Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 125257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 418(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 418(@300wpm)
She inches closer to me. “We’re supposed to make breakfast together.”
“Then you can wash the berries and I’ll eat them.”
She swats my chest, but I grab her hand quickly and kiss her palm. “I’m hearing a yes.”
She glances at the house, then up at the sky, the stars peeking out in the twilight. “If Thor can come.”
I laugh, dropping my head to her neck. “You like me for my cat.”
She slides a hand down the front of my jeans, squeezing. “And this.”
I snap up my gaze. “Let’s go. Now.”
Eager for the rest of the night to begin, we fly up the steps, then rush inside. My dad’s sitting on the couch in the living room, feet up on the table, reading a book, and petting Thor on the cushion next to him.
“Hey, Dad. I’m just going to steal him from you and get out of here.”
“Sure, take an old man’s cat. Real nice,” he says dryly.
“Lake, you’re so mean to take the cat,” Remy chides.
“See if I’m mean when he wakes you up at five-thirty, knocking things off counters, asking to be fed,” I say.
“Fair point. You can have him,” my dad says.
But before I can grab the feline, Gavin strides through the house, nodding my way. “Can you help me with the grain bags in the stables before you go?”
“Course,” I say, even though I’m itching to get the hell out of here.
“Good. I can chat with my son’s new girlfriend while you do strapping man things,” Dad says, and my heart twists with guilt. I’m going to disappoint him when this ends. But I’ll deal with that when it comes. For tonight, I need to show Remy I’m more than a caveman, more than a dragon.
But first I head out to the stables and help my brother move some fifty-pound grain bags. Gavin can lift them solo, but it’s safer to carry them with someone than to risk injury.
When that’s done, I return to the house, where my dad’s saying to Remy, “So he showers you with gifts. That’s very good to know.”
“He’s an excellent gift-giver. Like your daughter.”
Dad’s smile is fond. “She sure is.” He looks up, seeming reluctant, but also a gentleman. To Remy, he adds, “It was nice chatting with you. About everything.”
“The pleasure was all mine.”
I leash up the cat, then steal the cat and the woman away. A dragon hoarding its gold indeed.
As we pull out of Big Steps, I ask, “What was that about?”
“I told him you gave me a Ruby Glow.”
“The other part. The about everything.”
“Oh, he was curious about Jumbotron-gate, as he called it. I said I was holding up well. I said my friends helped, therapy helped, and you helped.”
“That’s all I wanted to do. From the first swing at a stuffed fox.”
“You were insistent, and I’m glad.”
Maybe I’m not so bad at romance after all. “Me too.”
This time I don’t focus on my dark feelings about her ex. I don’t dwell on the past. I reach across the console for her hand and hold it, focusing on the present.
* * *
When we get to my place, I unleash Thor and he tears off after the catnip banana. Perfect.
I take Remy to my bedroom and bring her to the mirror. I’ve been thinking about this. Picturing it. Want it badly. With her standing in front of me, I admire the view of my woman, her lush hair falling in waves, her eyes bright, her mouth soft.
“Do you know what I see?” I rasp out.
“Tell me.”
I run my hands down her arms, nice and slow, taking my time, watching her reaction in the glass. She shivers as I touch her, and it’s breathtaking.
“I see a brilliant, clever, caring woman who pulled off something amazing today. You saved the day for your sister. You made her shower happen and made it better than she’d planned. Hell, you pulled off an event with barely any notice,” I say, then kiss the back of her neck. “You’re a star. And look at you, how strong you are, and how good you are at everything. How fucking capable.”
She preens under the praise, and that’s good. That’s so damn good.
I move her hair to the side, kissing her neck, sliding my hand up her stomach, over her breasts to her throat.
“But I want to see how good you are at everything,” she says, her voice vulnerable, full of need. “Will you show me?”
“I will. Under one condition.”
“What is it?”
“Don’t look away from the mirror.”
40
MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE FLOOR
REMY
Lake moves in front of me and drops to his knees, sliding his hands up my thighs.
He means it. He wants me to watch him do…whatever he’s got planned.
I’ve never done this before. Never watched someone, or watched myself. I’m not sure where to look. At him, or the reflection of him as he starts with my shoes, undoing the little strap across the top of my foot. Sliding it out. Then the next one.