Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 101466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
“Oh God, I’m sorry,” I gasped, trying not to laugh. He looked like a drowned rat with his hair plastered to his head and his clothes sticking to him.
A sexy rat.
He glared at me, coming forward, his intent written all over his face. I stepped back.
“No.”
But it was too late. He caught me, falling back into the deeper part of the water and taking me with him. The cold hit my skin like an explosion, setting my nerves into overdrive and sending a chill deep into my core.
I sprang from the water. “You bastard!”
He only grinned as he stood, then kicked water my way, sending more cold down my back.
I splashed him back. “Stop it.”
He did it again. “You stop it.”
I sprang forward, intent on hitting him and driving him back into the water, but he neatly sidestepped me, and I went in face first, coming up soaked and yelling. Jesse was bent over, laughing.
I tried to get up but fell back. “Jesse, my ankle. I can’t—”
His amusement faded instantly, and he rushed over, dropping beside me, reaching for my foot. I grabbed his head and dunked him, pushing off his arm and trying to get away. He nabbed me, spinning me around and bringing me back into the cold water with him. He loomed over me, dripping, soaked, and intense. I stared up at him, suddenly not as cold. His gaze dropped to my pebbled nipples, and he rubbed his chin on one then took it in his mouth. The contrast between the icy-cold water and the shocking heat of his mouth made me groan. He sat up, sitting on one of the flat rocks, and pulled me into his arms.
“You got us wet, Pixie.” He sucked the other breast through the thin material of my shirt.
“I know,” I groaned.
“Cold.” He cupped my ass, dragging me over his hardening cock.
“Uh-huh,” I agreed with a whimper.
“I’m going to warm us up.”
“Please,” I whispered as he slid his hand between my legs.
“You want that, Pix? You want me to fuck you out here in the open?” He stroked me lazily, the feeling intense with the cold.
“Warm me up, Jesse.”
“Oh, you’re getting hot already,” he murmured. “So fucking hot on my fingers.”
“Please,” I begged again.
“I can never say no to you,” he whispered, then covered my mouth with his.
Thank God.
JESSE
We lay in the back seat of the Mustang, wrapped in the blanket, our clothes drying on the branches of the tree. After our frenzied, cold coupling in the brook, Casey had shivered, and I’d pulled her from the water and removed her wet clothing. I always carried a bag with me out of habit, and I hung my wet stuff next to hers and slipped on a pair of sweats, giving her my T-shirt then bundling us into the back seat to warm up. With the sun beating down, the car was warm and the clothing would dry soon enough.
Casey nestled against me, and for a short while, we were quiet. I felt an odd sensation of contentment. With her beside me, the afterglow of another orgasm still lingering, and knowing she’d be at my side later, I experienced a sense of completion.
I liked cuddling with Casey, which seemed strange because I never cuddled before.
Casey looked up. “I like cuddling with you too.”
I shook my head in amusement. “Now I’m talking out loud the way you do. Great. I’ll be breaking in to houses soon enough.”
Casey giggled, the sound light and airy. “I don’t think you’ll fit through most windows. I’d stick to your day job.”
“Hmm,” I responded.
“Do you always do the three-on, four-off?”
“I’ve only been doing them a short while, but I like them. I know my hours, my days off. I can make plans. On occasion, I get called in or things change. We have different crews. I like the three p.m. start and end. I still get parts of those days even when I’m working. We have some crew that only works days, and some only work nights. I see different people, work with different people, but the core of my crew is the same. Mark likes the shift work—always something new. When you first start, that’s what you get. The longer you’re there, the more seniority, you get to choose.”
“How long have you been in Covington?”
“Five years since I transferred in.”
“You were in Toronto?”
I shifted, the conversation becoming personal. “Yeah. I started there. I was lucky to get on when I was still young.”
She looked up at me, resting her head on my arm. “And you came here for a different life after the accident.”
I nodded, feeling the tightness in my neck. Casey frowned and cupped my cheek.
“Sorry, Jesse, we don’t have to talk about it.”
I shut my eyes at the sweetness of her voice. The way she was willing to move on. But she had told me her story, and she deserved to know mine.