Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 34760 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 174(@200wpm)___ 139(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34760 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 174(@200wpm)___ 139(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
Maybe it's my imagination, but I think he mutters a curse behind me before I hear him shuffling around. A second later, he steps up beside me, so close his arm brushes against mine.
"Huh," he mutters. "Guess it's not."
My heart plummets a little. "I guess, um…can you give me a ride? I would walk to my car, but…" I trail off, figuring he doesn't need me to remind him that there's currently half of a tree sitting on it. He saw it with his own eyes.
"No."
I blink at him, shocked.
"I mean, why don't you stay here for right now, and let me go check things out first? Once I know if we can even get through, I'll report back," he says.
"Okay…" I say slowly.
"If we can't get through, I'll try to get signal to call out to get someone out here to clear us a path." He saunters toward the table by the door, shoving his feet into his shoes. "Wait here for me."
"Okay," I say again. "Be careful."
He turns to me, his eyes lingering on my face. "Always, baby."
I swear, every damn time he calls me that, my heart does a flip and my uterus starts singing hymnals. That's probably not normal, right?
Somehow, I doubt it.
"Dammit," I groan fifteen minutes later, dropping my phone onto my lap when it fails to pick up a signal for the fifth time in a row. At this point, I might as well face facts. We're in a dead zone.
"Still no service?" Ash asks, ducking through the front door. His gaze comes to me, droplets of water running down the side of his face. He lifts a hand, wiping them away.
"You're back!" I cry, bolting to my feet to face him. I try to tell myself I'm only relieved he's back because that means I'm one step closer to getting out of here, but that's a lie. I was worried about him. I think…well, hell. I think I even missed him.
What the fuck is even happening? If you'd have asked me yesterday, I'd have said it was impossible to miss someone you met only hours ago. Ash has me reevaluating that belief.
He has me reevaluating a lot right now, actually.
"I have bad news."
"Please don't tell me that my car is a lost cause," I plead, though I'm pretty sure that ship sailed even before the tree landed on it. I'm going to need a new car. It's probably for the best, but…damn.
"No idea," he says with a shrug. "I didn't make it that far. There's a tree down half a mile up the path leading out of here."
I gape at him in shock. "Seriously?"
"Yep. We're not getting out of here until tomorrow at the earliest." He holds up my tote bag. "I tried to get a signal to call out, but couldn't do that, either. I'll have to walk out tomorrow to call for help. I did find this on the floorboard of the SUV, though. Figured you might need it." He drops it onto the table beside the door.
I plop back down onto the couch, burying my face in my hands. "This is a disaster."
"Damn. Am I really that bad?"
"What? No, of course not. I just…" I huff out a breath. "I feel bad for intruding, that's all."
"Loralei." He stomps toward me and then crouches at my feet, prying my hands away from my face. Once I meet his gaze, his lips quirk slightly. "You aren't intruding. The cabin has two bedrooms, so there's plenty of room here for both of us. We'll ride it out for the night, and then I'll walk out tomorrow to call for rescue. It'll be fine."
"I still feel bad," I whisper.
"Yeah, well, don't," he says, tipping my face back. "That'll only piss me off. You aren't bad company. Stop acting like you are, okay?"
I bite my lip and then nod. "Okay."
He stares at me for a long moment, like he's checking to make sure I mean it, and then he relaxes slightly, his fingers brushing my cheek.
I don't mean to do it, but I lean into his touch anyway.
And maybe it's my imagination, but I swear his eyes darken a little, his gaze dropping to my lips. Does he want to kiss me?
God, I want him to, so freaking badly I'm ready to crawl out of my skin.
Instead, I pull back, pulling a little space between us.
Do not throw yourself at him, Loralei. Do not.
It's going to be a long night.
Chapter Five
Ash
"Fuck," I grunt, one hand planted against the wall of the shower. My other is in a tight fist around my cock, stroking. Loralei's face flashes behind my eyes, and I grip myself tighter.
She'd probably kill me if she knew what I was doing right now, but I can't help it. Every time she looks up at me through her lashes, I want to haul her onto my lap to see if she tastes as good as she smells. I want to hear her make that same fucking sound she made earlier—before she ran off to the bathroom like she was fleeing for her life.