Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 102185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
“You’re not calling anyone.” That I selfishly get more time with her isn’t worth mentioning, or that I like the way she looks sitting next to me in my truck. I’ll happily take the wins when they come. “I’m happy to do it.”
“Be careful, cowboy. I may not be a romantic, but you’ve managed to charm me before.”
We start walking toward the front of the bar. Her words are playing on my mind, and a smirk wants to reveal itself, so I ask, “What happens if I don’t heed your warning?”
Pushing through the door, I follow her and the sound of her laughter outside. “You just might be stuck with me.”
“Torture,” I tease, covering my heart with my hand.
She spins around and tucks her fingers into the top of my Wranglers to pull herself closer to me. I can’t lie and say I don’t like how handsy she is. But just when I think I can read her mind, she surprises me all over again. Holding her hand on top of her hat, she looks up at the night sky. I thought her profile was quite the sight, but damn, I could stare at her all night and see something new and untamed, a side of her that wants to break loose while she walks such a steady line on the daily. She’s both otherworldly yet standing before me like I’m worth her time.
She turns to look at me. “I thought about you more times than I didn’t.”
I want to kiss her so badly that I cup her face and lean down. With our eyes closed and only a breath between us, I whisper, “I never forgot you, babe.”
Her eyes flutter open, her gaze connecting with mine in a moment of silence shared between us. I breathe her in, running the tip of my nose along the bridge of hers. She sucks in a breath, then on the exhale, she asks, “Are you going to kiss me, Twenty-two?”
Smiling against her cheek, I lower my mouth to reach her lips. “I want nothing more, Little Chirp.”
A smile touches her lips before I can. Her eyes close softly, waiting so patiently that it’s hard to resist giving her what she wants. But the way her body leans into mine lets me know that what she wants and what she needs are two very different things.
I eye the pink of her plush lips, the round of her breasts in that vest as they start to heave from heavy breaths, and the trust she’s giving me to do as I please. I should reward her for being such a good girl, though I’m the one making out like a bandit in this situation. I brush my mouth over hers, then come back to steal her breath away entirely. Covering her mouth with mine, I start gentle, but like so much else with her, it escalates quickly. Our lips part, allowing our tongues to find sanctuary inside each other’s mouths.
Running my hand down the side of her neck, I lean in, going deeper. I want her so badly that my discomfort starts to be apparent. I shift to create some space but am given a harsh reminder that Wranglers aren’t the most forgiving denim. Needing relief, I point to the left in the parking lot. “I’m parked over here.”
I barely beat her to the door. Opening it, I help her step up and settle in before shutting the door, then walk around to the other side. Passing in front, I slow down just to give myself a moment to appreciate Cricket tucked snugly in my truck. I’m insanely attracted to this woman, but I like the way my chest warms when I see her sitting there. It’s like that’s where she belongs. With me.
Climbing in, I buckle up and start the engine. I reverse out of the space but stop when I pull up to the main two-lane highway out here. Right leads us to Austin. Left leads us back home. We live miles and a county apart, but somehow, the two of us met in another part of the world, and we live in the same direction.
She turns on the radio and rolls down her window. When I roll down my window, the wind whips through the ends of her hair while the hat holds the top in place. “Tonight has been perfect. Look at that full moon, Griffin.”
I lean forward to look through the top of the windshield. Big and bold, the moon rides high in the sky and lights our way between fields and farms. “Pretty amazing.”
Sitting back, she pulls her knees up to her chest. Her skirt slips down her legs but stops mid-thigh. With her arms around her boots, she says, “This is the most fun I’ve had in a long time. Thank you.”