Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 113072 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113072 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
He’s brought along some drinks and snacks, and a lantern he picked up at Walmart. But it all seems so pathetic now. Zoe wants to give him everything. It’s a big deal. And he’s brought her to a tent in the middle of nowheresville. It looked okay on the website. But if this place is sketchy, he’ll never forgive himself.
“Can I carry something?” Zoe asks.
“No, beautiful. I got it.” He locks the truck. “Let’s see this place.”
They find a marker for number eight and follow a narrow path through the trees and the undergrowth. It isn’t very long until they’re stepping into a clearing with a wooden platform in the center, about a foot off the ground. On top of that rises a huge safari tent with canvas “walls” that stretch to a peak at the top. And there’s a soft glow of light coming from inside.
Welcome C. Merritt reads a tiny blackboard propped next to the canvas doors.
“Wow,” Zoe says, stepping up to lift one of the tent flaps. “Oh, there’s a mosquito net.” She crouches down to unzip the door. “This is really neat. Come and see.”
He follows her into the tent, which is tall enough for him to stand up in the center. There’s an ornate carpet underfoot and a real platform bed set against a paneled wall in the center of the space. The bed is done up in white sheets and a fluffy comforter. There are two bedside tables as well, with flameless candles flickering in jars on each one. “Okay. This will do.”
She turns to him with an incredulous smile. “Be real. It’s magical.” She walks around the bed and peers behind the wooden wall and gasps. “This tent has a bathroom, Chase.” She laughs.
“Yeah, it said something about that.”
She returns a minute later to stand in front of him. She takes the cooler and the lantern out of his hands and sets them against one of the canvas walls. Then she zips up the mosquito netting, closing them into the space. “You can stop worrying now.”
He opens his mouth and then closes it again. Because he can’t, in fact, stop worrying. The tent is nice, but this is Zoe he’s here with, and she deserves everything. He wonders if he’s up to the job.
She stands in front of him again, hands warm against his chest. “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” he manages. “I’m great.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” she says, standing up on her toes and kissing him once. “Because I’ve been told all my life that boys only want one thing. And I think I’ll ask for my money back if it isn’t even true.”
A laugh tugs loose from his chest, and he cups her face with both hands. “You kill me. You know that?”
She shrugs, a smile playing at her lips. Then she gathers the fabric of his T-shirt in her hands. He lifts his arms overhead so she can pull it off. And now he’s standing there, half naked. Hoping he passes muster.
He hasn’t felt this exposed for a long time.
She puts a smooth hand on his bare chest and runs it across his skin, leaving goose bumps in its wake. “Where’d you get this scar?” she asks as her fingertips graze the spidery white lines near his collarbone.
It’s not a nice story, though, so he jokes his way out of it. “Shark attack.”
She grins. Then she leans forward to drop soft kisses along his jaw, and he nearly groans.
Heaven help him, but this moment he’s dreamed about is really happening. And he’s not about to let her do all the work. He tugs the snap on his shorts and then yanks the zipper down until they fall away.
Zoe’s eyes get big, but not in a scared way. It’s more like she can’t figure out where to look first. Her gaze roves his bare chest, and then her hands follow suit.
“Fuck, yes,” he breathes. “I want your hands on me so bad.” Then he kisses her, and Zoe practically climbs him like a tree. Any nerves she had at dinner have flown away, it seems.
His haven’t, though. Don’t fuck this up, he tells himself as he lays her down on the bed. He sends out a private thank-you to whoever set up this tent. The light is soft, and the comforter like a cloud.
But Zoe doesn’t take any time to admire it. She grabs him by the back of the neck and pulls him down beside her, just like he’s always wanted. And now they’re kissing again. They’re so good at this already that he may never stop. And he indulges himself by running a hand up her smooth leg and under her dress. He cups her ass, and when he runs his thumb along her hip, under the waistband of her panties, she moans into his mouth.