Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 76000 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76000 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Not wanting to slow down at all, I circle my hips against him in invitation, which has him groaning once more.
“Jesus Christ, you’d tempt a fucking saint,” he growls.
“Don’t care about the saints.” Is that my voice? It sounds so throaty and…needy. “Just you. Let me hop down, and I’ll strip.”
When he tips his forehead against mine and takes a deep breath, I know without him saying anything that we’re not taking this any further tonight.
“Do I need to be embarrassed?” I ask bluntly.
“Fuck no,” he replies and cups my face in his hands, looking deeply into my eyes. “I want you. I’m not playing games with you, and damn it, I’ll have you again soon.”
“Okay. Just making sure.” I offer him a small smile, and the surprise in his dark eyes almost makes me scoff. Yeah, I can be bitchy when it comes to Apollo, but not now. “I had a surprisingly good time with you tonight.”
He barks out a laugh, rests his forehead on my shoulder for a moment, and then lowers my feet to the floor.
“Same goes. I’d like to see you tomorrow.”
I tilt my head, watching him. “Are we going to see each other every single day?”
“Probably not every day, but maybe every day. Does it matter?”
“No.” I push my hair over my shoulder and mentally kick myself for not shoving a hair tie into my pocket before I left the house. “Just wondering if I need to pencil you into my already-booked schedule.”
“I’ll find you,” he says with a shrug. “We’ll find the time and make it work, one day at a time. So, how does tomorrow look?”
“I could do lunch,” I decide. “You?”
He nods as he tucks a loose strand of my hair behind my ear. I feel the ripples from that simple touch all the way down my arm. “I can do that.”
“Okay, I’ll text you, and we’ll figure it out.”
“See how easy this is?” His smile is so disarming that it should be illegal in all fifty states.
“I can think of many words to describe you…or us, but easy isn’t one of them.”
He laughs and steps back, giving me room to breathe. “Want me to follow you home? Make sure you get there safely?”
“I’ve been driving myself home for a long damn time, Apollo. You don’t need to follow me like you’re some kind of bodyguard.”
“I apologize for trying to be chivalrous.” He shakes his head and walks toward the front door. “I won’t do it again. By the way, this house? It’s going to be fucking awesome, Juniper.”
“Yeah.” I bite my lower lip and look around the space, excitement growing in my belly. “It is. Thanks.”
“See you tomorrow.” He waves, but before he walks out, he turns to wink at me, and then he’s gone.
I have to take a long, deep breath to try to calm down.
Did all of that really happen in the span of just a few hours?
“Busy night,” I decide and take one more look around. I walk through the makeshift rooms, entering and exiting through the breaks in the blue tape that mark the doorways. Apollo’s right. This is more spacious than it looks.
I lock up the chapel and then head toward my grandma’s house. Only, instead of turning down the road that would take me there, I find myself turning onto Lighthouse Way and climbing the windy road to the lighthouse.
And the inn.
There are a few lights glowing inside the inn, but I know that it’s empty. I’m so damn proud of the place. It started out as an old barn with rotten floors and walls, and at Luna’s request, we used what we could and built the inn around the old structure. She wanted a piece of the past to remain, so that’s what we gave her.
The result is absolutely gorgeous, if I do say so myself.
I park under the portico, and key in the code on the lock to let myself in. A light shines in the foyer, and I can see another soft light glowing from the kitchen.
Luna wanted to have dim lights placed throughout the inn for nighttime, so guests would be able to navigate their way through the building after dark, without the harshness of bright bulbs.
Seeing it in the dark like this, it makes total sense.
My first stop is the small dining room. The tables and chairs are set up, complete with tablecloths and candles placed in the center of the tables. An antique sideboard sits along one wall, and will be used as a buffet for treats to sit out during the day for guests to grab and go.
I pass through to the kitchen and smile. This space is just amazing. The Kinnard sisters know their kitchens, and this one is state of the art, but it also beautifully blends into the vintage feel of the inn. Anyone would love to work back here. Mira insisted that she wanted stools to sit along the outside of the huge island so guests could come and watch her cook if they wanted to.