Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 97875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
The opening ceremony was a cookout in the backyard, thankfully. Robbie had been entertaining visions of blood sacrifices and the summoning of ancient deities, so the sizzle of burgers on the grill was a welcome sound, instead of his own tormented screams.
In attendance were the usual suspects from the earlier front yard introductions, henceforth known as the following:
Team Silver Hair = Doug and Vivica (another obvious ploy to dupe everyone into counting them out because of their age; not happening).
Team Foul Balls = Madden and Elton (a joke they’d obviously come up with as teenagers; it hadn’t aged well).
Team Skeeve = Skylar and Eve (a combination of their names that they clearly hadn’t chosen, but it had stuck nonetheless).
The six of them stood around the firepit in the backyard, sizing one another up, quietly conferring with their counterparts and sipping straight water. No one was consuming a drop of alcohol, which would have made the gathering a shoo-in for the most boring cookout of all time, except it wasn’t. Not at all.
For one, Skylar was there.
And two, this was Robbie’s chance to properly get a read on Madden.
Did the big, quiet dude with the Irish brogue like her back? Was he into Skylar and merely prevented from pursuing her due to his best-friend status with Elton? If so, he was a lot more noble than Robbie, because Robbie would have gone for her anyway, damn the consequences.
Problem was, Madden wasn’t an easy read. His expression rarely shifted from silent observation. He definitely looked at Skylar every once in a while, that attention lingering long enough for tension to build in Robbie’s neck, but beyond an open flicker of curiosity from the guy now and again, Robbie couldn’t glean much else.
Now was a good time to remind himself he was supposed to want Madden to notice Skylar. As more than a kid sister. As the beautiful woman she was. That was the goal. That’s why he’d volunteered to be there this week. He’d come to Cumberland to help Skylar land this man. He needed to focus on making that happen instead of wondering about the what-ifs; for example, what if Madden wasn’t interested?
Would she . . . could she . . . turn her attention to Robbie?
Better squash that hope now before it grows teeth.
A flame licked out of the firepit in Skylar’s direction and Robbie moved without thinking, hooking an arm around the small of her back and walking them backward and out of the literal line of fire. “Careful,” he said, looking down into her startled face.
“Thanks,” she said, wetting her lips. Her attention drifted over his shoulder to the others. “Maybe you should let me go now. Everyone is staring.”
“Maybe that’s exactly why I shouldn’t.”
“Ohhh. Okay, good point.” Damn, she was the perfect height. Tall enough that he wouldn’t have to bend his knees to kiss her. Short enough that she had to tip her face up to make eye contact, the sunset bathing her smooth cheeks, picking up hints of gold hidden in the depths of her brown eyes. “Time for another round of flirting practice?”
Robbie waggled his brows. “Thought you’d never ask.”
She started to relax more and more in his loose hold, her fingers even lifting to toy with the buttons of the white polo shirt he’d thrown on. “Look at me go. I’m touching, like you taught me.”
Like you taught me.
Was it sick to be turned on by that phrasing?
Suddenly, he was picturing Skylar beneath him in the queen-sized bed they were sharing, both of them naked while he pumped home, his hands shaking as they pressed her knees open, their mouths slanting, panting.
Did I make you hard just like you taught me?
Even in the fantasy, his response was incoherent.
“You were the token suck-up in class, weren’t you?” Robbie asked, his voice a lot grittier than before. Hard to blame him when they were still fucking like animals in his mind, Skylar on top now, her ponytail coming loose, hips bucking—
“Every single time,” she answered, sniffing. “And you were the class clown, I’m guessing?”
Come on, man. Focus.
She asked for help. Give it to her.
“Smile at me a little,” he leaned down to murmur against her forehead. “You look like you’re telling me to go jump in the lake.”
Her mouth softened gradually, along with her eyes. “I wouldn’t mind seeing that.”
Robbie shrugged. “I’m a strong swimmer.”
“Hopefully that will come in handy.” Her fingertips moved higher to the collar of his polo, smoothing it out, and he almost saw stars when the pad of her pinkie finger grazed the skin below his ear. Felt that minor touch all the way in his stomach, nearly causing him to groan. “The main purpose of the opening ceremony is to go over the rules and receive the first challenge.”
He blinked to clear his sudden double vision. “Who designs the challenges?”