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)
“I’ll cook us something. Any preference?”
Her eyes opened, muscles tensing. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I want to. Let me take care of you, Ada. Just for tonight.”
Her gaze met mine, a flicker at her throat as she swallowed. “Okay.” Her voice was breathy. “There’s some soup in the fridge. You could heat it up.”
I nodded before I returned my attention to her massage, this time moving farther up to her shin.
“Can you roll these up a little?” I asked, touching the hem of her pale grey trousers.
She seemed to stiffen. “Oh, I’d rather not.”
Seeing her discomfort, I relented, “That’s okay. I can work with them on.”
She nodded then blew out a breath. A small quiet ensued while I gently tended to her leg, making sure to only use light pressure.
“It’s just that I have some unsightly scarring. I don’t normally let people see.”
Her words made something constrict in my chest. I hated the idea of her hiding or thinking any part of her wasn’t perfect. Deciding to lighten the mood, I curved my lips into a teasing smirk, “Have you forgotten I’ve already seen all of you? I don’t recall anything unsightly.” I paused, my gaze hooded as it held hers, “Quite the opposite.”
Her flush returned as she rolled her eyes. “I was wondering when you’d decide to remind me of that particular incident.”
My smirk deepened. “I relive it every night before I go to sleep. Gives me pleasant dreams.”
She giggled, and I shot her a smile. “You’re such a flirt,” she reprimanded.
“Me?” I arched an eyebrow as my fingers drifted behind her knee and her breath hitched.
“Oh, big time.”
“Maybe I just can’t help it with you. You’re too sexy.”
Her smile faltered, her dark eyes fluttering as she inhaled sharply. Her answering silence made me worry I’d gone too far, but then she asked, “Why have you been avoiding me all week?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” I responded, and she shook her head. I sighed, still working her leg, my fingers sliding over her toned, curvy thighs that I just wanted to sink my teeth into. “I’m about to be painfully honest with you, Ada, so if you don’t want to be made uncomfortable by the truth, you should tell me to shut up right now.”
“I’d like to know the truth,” she whispered before emitting an involuntary moan when I released a tense knot at the back of her thigh. I stared at her, eyes hooded, resisting the urge to climb on top of her, wrap her sexy thighs around my waist and capture her lips hungrily.
“You told me you wanted us to remain friends, and I’m having some trouble with that,” I confessed.
Her eyelashes fluttered in surprise. “Oh?”
I cast her a wry look. “Case in point, I want to kiss you right now, but I’m doing the honourable thing and respecting your wishes by resisting. So, I’ve been avoiding you all week because it’s the only way to keep from overstepping the boundary you’ve put in place.”
“Jonathan, I had no idea—”
“You don’t have to try and make me feel better. I’m a grown man. I can deal with my unrequited urges. But I can’t deny I care about you, Ada. I want to take care of you on days like this.”
There was a sheen of emotion in her sultry brown eyes. She opened her mouth as if to speak then clamped it shut again. I could practically see the frantic thoughts rushing through her mind. Another few moments of silence passed before she said at last, “I appreciate you caring for me, but it needs to go both ways. The next time you’re sick or exhausted, I’m returning the favour.”
“Of course,” I replied, not at all minding the idea of Ada playing nurse, though I was a little disappointed that she didn’t address my comment about wanting to kiss her. My voice took on a flirty tone again. “I bet you have a lovely bedside manner.”
A grin pulled at her lips.
Ah hell, I really, really wanted to kiss her. I needed a distraction. ASAP.
“You must be famished. Why don’t I run you a bath, and you can relax while I put some food together?”
A bath, Jonathan? Really? I needed a distraction, not to throw petrol over the fucking flames. Now I was imagining Ada in the bath, a vision that had my cock stiffening to painful levels. Luckily, her gaze hadn’t lowered in that direction.
“Oh, well, if you insist,” she replied, a lot more at ease now than when I’d first placed her on the couch. The massage had obviously done the trick. I left her resting there and went into the main bathroom, urging my erection to fuck off. The bathroom was clean and tidy, with a scattering of Ada’s toiletries populating the shelves. While the bath was running, I gripped the edge of the sink, head bent as my mind raced. I was playing with fire just being there, but with Ada barely able to make the walk from her car up to the apartment, there was nowhere else I was willing to be. I couldn’t tear myself away from her tonight no matter how fiercely I tried.