Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 85616 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85616 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Or jumping over to him and rutting my needy cock against his until we both came with our clothes still on.
Or, of course, loudly and boldly proclaiming that fate decided we should be together, and who were we to deny her wishes?
Now that it was just the two of us, all of those stupid ideas were way more likely to happen. And if I had to choose, I knew I’d want to do it all and more.
Was it the fated mate connection that fried my brain and turned it into horny mush? Was he feeling anything at all? He certainly seemed to be playing it cool and was cum and collected—fuck. Calm and collected.
I needed someone to spray me with cold water. Maybe even dump a bucket of ice over my head. Anything to put out the growing flames that licked up the small of my back.
His phone buzzed on the table, drawing his attention for a moment. It allowed me to take a deep breath and compose myself. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand in case I’d been drooling and hadn’t realized it. Thankfully my hand came back dry.
Miles looked up from his phone with the color drained from his face. It seemed like he’d just seen a ghost. I sat up in my seat, instantly on alert. “What’s wrong?”
He stayed quiet. Worry lines appeared between his dark eyebrows, creasing the otherwise perfect tan skin. Maybe it was something extra personal? The thought gave me whiplash, going from feeling concerned to feeling like I overstepped by asking him. His business wasn’t mine, no matter how close I felt to this man whom I’d only just met.
Never make someone feel like you’re poking and prodding them for information. Let it happen naturally, that’s how real relationships happen.
It was something my father would always say, and something I took to heart, even after he proved himself to be a shitty man lacking any kind of moral compass. He probably wasn’t the best person to take relationship advice from, but I couldn’t help it. I grew up seeing him as my hero, as someone who could do absolutely no wrong. So I compartmentalized that version of him and kept him separate from the man who ripped my family apart and sent me spiraling in a hundred different directions.
And yet…
Maybe it was best I didn’t keep idolizing even the “pre-divorce” version of him. He wasn’t two separate people. He was one, and he was wrong.
“You can talk to me,” I said again, ignoring my father’s advice and giving Miles a gentle prod, just so he could know that I was a safe space. I wasn’t a big gossiper and I genuinely listened to people when they spoke. “Only if you want to, of course.”
“I do, it’s just—it’s so fucked up.” He rubbed a hand over his mouth, that expensive-looking gold bracelet glinting as though he’d just freshly polished it. “I don’t even know where to start.”
“Start at the end.”
He cocked his head at that, eyebrow arched.
I grinned at him. “That’s something my therapist would tell me. She’d say it was a way to rethink some situations by examining them from the current moment to the past. Puts a different lens on things sometimes.”
“Huh.”
“Told you she was good.” I was glad Miles didn’t appear to be shutting me out. Sure, maybe there was something weird going on with this faulty fated mate connection between us, but that didn’t mean I wanted to push him away.
The sound of the door opening made Miles jerk up straight, his head whipping toward the noise. A giggling couple walked out of the cafe.
Damn. What the hell was in that text? Did he owe money to the mafia or something?
“Mind if we go somewhere a little more private?” he asked. “Those Bobcat fans are kind of loud.”
“Oh, they’re fans?”
“I think so, I heard something about loving the team.”
I was still unsure where this was headed, but I knew for a fact he wasn’t suggesting a private location for the same reason my mind had immediately jumped to. No, whatever it was that was bothering him was something he didn’t want anyone else to hear.
I knew that if I suggested going back to my place, the temptation to make a move would be way too strong. Hell, I’d been sporting a dripping chubby since the moment Miles sat down across from me. Thankfully I’d worn my black jockstrap to the gym today, otherwise I’d be leaking right through my shorts.
“There’s a nice park down the street from here. Usually quiet. I know a spot by a lake that no one ever goes to.”
“That sounds good,” Miles said, still looking like he was on high alert about something. The metal chair creaked and screeched against the concrete as he pushed it back and stood. I tried not to focus on the bounce that happened at the front of his gray athletic shorts.