Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 37781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
“Beth?” he half whispers in a deep, smoky tone that makes me mew as I feel my legs press together. I already feel wet from his scent, and knowing he has me at a disadvantage, being semi-dressed in my bed, it’s a wonder I’m not whimpering. Stretching myself out like a cat, pretending I’m just waking up, I still can’t bring myself to look at him yet.
I know my morning face by heart. It’s always a blotchy, puffy thing like an old pillow that stares back at me from the mirror most mornings, hardly the sight that would or should drive a man like Bowdie Bigg to distraction. When I hear the floor creaking under his weight as he stands over me, I know I’ve bitten off more than I can chew.
Without even having to look, I know he wants what I want. All I have to do is tell him so, but I need more than ever for him to take the lead, me being so virgin and all, and trying to tell myself anything could ever happen between us.
“I’ve come for… Lucy’s things,” he says in the same gravelly tone, grinding out the words as if he knows it’s a lie, and either of us could deny this chemistry between us a second longer.
I want to peek, nod sleepily, and point out what stuff belongs to Lucy, but as soon as I look into those eyes again, I’m gonna be a puddle in my bed. I’ll be incapable of anything except having him hold me the way I need it.
“Beth?” he asks me after a long silence, maybe figuring I’ve done the teenage thing and just gone back to sleep, which ordinarily I probably would have if it was anyone else.
I shift under the covers, moving them back so he can see my face. Dammit, if my eyes don’t dart to the one place they shouldn’t, making me gasp when I see just how interested Bowdie is in this curvy, half-his-age girl. His face shifts for a split second, almost recoiling at my reaction, but my low purr of excitement mixed with disbelief at the sight of the thick line of arousal in his jeans makes him pause before he grins.
“Hi,” he finally says, lowering his gaze to meet mine. “I’m up here…” he adds, making me bite my lip and flush a deep red, but not with shame or embarrassment.
If Bowdie’s so confident he can walk into my bedroom sporting that, why should I be so shy and self-conscious? Umm… maybe because he looks like something out of a magazine and like… well… I don’t look anywhere near as good as he does, morning face or not. Even at my best and in a darkened room, I’d still be anxious about a man of his caliber seeing my dimpled skin in places—the “curves” that have a life of their own when they’re not strategically held in place.
Far from tearing off the covers and jumping on top of me, Bowdie seems satisfied that he’s made his point. He’s showing me long before either of us says a word that yes, he is interested in me in that way, and how do I let him know I feel the same? How would I do best to let him know?
“I-I gotta pee,” I announce, moving so quickly out of my bed and straight past him that I feel like I’ve blown it already. I really do have to go, and if anything else is gonna happen down there, I need to make some room and be sure I’m morning fresh, so to speak. The silence that follows me to the bathroom is still there once I’m done. I can’t help kicking myself and thinking I’ve sent Bowdie all the wrong signals so far.
He’s in the kitchen, pouring coffee when I rejoin him, minus one throbbing erection, which makes me half wonder if I wasn’t dreaming.
“I-I just really had to—” I start to say, but he smiles, pouring two cups and passing one over to me.
“Maybe we should start over, huh?” he offers, motioning me toward the table with a jut of his chin. I gulp hard, feeling like maybe I’m in some kind of trouble or maybe he’s gonna tell me it was just a random guy thing—him having a raging hard-on as he stood over me, but it’s nothing like that.
“Just tell me you didn’t only come over just for Lucy’s things,” I blurt out, deciding to take charge, at least of my own feelings, so it doesn’t hurt as much if he is gonna give the let-down, all-a-terrible-misunderstanding speech.
Bowdie quickly dispels my doubts, giving me the same intense look as he shakes his head with conviction. “No. No, that’s not why I came over at all, and I think you know that, Beth,” he says in a deep, knowing tone.