Total pages in book: 21
Estimated words: 19962 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 100(@200wpm)___ 80(@250wpm)___ 67(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 19962 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 100(@200wpm)___ 80(@250wpm)___ 67(@300wpm)
He kissed that full mouth, and as he slid his tongue across her lips, she opened up and he plunged inside, meeting his tongue with hers, deepening the kiss. Letting go of her hair, he slid a hand down her back, curving over her waist, across her hip, then moving around to grab her ass. That full, inviting, tempting ass that he needed so badly. He tightened his grip on her. She whimpered and he growled against her lips.
How was he supposed to be strong and deny himself this pleasure?
He lifted her up and placed her on the edge of the table, and the harsh reality of what they were doing came to him. The mugs of vanilla had spilled to the floor. The cups had broken.
Clarissa was his employee. He shouldn’t be kissing her. Breaking the kiss, he stepped back from her. Clarissa’s lips were red and swollen as she looked at him.
“Axe?”
“Go to bed.”
“But…”
“Now. I’ll deal with this mess. Go to bed.” He only had so much strength against temptation.
Clarissa was his wet fucking dream and all he wanted was to be with her, to fuck her, to take her.
She didn’t move and he bent down, picking up the cups. He didn’t want to fire her, because he wanted her that badly. After several seconds, she didn’t argue, and he watched her as she left. She stepped away from the broken cups.
Axe picked up the mess and cleaned away the sweet vanilla milk. Once that was done, he was wide awake. He needed to clear his mind, so he unlocked the back door and stepped out into the cold night. It always amazed him how quickly the weather changed. He looked up into the clear, starry night sky.
Why now? He’d sworn off women. It was embarrassing but it had been five years since he had dated anyone. The last woman he’d been with had said some cruel things about Clarissa’s mom. It was when he had visited the town regularly, and he’d gone on dates and done everything single men did.
Clarissa was twenty years old when he began to see her in a different way. Axe was then thirty-five years old and hadn’t liked the fact he was crushing on a woman fifteen years his junior. So he’d attempted to forget about her on wasteful dates. Nothing had worked, so he’d welcomed his reclusive lifestyle.
He didn’t know what had drawn Clarissa to his home, but he knew he couldn’t keep her.
Opening the kitchen door, he looked to see Dolly and Susie there, looking adorable. Axe bent down, picked each of them up, wagging tails and all, and carried them up to his bedroom. He broke all his rules, but then Gus had also shared his bed with him as well. Taking them into his room, he hoped he’d be able to use them as an excuse not to go into Clarissa’s bedroom and finish what they had started.
He would have to let her go.
He was her boss.
They couldn’t be together.
Clarissa deserved someone her own age. Even as he thought that, he knew he couldn’t stand the thought of another man being with her.
“What the fuck am I supposed to do?” he said out loud.
He didn’t allow his ranch hands to come to the house, and he didn’t want to have to deal with letting her go. Why did life have to be so fucking confusing? Why did Clarissa have to get under his skin?
Dolly and Susie were not much help. They had found their places on his bed, had snuggled up, and were already fast asleep. Climbing into bed, Axe stared up at his ceiling.
He tried to close his eyes but when he did, all he could see was Clarissa. Her eyes had closed and her hands had welcomed him. She had wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly, not wanting to let him go. He didn’t want to let her go either.
Fuck.
Why had he fucked this up by kissing her? He shouldn’t have touched her feet. No, he shouldn’t have walked downstairs. That was his biggest mistake. He’d set it right, one way or another.
Chapter Four
Clarissa hadn’t been able to sleep a wink. For the rest of the night, she had been playing that kiss through her head, and she didn’t have a clue why he had stopped. What had she done wrong?
This was her very first kiss, and it had ended like that! What happened? Was she a bad kisser?
The cycle of questions had been permanently on repeat inside her head. So, now she sat in her chair at the kitchen table, with a mug of coffee, waiting. She had no doubt he’d arrive. It was already five-thirty, so it was only a matter of minutes before he stepped into the kitchen.
When her mother’s illness started to get worse, Clarissa had gotten used to waking up early. She never used to be an early riser, but that all changed within a matter of days. There was never a moment to miss with her mother.