Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 77827 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77827 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Race toward her.
Instead of telling her that, I bite my tongue and reach around her to grab the mop bucket and start filling it with water. Baylor pours in some cleaner before gathering more supplies.
“Okay,” she says, once we’re standing outside the closed bedroom door. She pulls in a deep breath and slowly exhales.
“Baylor, let me do this for you,” I say, my tone gentle. “You can go help the others pack.”
“No, it’s okay.” She reaches over and places her hand on my arm, giving it a soft squeeze. “Thank you, but I need to do this. We all do.” She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes, before turning the handle, pushing the door open, and stepping into the room.
I step in behind her, placing the mop bucket and the mop down, as I wait for her to tell me what she wants to do first. She, too, sets all her supplies down, then slowly walks around the room.
Finally, when she speaks, it’s with the sass that I know and love from her. “All right, Macklin McBride, let’s get moving. These walls aren’t going to wash themselves.”
She bends over to pick up the window cleaner and a microfiber cloth. When she stands, I reach into the mop bucket, get my hands wet, and flick water at her.
“Hey!” She turns around, laughing.
“That’s what you get for sassing, Moran,” I tease.
“Oh, I’ll show you sassy.” She sprays some of the foam window cleaner into the palm of her hand before setting the bottle on the floor. She steps toward me with a sexy sway of her hips. “You can’t come at your opponent when their back is turned,” she says, and this time, the smile she graces me with lights up those big, beautiful blue eyes. “You do it where they can see you,” she says, before taking her hand that’s filled with foaming window cleaner and pressing it against my cheek, sweetly. “Like this.” She smirks.
My arms band around her, and I pull her close. Her body is aligned with mine, and fucking finally, she’s where she belongs. “You’re going to pay for that,” I say, bending a little to rub my nose against hers.
“Oh, yeah? How’s that?”
“What do you think your punishment should be, Ms. Moran?” I ask, wanting to draw this out as long as possible.
“I think it was payback.” She grins. Her wet hand is still pressed against my cheek, while the other rests against my chest. She’s not pushing me away. She’s just resting it there, as if she’s trying to feel my heartbeat, and it’s possible because my heart is thumping wildly at having her in my arms.
“Payback?” I murmur, my voice quieter now, rougher around the edges. “Come on, Moran, you can do better than that. Tell me what your punishment should be.” Her breath hitches, just slightly, but I catch it. I always catch everything when it comes to her.
“Oh, I think I did just fine,” she shoots back, but there’s a softness creeping in, threading through that sass she hides behind. “You look ridiculous, by the way,” she says, dropping her hand from my cheek.
I huff out a laugh, tightening my arms around her just a fraction. “Yeah? And you look really proud of yourself.”
“I am.” She lifts her chin like she’s daring me to challenge her. She has no idea what she does to me.
My thumb brushes along her side, barely there, testing the waters, to get her reaction. She still doesn’t move away. Instead, her fingers curl slightly into my shirt. That’s when it hits me. She might not know that she’s all I’ve ever wanted, but maybe, just maybe, in this moment, she can feel it.
“I think I like this game,” I confess, my voice dropping, my gaze flicking to her lips before I can stop myself. Her eyes follow mine. Just for a second. But it’s long enough for me to catch the shift, the flicker of what I’m telling myself is interest.
“What game is that?” she whispers, and now there’s nothing teasing about it.
I lean in closer, close enough that if either of us breathes wrong, we’ll cross that line.
“The kind where you don’t realize you’ve already lost,” I say.
Her lips part, but no words come out, and neither of us moves. The room is silent except for the sounds of our mingled breath. Her head tilts, causing her nose to brush mine. This feels like a test, one I’m about to either pass or fail. I told myself it was too soon, that she just dumped his sorry ass, but this moment, it’s one I won’t shy away from. I won’t miss another opportunity to be with her, no matter the circumstances of when it presents itself.
My grip on her waist tightens.
“Then maybe,” she says softly, her voice barely there, “you shouldn’t be so sure you’re the one winning, McBride.”