Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 105756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
“Something like that,” I managed to reply without slurring my words before stepping inside and hitting the button for my floor. I shot off a quick message to Shay, letting him know I’d arrived. Then after hitting “Send,” I dropped my phone on the elevator floor.
“Fuck,” I muttered, bending over to pick it up. I swore again when I rose, my head spinning. I was in for one hell of a hangover in the morning.
The doors slid open when I reached my floor, and I fumbled in my pocket for my keys. It was then I realised I’d failed to check in on Ada, and too shitfaced to realise how late it was and that I’d likely be waking her from sleep, I knocked loudly on her door.
There was no answer, so I continued knocking until the door swung open, revealing Ada in all her sleepy-eyed, wild-haired glory. My lack of sobriety meant I didn’t even have the decency to disguise my desire-filled gaze wandering up and down her body. She wore pale shorts and a white T-shirt with some logo on it. Definitely no bra. She was a sexy dream come true, especially with all that thick hair that hung messily over one shoulder.
The attraction would fade, I reminded myself. With time, she wouldn’t have such a heady effect on me.
“Jonathan, what on earth?” she asked, and my gaze caught on the jagged looking scarring on her leg that I hadn’t noticed the time I’d walked in on her naked. Then again, I’d been fairly distracted by other parts of her—
“Are you drunk?” Ada folded her arms, studying me in concern.
“Very,” I answered at last, a slur in my voice. “I had to come check on you.”
“Right, well, it’s a little late, don’t you think?”
“Can I come in?” I blurted, and her pretty brown eyes flared in surprise.
“Why?”
“Don’t want to be alone,” I said, sending her a beseeching, desperate look. “Please.”
“Fine, come in, but you can’t stay long. You woke me up with all your knocking. You’re lucky this isn’t a work night.” She stepped back, opening the door wider, and I didn’t hesitate to come inside. Ada grabbed a long, thick cardigan from an armchair and quickly slipped it on to cover up.
“Pity,” I mumbled, but she didn’t appear to hear me.
The apartment looked just as it had the day I’d handed her the keys several weeks ago but with the addition of a few of her possessions scattered about. A knitted blanket hung across the couch, and a set of slippers were on the floor next to the imitation fireplace I’d had installed. There was also a stack of books on the coffee table; novels, it looked like.
I made a beeline for the couch and picked up the book on top, the one she was in the middle of reading, judging by the bookmark sticking out. Scanning the cover that displayed what appeared to be a Scottish Highlander circa the eighteenth century holding a busty, breathless looking woman in his muscled arms, I knew immediately it was one of those racy historical novels, and a delighted grin spread across my face. Ada, who’d gone to the kitchen seemingly to fill a glass with water from the sink, hadn’t noticed me checking out her reading material.
When she returned, she froze in place, seeing the book in my hand, then immediately rushed over. She placed the glass down hastily, water sloshing over the top, and tried to grab the book. “Give me that,” she pleaded, but I was already on the move. I strode across the apartment, opening to the part she’d left off on and discovered, to my amusement, it was indeed a racy part.
“Well, well, well,” I said, clearing my throat and readying to read a section out loud when I almost walked into the wall. That was what I got for getting so distracted in teasing her—and for drinking my weight in tequila.
Ada stood in front of me, and just like in the car that morning with my phone, I held the book aloft, hoping she’d come closer and try to grab for it. Rub up against me. Forget alcohol, teasing Ada Rose was the perfect distraction to my misery. Sadly, she cottoned on to my plan and stopped an inch away, holding out her hand, “Jonathan, don’t be an arse. Give me the book.”
“But it sounds so interesting. The plot—”
Before I could finish, she moved closer, her heavenly scent assaulting me as her warm body clashed with mine. I completely forgot what I’d been about to say. She pressed her palm flat to my chest then glanced up at me with a beseeching gaze. God, her eyes. They seduced me in a way even her sexy hair and mouth-watering scent couldn’t. The flash of keen intelligence that always managed to command my attention.