Total pages in book: 254
Estimated words: 240032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1200(@200wpm)___ 960(@250wpm)___ 800(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 240032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1200(@200wpm)___ 960(@250wpm)___ 800(@300wpm)
I blinked.
“Do not walk around in a bathing suit,” he said through clenched teeth.
I couldn’t help myself when his cheek muscle started throbbing. I’d used up all my self-restraint for the month on Dominic. “But go buy a push-up bra?”
Somehow he managed to clench his jaw even harder, so I poked him in the forearm.
“I’m kidding, Henri.” I beamed at him. “I just won’t wear one.”
His eyes flicked up to the ceiling, and I laughed.
“I’m kidding!” I poked him again, because why not?
He scrubbed his hand down his face without lowering his chin. “You’re not going to ask Randall how to meet potential partners then?” he asked in a voice I swore made him sound like he was being strangled.
“No, I’m not kidding about that. I was kidding about the bra and the bikini… and the braless thing. I want someone to like me for me, not because of my skin suit.”
That got me his attention, narrowed eyes and all. “Skin suit?”
I nodded. My chest wasn’t small enough or big enough to fall into a fetish category. “I know my strengths are my sense of humor, that I’m willing to have kids, and I like taking care of people.” I ticked each off with my fingers.
The way those bright eyes trailed from my face, dipped to my collarbone area, and went back up made something funny happen to my chest. “You think those are your strengths?”
“I don’t know how I feel about your tone of voice right now, Fluff,” I deadpanned.
His hand started to rise toward his face again before he dropped it, but his flaring nostrils gave him away.
Someone was irritated.
“I gotta do what I gotta do.” I tried to ignore the unsettled sensation in my stomach. I bent down and picked up Duncan, who had settled at our feet at some point, with a grunt. He was heavy. His red eyes were aimed at our werewolf neighbor. “C’mon, Dunky, we need to find you a stepdaddy,” I mock-whispered.
The “yes” he sent me was strong and clear. At least we were on the same page. He really was my ride or die.
But a hand on my forearm stopped me before we got anywhere.
Henri’s warm palm skimmed up my arm, stopping right below my elbow. His voice was low. “I get why you think you need to do something”—he squeezed the words through his teeth—“but there’s no need to rush into anything. You’ve got time.”
I was ready to argue, but his hand slid down to my wrist and back, and my brain kind of short-circuited while he did it. “I just…” Get it together. I tilted my head toward Duncan, who was watching us. “I want to stay, Fluff. The longer I have to get to know someone, the better, right?”
Those incredible eyes narrowed again, and that muscle in his cheek started popping all over again. “Listen to me.”
He had a nice voice, and that wasn’t a hardship, so I nodded up at him.
“No one is kicking you out of here,” was his big speech.
“But—”
His hand gave me a light squeeze right before his thumb grazed the inside of my elbow where my veins were. “No one, Cricket,” Henri insisted quietly. “You’re going to be fine. Duncan is going to be fine. Wait your three months.”
The urge to disagree was so strong. I got what he was saying, and I was grateful that he was reassuring me, but my plan made sense too. The fact was, time wasn’t on my side, and I didn’t want to wait around to get my life started.
But I felt so freaking guilty for some reason, like I was cheating on… someone… just thinking about dating faceless people.
Maybe I needed to get over this and get to a better mental state so I could meet someone and not compare them to… other people.
I was going to have to think about it some more. Another week or two of weighing pros and cons wouldn’t kill me, I guessed. As long as another woman didn’t show up wanting to marry in, that was. I could freak out then, if it happened.
I nodded and watched Henri dip his chin right back, like the matter was settled.
For now at least.
Turning back toward the kitchen, I asked over my shoulder, “You coming?”
“Against my better judgment,” Henri muttered, following behind me so close, it was hard to ignore the heat from his body and the potency of the magic that radiated from him.
I was going to think about it, and if it came down to it, I’d ask Randall for his opinion.
Henri meant a lot to me. He was a tie to my past, to one of my favorite people in the whole world, and he was… a shield here, even if I thought I was almost bulletproof.
He was my friend.
My very attractive, very mature, caring, steady, and responsible friend.