Total pages in book: 18
Estimated words: 16911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 85(@200wpm)___ 68(@250wpm)___ 56(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 16911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 85(@200wpm)___ 68(@250wpm)___ 56(@300wpm)
And it was because I put a little piece of myself in every project I did. That’s how I was with life, with the woman I wanted to give my heart and soul to. And that was Landry.
For the next hour, I made myself busy tinkering with random shit, like fixing a hinge on a cabinet, checking the plumbing in the guest bathroom, and wondering if I should tear up the floorboard in the hallway, because it squeaked when I stepped on it at just the right angle.
I was nervous, and that’s why I was finding all this handyman shit to do, but before I could tear anything else up, I heard someone pulling up the driveway, tires crunching along the gravel. My heart was beating hard and fast in my chest, and I walked over to the picture window in the living room, stared out, and saw Landry’s little sedan pulling to a stop in front of my place.
I felt my body react, my palms starting to sweat, muscles tense. Shit, I hadn’t felt this way since I was dared to streak across that football field all those years ago. I wasn’t a man who was moved by much, wasn’t swayed by letting my emotions dictate how I reacted. But when it came to Landry, I was finding I had no control over really anything.
And then she got out of the car, and I curled my hands into tight fists, my nails digging into my palms. She was curvy in all the right places, thick like a woman should be. Instantly, those thoughts had my dick starting to get hard and I cursed, reaching down to adjust myself, because the last thing I wanted was for her to see my raging hard-on as soon as I opened the front door.
She was looking at my place for a few seconds, and I wondered what she was thinking, if she was as nervous as I was. For all I knew, when I told her how I felt, she’d tell me I didn’t have a damn chance in hell of being with her.
But I wouldn’t give up. I’d keep trying to convince her for the rest of my damn life if that’s what it took.
I’d make her see she was meant to be mine.
Chapter Five
Landry
I brought my hand up and rapped on the front door three times before taking a step back. Big’s house was what I’d envisioned. A cabin-like structure but with this gorgeous stone front-face. There was a raised porch that led to the front door, with ornate light fixtures on either side of the stained-glass windows on either side of the door.
My heart was thundering, and I held the binder I’d brought with me so that I could input some notes and any suggestions he might have. Sure, I was “just a cleaning service,” but that didn’t mean I couldn’t be professional as hell when it came down to it.
It felt like a lifetime for him to open the door, for me to pretend like I had my shit together, like I wasn’t affected by the very thought of his presence, the very thought of him. In reality, it was probably just a few seconds before I saw the handle turn, held my breath as the door opened.
And then there he stood on the other side, his body so big, so immense it blocked out everything behind him. I felt so small in perspective, although I wasn’t a tiny thing. I considered myself voluptuous, thick in all the right places, curvy. I loved the way I looked, and my body was all woman. Some of society might not think that, but I didn’t give a shit.
And standing in front of Big made me feel like I was this little, microscopic being, as if he could throw me over his shoulder and just take me up against the wall. God, I wanted him to do that.
I shivered, desire moving over me, goose bumps popping out along my skin. I tried to hide my reaction as best as I could, tried to keep my expression stoic, my arousal in check, but it was pointless, useless. There was nothing I could do to seem remotely calm in this situation.
I swore we stood there just staring at each other for a solid minute, that sixty seconds moving painfully slow as I awkwardly adjusted my binder from hand to hand. And finally, I cleared my throat and got my focus together, got my head in the game, and told myself I was here for a job, not to daydream about a future client.
“Mornin’,” he said in this husky drawl, one that sent these little chills racing up my arms and legs.
I didn’t think I’d ever heard a voice as deep as his, as purely male as Big’s was. He held out his hand, and for a second, I just stared at it, but then I snapped to attention and took it in mine. God, his fingers, his palm, were so much bigger than mine, engulfing my hand, swallowing it whole.