Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 147967 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 740(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147967 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 740(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
“Huh?” She turned to him, blinking. “What?”
“I asked you a question.”
“You did?”
Amusement filled his face. “I can see I no longer have your attention. That could hurt my feelings.”
“It doesn’t,” she stated.
“It doesn’t?”
“No, you’re far too sure of yourself to be worried about my inattention.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure of that,” he murmured as she snuck peeks at him.
Drat. The numb had disappeared again and now she was feeling far too much.
And his sexiness was back to affecting her.
Reaching out, he cupped her chin. “You’ve gone all shy on me, huh? I thought you were getting past that.”
“I’m working on it.”
“Yeah?” He moved closer. What was he doing? A tendril of something unfurled inside her.
Panic?
Or want?
Both, most likely.
“How are you working on that?” he asked.
“By looking at you for small moments at a time. I’ve been trying to get myself more used to your, um, face.”
“You like my face?”
“How is that even a question?” she asked. “You know I like your face. Who wouldn’t? You’re gorgeous.”
“I’m not the one who is gorgeous, beautiful girl,” he murmured. “But thank you.”
Then his hand cupped her cheek. Was he going to kiss her? Did she want that?
Of course she wanted that.
And then his face grew close to hers and his lips touched hers. Part of her wondered if she’d built it up too much and it would fizz out. But this was even better than she’d expected. His lips were warm. They were soft and firm at the same time. How that was the case, she didn’t know. She couldn’t explain it.
All she knew was that he was being gentle, yet at the same time he was firmly in charge. His hand slid around to the back of her neck as he deepened the kiss.
Maya found herself melting into him. Reaching out, she wound one hand around his neck. She wanted to be closer to him. She attempted to move, to crawl into his lap, but she was brought up by something which pulled her back. Before she could figure out what was going on, something wet swiped over her cheek.
Ew.
What the heck?
Why would he lick her? She drew back, wiping at her cheek. Just as a furry body landed in her lap, his back feet on her thighs and front feet on her chest.
His tongue came out again and swiped her chin.
“Ew, okay, that’s gross, Dougie. Your breath smells like garbage.”
“He certainly has interesting timing.”
She glanced over at Matthieu, worried he might be mad at Dougie for interrupting them. But he looked more amused than anything else.
“Got to admit, I thought it was you licking my cheek for a moment,” she said.
“Hmm, you’re not fond of being licked, Bébé?” he queried.
Was he . . . did he . . . he couldn’t mean . . .
Before she could question him, he’d opened the door and gotten out.
Dougie let out a woof and waggled his tail as he stared up at her.
“I don’t know why you look so pleased with yourself,” she told him. “I was enjoying that.”
Another woof and he gave her a doggy smile. She found herself smiling. It was impossible to remain grouchy at Dougie.
He was just too darn cute.
Where was she?
After checking the cabin over, Matthieu had helped her walk the animals so they could pee and then they’d taken them inside. He’d told her to get them settled while he got everything inside.
And now he’d lost her.
The cabin was larger than he’d expected, but it wasn’t enormous. So there couldn’t be that many spaces for her to hide. Dougie and Gummy were sniffing around the living room. Princess Priss was sitting on the back of the sofa, watching them with some alarm. He stopped to pat and reassure her. To his relief, she started to purr. So hopefully she wasn’t too upset by the temporary move.
He peered into an open doorway and noticed that Tank and Big B were settled into one bedroom. He walked further down the hallway. Main bedroom with attached bathroom which he’d leave for Maya. Another bedroom. A shared bathroom.
And then there was one last room.
Hmm. He had an idea what this room was and if she was in there . . . well, that would be interesting.
He knew the owner of this cabin, Hayes, never used it anymore. He’d lost his wife, his Little, and this place held a lot of memories for him. Apparently he couldn’t stand to be here but he also couldn’t get rid of the cabin.
Matthieu understood that feeling. And he was certain that Maya would too. The idea of loving someone so much that you couldn’t live without them . . . yeah, he’d experienced that.
Maya had lost her mother. He’d lost both of his parents . . . when he should have only lost one.
When he opened the door, he found her kneeling in the middle of the playroom. It looked like a bedroom fit for a princess. There was a bed in one corner with a white bedspread on it. It had fairies on it. Over the bed was a lacy, white canopy.