Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 79169 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79169 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
I left Camden’s subdivision and immediately headed towards the country. As soon as I was out of the heavy traffic, I eased the throttle back and prayed that the engine’s rumble would be enough to drown out the thoughts raging in my head.
It wasn’t.
It seemed no matter how hard I tried, no matter how fast I drove, or how loud the engine, nothing could stop me from thinking about all those things Mia had said to me.
It was so fucked up. All of it.
Growing up, I was crazy about Mia. I would think of any excuse to hang out with her—even offered to help her deliver gift baskets to the nursing home for her community service hours. I can still remember the day she managed to coerce me into that one.
“Come on, Thatch.” She was wearing those short shorts that showed off her long, tan legs and a hot pink tank top that hugged all her curves. Mia knew I was having a hard time keeping my eyes off her, and she was using it to her advantage as she pleaded, “It won’t take long, and I could really use the help.”
“I don’t care nothing about going to a fucking nursing home, Mia,” I complained, pretending that I didn’t want to tag along. “There’s nothing there but a bunch of old folks.”
“Those old folks look forward to these visits,” she fussed. “And I know the ladies would love to spend a little time with a handsome fella like you.”
“Whatever.”
“I’m serious. It would mean a lot to them.” She batted her eyelashes at me and smiled. “It’d mean a lot to me, too.”
“Okay, fine. I’ll go, but you’re gonna owe me big after this.”
“Ah, yes!” She jumped up and wrapped her arms around me, hugging me tightly. “I knew I could count on you.”
“What exactly do I have to do?”
“Just ride with me to the nursing home and help me deliver the baskets. That’s it.”
“Sounds easy enough.” I followed her over to her car, and when I got inside, I couldn’t help but notice that her entire backseat was filled with fucking baskets. “Holy shit, Mia. There’s over twenty baskets back there.”
“It won’t take us any time. You’ll see.”
I didn’t say another word. I knew it would take us forever to deliver all of them, but I didn’t fucking care. Hell, I would’ve delivered three times that if it meant having the chance to spend time with Mia. It was really something watching her with all those folks in the nursing home. She was so sweet and patient with them, and they adored her for it.
And, of course, she made sure to introduce me to all the little ladies. She even coerced me into showing them my biceps. When she tried to get me to show them my six-pack. I refused, telling her I didn’t want to give one of them a fucking stroke.
We both left the nursing home with memories neither of us would soon forget. Mia wasn’t ready to head home, so we went for a drive and ended up at the lake. She parked facing the water, then turned on some music. After minute or so, she looked over at me and smiled. “I’m really glad you came with me today.”
“Me too. It wasn’t so bad after all.”
“Is that your way of saying you enjoyed it?”
“Maybe.”
“Well, you certainly looked like you were having a good time, especially when you were showing off your muscles to Ms. Rice.”
“Hey, that was your idea.”
“That didn’t mean you had to do it!” She giggled. “The poor woman was practically drooling.”
I gave her a little nudge with my elbow as I teased her. “She wasn’t the only one who was drooling.”
“I wasn’t drooling!” she protested. “I mean, I might’ve taken a peek or two, but I certainly wasn’t drooling.”
“Whatever you say, boss.”
“You are such an ass.”
“Yeah, but you love me. You know you do.”
“Yeah, I do.”
Her smile faded, and a light blush crept across her face as her eyes locked on mine. A spark of desire lingered in the air between us, leaving no doubt that she wanted me to kiss her. I leaned towards her, placed my hand under her chin, gently lifting her mouth towards mine. I hovered there for a moment, waiting to see if she would resist. When she didn’t, I settled my lips against hers and kissed Mia with all the want and need I’d kept bottled up inside me for months.
Her hand dove into the back of my hair as I delved deeper, relishing every single detail of her mouth.
Her taste.
Her warmth.
The way her tongue tangled with mine.
Pure perfection.
It was just one moment, one simple kiss, but I knew right then I’d never want another woman like I wanted her. Sadly, the kiss ended as quickly as it began.