Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 108988 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108988 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Grief rose up in me, mixing with this new inferno inside of me as well. I’d missed this time with him. These moments.
But this was different. Time changed us, changed this.
I was suddenly very aware of our close proximity and how muscled, but lean, Creighton was. The power of his body, every movement he made. And his smell. God. I’d missed it. A manly pine tree musk. There were times when I’d wear his hoodie to school and I’d bury my head into his sweatshirt, breathing deep. His smell settled me.
But the routine tonight was making me aware of him, aware of how his gaze lingered on my underwear, and gah. I was hot all over. I liked my beds against the corner so I scooted up against the wall. He was on the side of the bed closest to the door. We lay on our sides, sharing a pillow.
“You’re attracted to me.”
“Creighton!” I was dying. I covered my face with my hands and wanted to shrink farther down in bed.
He said that so clinically, as if he wasn’t affected either. Wait. Was he?
I lowered one of my hands and peeked at him. He was still watching me, that ever-present emptiness in his eyes, but he was tracing over my face.
I wished he was normal. I knew he wasn’t, but in that moment, I wished I could see a little something.
“I don’t want to talk about that.”
He said, “You’re twenty-two. Long past the age of consent now.”
I was back to squirming. “Creighton, please. I’m still . . .” I grasped at something out of desperation. I was still mad at him, but all of that was pushed to the back of my head because he was right. I was attracted to him. Fuck. Fuck! What did I do with this now? I had enough on my plate dealing with Creighton. I did not need to add sexual chemistry, and yep. So squirming. “Can we—uh—why are you here?”
He was silent beside me, and I could feel him studying the side of my face. “You don’t want to talk about this attraction you have for me? Your body is getting hot, and your pulse is spiking. It’s hard to ignore this. I think we should talk about this.”
“Please stop,” I hissed, back to covering my face with both of my hands again. “I’m fucked in the head enough as it with you and our deal and ugh, everything that’s you. You’re hot. You know you are. It’s late at night. I’m straight, and yeah. This is a normal reaction. Don’t get a big head about this. I’d feel this way about any—” I squeaked because suddenly my hands were ripped away from my face and he was looming over me.
“You don’t talk about another man when I’m in bed with you,” he growled. Savagely.
Oh, god. That was even hotter.
I whispered, “Creighton.”
He continued to stare down at me, his eyes now flaring and growing dark. Molten.
Holy shit. Holy shit! He wanted me too.
No way. I mean . . .
Did he?
I began panting, my chest heaving, and that inferno spread through my entire body because he was letting himself look at me. All of me. From my eyes, and he moved the blanket aside so he could see the rest of me, my breasts, my waist, where my underwear rested on my hips, my thighs, all the way down to my toes and back up again. He shifted so he was holding himself up next to me and he grazed the side of my thigh with his hand.
Tingles trailed his touch, and I sucked in my breath.
I could see him, but it wasn’t enough. I needed to see his face, see if he really was reacting the same as me. My hand trembled as I reached for the lamp above my bed.
He caught my hand, knowing what I was doing. “Don’t.”
“I want to see you.”
“I don’t want you to see me right now.”
That hurt. “Oh.”
“Not because I don’t want you—”
Seriously! Creighton.
He continued, “That’s not why I’m here tonight. I . . .”
He drew in an audible breath and lowered himself all the way to my side. He reached out, his hand rested on my stomach. He moved a finger, smoothing back and forth, and more tingles shot through me. But this touch was comforting as well as exciting. I wasn’t sure what he intended here, but okay. I meant what I said. My mind was truly too fucked to deal with this new development between us, and gah. I was fully admitting to this development. That was insane. Attraction. Me and Creighton.
What had I done in a past life to have all this craziness with someone like Creighton? I must’ve been a jail attendant for babies or something. But I laced our fingers and held our hands to my chest.