Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 96752 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96752 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
I groan. “Yes, I’m your muse.”
“You’re the damn devil on my shoulder, and I’m fucking sick of ignoring you.”
I feel my eyes narrow. “Well, you do an excellent job of it.”
“That’s what I’m trying to say. I’m not. I can’t ignore you, and I can’t do what I want to do.” He stares for a moment and then curses and takes a step back along with a long breath. His fists are still clenched at his sides like he doesn’t quite trust himself.
I’m not sure I want to know what he wants to do. I’m worried it’s what I want to do, and it will ruin me. “It doesn’t matter. You know what. Do your worst. You want to turn this place into some beige McMansion you could find in any suburb, do it.”
He turns, and I can tell I’ve pushed him over some edge. He’s a little predatory as he glares my way. “Which one is it, Harper? Am I too erudite, hence the murdering marble, or too bland?”
“You can be both.” I hate the me he brings out. I’m not this person. Not in any way. I’m the patient one. I have to be because I work with men all day. I can’t lose my temper or I’m emotional. I can’t show irritation or I’m probably on my period. I have to be gentle when I instruct the men on how I want a job done because I might hurt their egos. I’m never, ever mean. Except with him. “You can be a boring, erudite prick, and guess what, you can haul these ridiculous bland floating shelves right out of my kitchen.”
“Why would I do that? They go in here. They’re to be installed on either side of the range.”
I feel my jaw drop. “To what purpose?”
“Because they will look beautiful and properly showcase the family’s dining ware.”
I shake my head and point to the space. “First of all, are you only allowing basketball players to buy this place? Because I’m fairly tall and I can’t reach where the third shelf would need to go.”
“That’s what they make ladders for,” he says between clenched teeth. “And the higher shelves are for dishes they don’t use every day. The lower levels are for everyday China and barware. It’s going to look beautiful.”
“But there are no standard cabinets in the kitchen now.”
His eyes roll. “I assure you the shelves provide space for all of it. Appliances not considered attractive enough to display can be stored in the pantry.”
He has obviously never, ever had to deal with an actual family. “And where do the sippy cups go, Reid?”
He stops for a moment, and I worry he doesn’t even know what a sippy cup is. “No one who lives in this home will ever use a sippy cup. And while we’re at it, no, they won’t save the plastic cups from Yankee Stadium or have a single red Solo cup. And I desperately want to kiss you right now. Like I need to walk away this second or I’m going to do something that will send our director right back to whatever spa he recovers at.”
Thank god it wasn’t just me. I know I should tell him to run, but I’m physically incapable. I’m standing in front of this man I loathe, and I can’t think of anything except getting my hands on him. “I still hate you.”
His eyes flash and he moves in, my words not stopping him at all. “And I still think you’re a stubborn, annoying harpy. You are not my type.”
“And you aren’t mine,” I hiss back.
Then I can’t think straight because his mouth is on mine, those big hands of his on my hips, pulling me close. The kiss immediately goes wild. The flash fire that’s been building between us can no longer be denied. He kisses me like I’m water and he’s been alone in the desert for days. Eternity. His tongue surges in, finding mine, and we fight for dominance. Every stroke of his tongue goes straight to that part of me that has taken over all thinking. I no longer care that this is a mistake. This will almost certainly come back to haunt me in the worst way, but I don’t care. I do care about getting his shirt off and feeling his warm skin against my hands.
I tug at his T-shirt, and he briefly lets me go so he can drag it over his head and toss it away.
“Now you.” He nods my way, and his words come out on the grunty side.
I like caveman Reid. I pull my T off and let it drop to the floor.
He moves back in, towering over me in the sexiest way. “We should go to my place.”
That’s not realistic. “You have two minutes before my brain takes over again. This is a terrible idea, and if we’re going to make this mistake it’s going to be in the next five to ten minutes. No one’s here. They’ve all gone home. Kiss me now or we can go back to screaming at each other about floating shelves.”