Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 99399 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99399 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
Trace’s hand moved up and down my back in a rhythm almost soothing enough to make me want to fall asleep in the middle of the day.
But my brain was too wired. Too busy wondering what this meant and what would happen next. Maybe I should set a timer to measure how long it would take him to go from fucked out bliss to apologetic runner.
How long it would take before he mentioned one of my fathers. Responsibility. Guilt. Family. The word shouldn’t.
I stared at the silver thread on his chest, the physical manifestation of his fear over our age gap. My finger reached out to press it down, to stroke it into his damp skin, but every time I did, it popped back up again into an errant curl.
He brought his hand up to still mine, holding it against the center of his chest.
“I don’t want to know how you’re so good at that,” he muttered. It took me a minute to realize he’d meant the blow job.
“Practice,” I said, deliberately petty because fuck him.
“Mpfh.”
I wanted to say more. Maybe go through some of the more memorable practice sessions I’d had over the years with various men. Men who’d picked me up in bars or contacted me on the apps. Men who’d found me even at my cousin Alex’s restaurant in Legacy, right after I’d been ignored yet again by Trace.
And I realized I didn’t need to wait for Trace to ruin the moment. Resentment was already budging its way in, reminding me this wasn’t any kind of happily ever after.
I didn’t suddenly have a boyfriend. I’d had one single sexual experience with my crush. That was all. Only a child would see it as more than that.
“Thank you,” I said, because I wanted him to know I truly did appreciate having finally had this. “You’re welcome to take a shower before you go. It’s tiny, but it works.”
Silence descended between us swiftly enough to indicate I’d said the wrong thing.
“Okayyy,” Trace said. “I take it that’s my cue to leave.”
“No, that’s not…” I felt him move out from underneath me. “Wait, that’s not what I meant.”
“Pretty sure it was. I understand, Wolfe.”
“No,” I said, grabbing his wrist before he could move off the bed. “You said no strings.”
Trace met my eyes and looked so… understanding. Empathetic. Kind. It made my eyes smart. He was familiar and also not. Family but… not.
“No,” he said patiently. “You said no strings.”
I blew out a breath. “Right.”
He inhaled a breath, held it for a beat, then exhaled. “Why don’t I give you some space—” He held a finger over my opening mouth. “—just to let us both clear our heads? I won’t leave the area, I promise. But this way, you can take a little time to think about things, and I can do the same. Then we can check in with each other later. Does that sound fair?”
I thought about it before responding. He was right. Mostly because I was afraid of hearing myself beg him not to leave again, and I knew I would if we spent more time together.
“Where are you staying?”
He grinned and thumbed over his shoulder. “I’m the obnoxious orange tent by the entrance.”
“You’re kidding. I drove right past it on the way in.”
He shook his head and leaned in to press a kiss to my forehead. “I’m only fifty yards away. Come find me if you need me. For anything.”
He moved off the bed and got dressed, allowing me plenty of time to watch him move through the motions. He was a beautiful man. Had the body of a much younger one because his job was physically demanding and his hobbies involved outdoor adventure.
“You’re so fucking hot,” I said with a huff of laughter. “Like, it’s not fair. I’ve hiked almost every day for weeks, and my ass still doesn’t look like that.”
He peeked back at me over his shoulder as he wriggled into his pants, deliberately drawing attention back to his plump cheeks. “You obviously haven’t seen your ass.”
The orgasm made me feel brave. “Oh yeah? Not bad?”
He grinned. I could only see half of his lips, but it was enough. “It’ll do.”
I felt the warm flush of satisfaction, wondering whether he would ever want to fuck me. While I felt brave, I didn’t feel brave enough to ask that. If the answer was a negative, it would kill the happy buzz I had.
And also crush me for life, so.
“You want to grab dinner later?” he asked. It came out casually, like it was no big deal. And maybe to him, it wasn’t.
But it was to me.
“Oh.” Really, Wolfe?
He turned to face me, yanking his T-shirt on and running fingers through his hair to smooth it. “Too… stringy?” he asked with a slight smile.
“What? No. I… it’s just… um.” I stopped and swallowed, throwing out a casual smile of my own to let him know how not a big deal this was. “We were going to do steaks,” I said.