Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 45210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
I start to walk up the stairs, and he stands up and moves to the side to let me pass. He follows me inside, but I don’t stop. With my head down, I keep walking. I’m almost to the bedroom when he stops me. “Wait, Emerson, we need to talk.”
Shoot, that’s right. I pull out the dining room chair and sit on the edge of it. “Right, you said that. Go ahead.”
He crosses his arms over his chest. “What’s going on with you?”
I lift my chin, trying to keep the hurt out of my voice and off my face. “What are you talking about?”
He comes over and pulls the chair out next to me, moves it around, and sits down so we’re facing each other. I get a scent of his manly smell and try not to let it affect me. He always smelled good.
He points outside. “I mean, what happened? You were ready to go to blows with me and now you’re acting like some meek little mouse. What happened?”
I cross my arms over my chest. “Nothing happened. I realize that you didn’t ask for any of this, and I shouldn’t be giving you any trouble. Thank you for the job and thank you for the place to stay. I promise not to be here longer than necessary.”
“Fuck that. You knew I wouldn’t kick you out. You can stay here as long as you need to. Now tell me what happened. Why do you look like I kicked your puppy or something?”
I glare back at him. “Fine, you want to know what’s wrong with me? I’m tired of men that think it’s okay to ridicule women because of their body—”
He cuts me off and jumps to his feet, fisting his hands at his sides. “Who? Who the fuck said something? I’ll take care of it.”
My mouth drops open. Is he for real right now? “You, you fool. You’re the one that thinks just because I’m fat, I need to cover up my body.”
He deflates in an instant, shaking his head. I swear I can hear the pity in his voice when he says my name, dragging it out. “Emerson.”
I get up and hold my hand up, palm out, to him. “Stop. You can’t take it back now. I get it, and I understand. I will be covering up my fat body from this point forward. Now if there are any other rules, we can talk about them when I get out of the shower.”
I go to walk away, and he stops me. He grabs on to both of my shoulders and pulls me against him. His front is to my back, and the warmth from his body envelops me. His voice is gruff in my ear. “I wasn’t telling you to cover up because… I didn’t mean…”
When his voice trails off, I turn in his arms and look up at him. He rests his hands on my shoulders again, and I don’t even breathe, afraid he’ll push me away. “What? You didn’t mean what?” I ask him in a whisper.
He sucks in a breath and lets it out slowly. He’s staring down at me, his eyes almost black. His nose is flared, and there is a vein popping out of his neck. He’s tense, and I’m not sure exactly why. “I want you to cover your body because I don’t want other men looking at you. You’re beautiful, Emerson, and when a man sees you like this, they may—”
I cut him off with a laugh. I roll my eyes and slap my hand on his chest. “Right. Good one, Kanan. I get it. I won’t wear anything like this anymore… you don’t have to lie to me to make me feel—”
He lowers his hands to my waist and pulls me against him. The first thing I notice is the hard prod of his manhood pressed against my belly. “Feel that? Seeing you like that does this to me. There’s no faking it or making things up. I mean, this is not something that just happens. But I see you like that… and this happens.”
I should probably pull away, laugh it off, or move away, but I don’t do any of those things. No, instead I lean into him, pressing my body closer to his. He grunts, and I stare up at him wide-eyed. “Wait.. you’re telling me… I did that.”
He nods his head up and down real slowly, but I swear I’m having trouble understanding it all, and I want him to spell it out for me. My face flushes red. “So, uh, you don’t think I’m fat.”
He shakes his head. “I think you’re fuckin’ perfect.”
As soon as he says it, I can see the regret on his face, but I refuse to let him pull away. My hands go to his waist to hold him where he’s at. We’re staring at each other, and the air between us is sizzling. I’m not sure who moves first. I raise on my tiptoes, and he leans over, but it results in us touching our lips together in a frenzied kiss. It’s nothing like when I kissed him at the funeral and he ended it pretty quickly. This is completely different. It’s like he’s lost complete control and finally letting himself free. His hands are everywhere, and mine stay plastered to his waist in hopes he doesn’t change his mind and pull away.