Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 26681 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 133(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26681 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 133(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
I’m pretty sure I’d be happy with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the rest of my life if I could spend it with him. “I don’t need fancy Italian take-out every day.”
“We can order from other places, too,” he offers.
“I guess I should’ve said, I don’t need take-out all the time.”
His broad shoulders shrug as he admits, “It’s what I usually do for meals since I’m not good in the kitchen.”
“I can cook!” I volunteer with a smile. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to make any nice meals. My roommates and I don’t have a lot to spend on groceries. It’s usually simple, like Ramen noodles or sandwiches.”
His eyes look hard for a moment, but then his whole face softens. “My little muse can cook. I’m a lucky man,” he chuckles softly.
When we finish off our meal, he gets up and grabs a pad of paper and a pen from a drawer. “Make a grocery list while I call the movers so they can get your stuff packed up and bring it over here ASAP.”
“Movers?” I shake my head, not understanding. “Don’t be silly. They’d be a waste of money since I’ll only need a few suitcases of stuff.” It’s all I own. I can pack it myself. I pretty much live out of it.
Chapter Five
Theo
Irritation spikes at her insistence that she won’t need all of her things. I was already pissed when I learned that she had been practically starving herself to survive. I make a vow to myself that she will never again go hungry. She’ll never go without anything she needs or wants.
“You agreed to be here as long as I need you,” I remind her. “We will be moving all your things here, little muse.”
Her lips twitch and I expect her to start yelling at me any second. She surprises me when they tip all the way up into a shy smile. “I only meant that you won’t need movers because I don’t have much. Everything I own can fit into a couple of suitcases.”
Her words both piss me off and break my heart for her. Why hasn’t someone been caring for this precious gem? She deserves the world, and I am going to be the one to give it to her. I should count myself lucky no one else has snatched her up already.
I push the pad and pen closer and stare into her gorgeous pools of jade. “Make the list, baby. Since you don’t have anything else to wear, I’m still going to send someone to get your stuff.”
“Okay.” She shrugs nonchalantly, but her eyes are lit with happiness. Unable to resist, I step into her space and bring my mouth down over hers. I’ll never get enough of her taste. I run my tongue along the seam of her lips and she immediately opens for me. Good girl.
My hands dive into her hair and I cradle her head as I drink my fill. Eventually, I know if I don’t stop, I’ll throw her down on the counter and have my way with her until she doesn’t have the energy to protest wanting to leave here. But that’s not how our first time should be, so I take a deep breath and tear myself away from her. She looks dazed and hungry with desire, and when she sticks her pink tongue out to moisten her lips, I almost break, but I remind myself this is about making her want to stay. She has to see I can care for her in all ways.
With a quick kiss to the top of her head, I tap the pad with my finger and stalk out of the kitchen. At the last second, I flip around and snatch up her purse, taking it with me. I head in the direction of my home office. I spend most of my time working in my studio, but I have an office in my house for all the business shit. Once I’m there, I sit in a gray leather desk chair and pull it up to my simple dark wood desk.
I reach into my pocket to grab my cell phone but pull out a different one and remember that I kept Shelby’s. It’s a piece of shit and I put a new phone on my list of things to buy for her. After retrieving my own phone, I make a call and am assured that someone will be at her place to pack her stuff up within fifteen minutes. I’m tempted to leave it all there and just buy her all new clothes and toiletries, but I don’t know if there are any keepsakes she won’t want to part with. Speaking of clothes…I bark one last order into the phone before hanging up. “Don’t touch her underwear,” I snap. “Just leave it all behind.”