Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 76934 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76934 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Then he took a very careful, very deliberate step backward.
“This is the first one. But according to everything Charlotte had to say over dinner a few nights ago, the plot really picks up the most in book two.”
I forced my gaze away, taking a breath I hoped would clear my head of the very vivid image I had of him pressing me back against the stacks, sealing his lips over mine, and rocking his hard length against…
Okay.
Deep breaths weren’t working.
“Maybe I should get book two then too. There’s not a bookstore close to my apartment.”
I walked away from him, hoping some movement and distance might help.
“Oh, boy. There are branded bookmarks,” I said when we reached the end cap where the book series was displayed. “Does Charlotte have one?”
“She doesn’t.”
“Then she needs one too,” I said, plucking two out of the holder. “So, what’s Liam into?”
“Music loud enough to ensure he’ll be partially deaf by the time he’s thirty. Horror movies. Complaining about there being nothing to eat even when the fridge, freezer, and cabinets are full.”
“I once watched one of the Costa teens eat two steaks and three servings of potatoes at dinner. He was as skinny as a garden rake. Where was he putting it all?”
“The difference between Charlotte and Liam is crazy. Even when she went through a big growth spurt last year, she couldn’t eat half as much as her brother. I hope Ezmeray made enough food.”
“She’s got a hollow-legged boy too. Last time I had dinner with them, he ate a whole pizza himself. It was wild.”
With that, we checked out, and I was glad for the chilly night air because not even a walk around the store had cooled off my desire.
And then Christopher had to go do the whole putting his hand on my lower back as he scooted me away from the street-side thing.
I just… snapped.
My hand closed around his tie, yanking him with me into an alley between buildings and shoving him against the wall.
“Alara…”
“Shut up.”
My hands framed his face as I went up on my tiptoes to seal my lips to his.
There was one horrifying second of nothing—no movement, no change in him.
Then all at once, his arms went around me, tightened, pulled me flush to his chest as his lips took over—angling, deepening.
The kiss wasn’t soft or explorative.
It was pure heat and hunger. Lips and teeth and tongues as the fire burned through and out of both of us. Almost as if he was as desperate as I was, like it had been just as long.
His arms tightened, crushing my breasts to his chest, dragging a low, aching moan from deep inside me. He answered with a rumble that vibrated into me.
My hands tightened on the sides of his neck.
But something shifted in him.
I felt the tension just a second before his hands went to my hips, pushing me backward.
“We can’t do this.” He sounded as winded as I felt.
“Sure we can.”
“Sweetheart, I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because I can’t fuck my cousin’s wife’s baby sister.”
I had a mouthful of words to say.
But before I could get a single one of them out, Christopher was striding out of the alley and down the street toward the brownstone.
I wanted to be angry that he left me to follow behind like a little puppy. But I needed the couple of minutes to try to pull myself back together.
The last thing I needed was my sister to figure out that something happened between us.
So I let myself fall further behind, hoping I didn’t show up flushed and sweaty.
Christopher waited at the top of the steps, holding open the front door, and I forced myself to charge through, keeping my eyes forward even when I sensed him trying to catch my gaze.
Thankfully, inside the brownstone was chaos now that my niblings had arrived with their unique brand of chaos, making everything about them.
Charlotte was thrilled about her bookmark, and I made it a point to sit between her and Liam at dinner to avoid any chance of conversation with their uncle.
Unfortunately, the configuration meant he was sitting directly across from me the whole time. More than once, I could feel the weight of his gaze, and I made it a point to ask Charlotte something about the book or suggest some places around the city that Liam had to explore when he had time.
I jumped at the chance to offer to clean up the kitchen in an attempt to avoid any further awkwardness.
What I hadn’t anticipated was Christopher’s boldness in coming in and cornering me in a room where there was no easy exit. Especially when he stood right in the doorway to the rest of the house.
“Alara…”
“Just put the dishes on the counter by the sink,” I demanded as I pretended the order of the dishwasher took intense focus.