Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 106298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
“You.” I love that she doesn’t bother to lie and just says what she wants. And I’m the lucky bastard who fits the bill. So fucking sexy. “I wanted to see you before you leave later tonight.”
“Did you think I’d leave without a proper goodbye?”
“We hadn’t made plans, and I knew you were spending time with your family. I wasn’t sure if I should even drive out.”
“I’m glad you did.”
A loud clearing of the throat behind me grabs our attention, and we both look at my dad. He says, “I’m going to go inside so you two can talk privately.”
When I turn back to Lauralee, she says, “I think he knows.”
“He definitely knows, but since the cat’s out of the bag . . .” I swoop in, cupping her face, and kiss her like I wanted to originally. We waste no time with niceties. Instead, our mouths open, and our tongues entwine. There’s an urgency that hasn’t been there, but with it being Sunday, it’s come into play.
When air becomes necessary, our lips part, but our foreheads press together. We both breathe, regulating our breaths with our eyes still closed. “You make me wish I could stay,” I whisper. The words came so easily that I question when the emotion was formed that created them.
Last night when we were making love or yesterday when we were making plans? The moment I saw her again, if the truth be told. But how can so much change in the course of a few days?
I lift my head and look at her. That’s my answer.
She whispers, “I wish you could stay, too. It was just getting good.” Her laughter trickles away too quickly. A weighty sigh escapes her, and her smile falls. “I can’t even land a joke right now because this feels heavy and too important to goof it up.”
Giving her some space to sort through her thoughts, I step back, but only once. My own selfish needs still win out. “You’re not goofing anything up. You can say what’s on your mind, baby.”
“I didn’t expect to fall for you, but here I am, just a girl from a small town who’s about to have her heart broken when you leave tonight.” Her admission is a shot to my heart.
I must get on that plane. My job is on the line if I don’t. There’s just no way I can now.
I won’t be the guy to break her heart. Not now. Not ever. “I’ll stay the night.”
CHAPTER 21
Lauralee
I don’t know why I’m nervous.
The drive back letting too much time pass?
The anticipation of what’s about to happen?
The thought of Baylor leaving?
God, so much is running around my mind that I take a deep breath and focus on the right here and now, so I don’t miss it.
We haven’t said much since we walked into the apartment, and we moved about like this is how we live every day. Though I’m sure, like me, he’s going through the motions as if we don’t have this ocean of separation coming our way. At least that’s how he’s been kissing me since we got here.
Standing at the bedside together, he leans back, but his eyes are still closed, and he licks his lips as if he’s still savoring me. No words follow, but they don’t need to.
I open my mouth, needing more oxygen to reach my lungs because he gets me so worked up that it’s easy to forget simple things, like breathing, until it’s direly necessary.
When he opens his eyes, his fingers tighten on my hips. “Ten days, and I’ll see you again. I already bought your ticket.”
“It’s not my ticket I’m worried about.” I find myself wanting to hold on to him even tighter, too. “When do you have to leave?”
“No later than one thirty.” He brushes my hair back from my neck to caress it with his hand. “You’ll be fast asleep and too exhausted to notice.”
I grin. “Can you guarantee that?”
“I’ll make sure you’re taken care of.” He kisses me again. The back of my knees hit the bed, and I fall until I’m sitting. I hold one leg up. The hint not subtle. He takes hold of the boot and works it off, then pats his leg. I prop my other foot up to remove that boot as well.
There’s no frenzy. No urgency to our kisses.
I take off my socks. He takes off his.
While I unbutton my dress, he’s undoing his jeans and pushing them down.
When my dress lands on the floor, his shirt keeps it company.
Reaching behind my back, he unclasps my bra, his gaze adoring my entire body with every new inch exposed. After I slide up to rest my head on a pillow, Baylor climbs over me, kissing my legs as he works himself higher.
In the afternoon sunshine flooding through the bedroom's open blinds, he stops at my ribs and runs a finger over my right side. “Tell me about your tattoo,” he says, keeping his voice low. “I’ve seen it so many times, but it was too dark to read what it said until now.”