shock, has me jumping slightly.
“What does it look like we’re doing?” I glance from him to Leo, who’s splashing around in the little plastic pool I had delivered, while I lie on my belly in my bikini, half playing with him and half reading a chapter that I need to get done for my quiz later. “We’re trying to combat the Florida heat in September.”
Lorenzo continues to look at me like I’ve lost my mind, and I roll my eyes.
“Listen, when you’re from South Harbor Point, you learn to be resourceful. It’s hot, and we needed to cool down.”
“Dada!” Leo squawks as he slaps the water.
I lift my book so it doesn’t get wet and set it on the chair. “Tell him, Monkey! We’re playing in the pool since we’re stuck in this house.”
It’s been a week since I was almost taken, and Lorenzo made it clear that other than me going to the casino to go to work—which he wasn’t happy about—we needed to stay inside. They’ve even doubled the guards outside the door and added more to the perimeter of the building.