Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 117443 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117443 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Easy’s mouth dropped open. “What?! Hell fucking no!”
Hayley looked miffed. “Well, people with purple bedrooms have more sex!”
Jimmy opened his mouth to respond. Then closed it. Then blinked at her. “Who told you that?”
“The New York Times!”
“Well….I don’t care. No. No purple bedroom!”
“But it would look really good with the green!” she insisted.
Jimmy threw up his hands. “Shooter! Talk to your woman, please!”
The corner of Chris’s mouth turned up, but he kept his tone steady and even. “Slick. Men can’t have purple bedrooms. Doesn’t matter how much more sex they’d have.”
She scowled and then looked at Easy. “Well….do you hate the green?” she finally asked. “I can change it back,” she told him, disappointed. “I wanted you to have a home. Not just a house.”
Easy made a face. “You should have asked.”
“I wanted it to be a surprise. And you’re busy at the garage anyway. Also, it turns out I love painting. I love everything about it. Picking it out and putting it on. And peeling the tape off and seeing it all done. I’ve never gotten to paint anything before, make anything nice.” She paused. “I painted the inside of your cabinets, too.”
He looked into the kitchen, through the glass doors of the cabinets. “Yeah.”
“Accent color.” She smiled. “It’s Bayou Blue. You know, ‘cause you’re from-”
“Yeah, I got it.”
“So what’s the verdict?” Milo called out from the kitchen.
“Well, it’s already mostly done now! Finish it up,” Easy replied. “By the time I get home,” he added.
“Still need a beer,” Milo declared.
“I put some in the fridge before you got here,” Hayley told him.
“Why didn’t you say so?” Milo asked, turning toward the fridge.
“Because it’s only just now noon,” she reminded him.
“Yeah, but when you’re working, there are different rules,” said Milo, popping the top off a bottle.
She sighed. “Men have too many rules. Drink before noon, don’t drink before noon, no purple bedrooms. It’s exhausting.”
“Speaking of rules,” Chris said. “Slick, I can’t let you pay for-”
“It didn’t cost much!” she interrupted.
Chris frowned. “You’re still not paying for it. We’ll discuss it tonight.”
“Alright, Easy,” said Tex. “Let’s get back to work so Slick and Milo can finish theirs.”
Hawk, Tex, and Easy made their way around the draped furniture and headed out the door. Chris stayed, watching Hayley silently.
“Are you mad, too?” she asked, looking up at him.
Instead of answering, he slid his arm around her waist, pulled her to him, and kissed her deeply. After a minute of exploring her mouth with his tongue, he let her go and she nearly stumbled back. She pressed her lips together to suppress a grin. “Don’t get sassy on me,” he warned. “If I come home to a purple bedroom, I will not be pleased.”
“Okay,” she agreed. “I promise I won’t paint your bedroom purple.”
He slid a finger under her chin and lifted her gaze. “It’s our bedroom, Slick. But that doesn’t give you permission to paint it purple. Or sea foam. Or anything that might be called ‘Mystic Meadow.’ ” He pulled her close and leaned down, brushing his lips against her ear. “And this….is the nicest thing I’ve ever seen someone do for another person.”
Chapter 23
That night Hayley stretched out on the couch in living room. “You really won’t reconsider purple?” she asked him, actually batting her eyelashes at him.
Chris smirked at her. “How many of those have you had?” he asked, nodding to the beer bottle in her hand.
“Just this one.”
He smiled. Beer always succeeded in loosening Slick up a little. It was good to see her relax. “Sorry, baby. No can do on the purple.”
She set the beer down on the coffee table. “What about an accent color?” she asked, putting her hand on his knee.
Chris watched his leg intently. “What’s an accent color?” he asked, not really caring.
Hayley said something in response but he didn’t catch it. Her hand was sliding up his inner thigh. “Uh huh,” he said in reply. “Yeah, okay.” Oh, please God, was what he was thinking.
Hayley’s hand skipped over his crotch, though, and settled onto his stomach. He stifled a disappointing groan.
“Really?” she asked.
“Uhhhh,” was about all he could say.
Suddenly, she planted her knee on one side of him and swung her other leg over his lap. Both of her hands were now on his flat abs. “I promise you won’t regret it,” she whispered.
Regret what? he wondered. “What?” he asked, willing her hands to move. Oh and they did.
She took hold of the waistband of his athletic shorts and pulled it out. Chris closed his eyes. Her other hand reached in grazed the tip of his hardening cock. This time he actually did groan.
Both her hands slipped inside his boxer briefs and curled around his shaft. She began working him slowly, from the base to the tip and back down again.
*************************
Hayley straddled Chris and watched him. His eyes were closed and his head was resting against the back of the couch. It felt strange and exciting to have this kind of power over such a big man. She was pretty sure at this moment, Chris would let her do whatever she wanted.