Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 108846 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108846 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
“Hey, you questioned my skill. I had to prove you wrong.”
She rolls her eyes.
“Fine. I was drunk. It wasn’t one of my finer moments,” I concede.
“That was all an act for me? How sweet,” she croons in a mocking tone.
I’m not going to be able to convince her that I’m actually a decent guy. And I’m tired. “Don’t worry, your ex and front desk girl won’t last long. I give them a month.”
I say it to give her hope—that it won’t be thrown in her face every day for too much longer—but her crestfallen expression tells me I haven’t helped much.
“Glad he threw away a year and a half with me for something meaningless.”
“I didn’t mean it like that.” Shit.
Her lips purse. “It’s okay.” There’s a long pause. “So, what do I do now? How do I keep going to work every day and stop caring?” She peers up at me, a rare vulnerable expression on her face, her eyes begging for an answer.
Her mouth isn’t very wide, but her lips are plump. Lipstick free. Soft. What would they feel like wrapped around my dick? What would they look like, parted as she moans? What would she do if I leaned down and kissed them right now? I haven’t kissed anyone besides Tasha in over four years. I haven’t felt any urge to.
Until now.
Too bad Ryan can only barely tolerate me. But she’s vulnerable, which is why I need to leave, stat. I don’t want to be that guy.
I finish off my beer and dump the empty into the case. “Your brother was right. Find someone to fuck until the pain dulls or you get back together with that loser who you’re too good for.”
She hesitates. “Is that what you’re doing?”
“Trying. But I need someone who can tell their right from their left.” I should hit up that lioness server at Sin. If they’ll let me back in.
She chuckles, and her focus drifts to my mouth before averting quickly. “Good luck with your search. Maybe you’ll find her in Alaska.”
“Maybe.” Just a stone’s throw away in a nearby cabin, as Connor promises. Easy. Not as easy as it would be to have Ryan, on the other side of my wall. “Too bad my roommate is such a shrew. I wouldn’t have to go so far.”
Her cheeks flush. “I don’t like you.”
Damn it, I can’t help myself. I lean over the island. “Then why can’t you stop watching me?”
“I can …. I mean, I don’t …” She stumbles over her words, completely disarmed.
I grin. The exact reaction I was going for. “You don’t have to like me to enjoy what I can do for you. In fact, it’s better if you don’t.” That way she won’t fall for me because I can’t give her anything more than a quick fix. “’Night.”
Her gaze bores into my back all the way down the hall.
It’s still dark when I wake. Checking the clock—2:00 a.m.—I roll onto my back with a groan, my eyes adjusting to the dim light of the room. It’s too bright for my liking, thanks to the shitty curtains that don’t block the street lights beyond.
A figure stands beside my bed.
“Jesus.” I jolt. It takes me a moment to calm my racing heart. “Ryan?”
She doesn’t answer, simply stands over me, her arms at her sides, her long hair down, framing a tortured face. Her oversized white T-shirt hides her curves, reaching down to mid thigh. Without her glasses, I can easily make out the almond shape of her eyes.
“You’re here to kill me, aren’t you,” I say, half joking, although a part of me wonders. I shouldn’t have taunted her. “What’s wrong?”
She swallows. “Did you mean what you said?”
“About?”
Her gaze drifts over my bare chest and downward, to where my sheet covers my naked lower half.
Holy shit.
Am I dreaming?
I covertly pinch myself. Nope, awake. Wide awake.
The way she’s standing there, staring at my body … my blood starts pumping. I’m going to be hard in about twenty seconds. “Okay, the shower was one thing. But this is hitting below the belt.”
“It’s not a prank.” Her gaze lifts to meet my face, letting me see a lustful heat in her eyes for the first time. She isn’t kidding.
Seriously, is this happening? Is this a test? Because I’ll fail miserably. “You can’t come in here like this and expect me to be a decent guy.” If I weren’t groggy, I’d already have her on her back.
She reaches down to tug at my cover. It slides to my thighs, leaving me exposed. Her lips part with the softest sigh as my dick hardens in front of her. “You promise you won’t tell anyone?”
“I won’t tell anyone.”
“Not even Connor?”
Fuck me … Connor has quickly landed a spot at the top of my friend list, and Ryan is his sister. What will he do if he finds out?