Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 96970 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96970 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
“W-were you—I mean, was my cousin Tommy hurt?” he stammered, eyes flicking to the floor.
I could tell from the janky way his eyes were moving and the deepening red of his cheeks that he was asking about his cousin to cover up his discomfort about asking after me. Or maybe my body being on display was making him act funny.
Either way, it was goddamned adorable. And wholly unexpected from the sassy restaurant owner.
“Your cousin’s fine. He’s a great instructor. The students love him.”
He nodded. “Good. But, um…” His eyes flicked up, landed on my chest, moved to my groin and down to my legs before moving back up to my face and flicking to the ground again. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to spend much time noticing the burn scars on my arm or have the right angle to see the ones on the back of my thigh. “Were you hurt?”
I frowned and stepped closer to reach for his chin, raising it up so he was forced to meet my eyes. “I’m okay. I promise,” I said softly. “No one was hurt.”
His eyelids opened and closed rapidly, and his chest rose and lowered with shallow breaths. The familiar scent of wood-fired pizza and summer sun radiated into my personal space as he gathered his thoughts. “Good, that’s good. Um, so, yeah. I, uh. Okay.”
And then he stepped out of my bathroom and took off like a rubber band snapped across a classroom.
“What the hell just happened?” I muttered, staring after him and wondering why he hadn’t stayed to ask me to reconsider the permit.
My dick tented the towel as I remembered the feel of the slight stubble on his chin, the larger-than-normal pupils eclipsing his irises as he blinked up at me, and the fullness of his lower lip as he scraped his teeth over it.
Alex Marian had a swooping divot over the inside of his left eyebrow that deepened when he was confused or unsure. Or angry. I hadn’t remembered that from Amsterdam, or maybe it had been too dark in the hotel bar to notice.
I had the feeling that tonight, insecurity had deepened it, and I’d wanted to smooth it over with my thumb while reassuring him everything was okay.
Why had he been so worried about a standard firefighting field drill?
I blew out a breath and moved across my office to close the door he’d left ajar. Then I made my way to the tall filing cabinet and pulled out my spare clothes from the top drawer. Once dressed, I gave up on the idea of getting any more work done and headed out.
“G’night, Chief,” Cody called over his shoulder from the kitchen sink as I passed him on my way out.
“‘Night.”
Instead of heading back to my rental house and the too-peaceful quiet of the surrounding trees, I headed to a local burger place called Frank’s. The small place was fairly full with tourists spilling out onto the deck at the back. I stepped up to the counter and ordered a BLT burger with cheese, onion rings, and a beer before finding a spot at a long table filled with people.
“You’re a hard man to find,” a woman nearby said as she took the seat across from me. I recognized her from her social media, attractive, probably in her mid-thirties, with a thick blonde braid, straight bangs, and a few scattered freckles across a suntanned face.
“I’m at one of the most popular restaurants in town during the dinner rush,” I said, shooting her a friendly smile. “Maybe you’re just a terrible seeker.”
Her laugh was easy and warm as she reached out a hand. “I’m Max’s friend Katherine, but everyone calls me Kaidee. Nice to meet you.”
I stood partway to take her hand so she didn’t have to stretch across the table. “Oh shit, was that today?”
She waved me back down in my seat with a laugh. “No. I was supposed to arrive tomorrow night, but there was a storm headed through Yellowstone. I decided I’d prefer to be tucked up in your place than in a muddy tent puddle. Hope that’s okay.”
“Yeah, fine.” I did my best to hide my exhaustion and disappointment with friendly conversation. It wasn’t her fault I’d made subconscious plans to make love to my bed tonight. “Did you order yet? Want me to get you something? They have great burgers and razor-thin onion strings.”
She held up a glass of beer. “Already ate and got myself a refill, but I’m happy to keep you company.”
“Tell me about Yellowstone,” I said.
Thankfully, she carried the conversation from there, even drawing interest from some of the people sitting near us. By the time my meal came, I’d made several new local friends and felt comfortable with my new houseguest.
The food helped wake me up, and the beer calmed my aching muscles, so that within an hour, I felt like a different person.