Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 102523 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 513(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102523 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 513(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
Charlene pipes up: “Honey-baby, you can tell me all those details so I can live vicariously through you.”
I sigh, my fire flaming out in resignation. I might’ve shut down Pork and Beans, but more than just Tayvious and Charlene look mighty interested in actually hearing the story of last night.
I need to handle this, one and done.
“You nosy assholes, listen and listen good,” I declare, staring lasers around the room. “I’m here to get your beer and food, ring you out, and if you’re lucky, I’ll feel good enough to beat a few of you at pool later. Other than that, my business is just that . . . mine. I will not be answering questions about Wyatt, or me, or Wyatt and me.”
“Not even for me?” a voice behind me says.
I can hear the tease in the question and whirl, ready to unleash new fury on whoever is daring to challenge me. But instead of a regular who’s found enough balls to speak, I find myself looking into a gorgeous pair of blue eyes that are dancing with laughter.
“Wyatt.”
Chapter 16
WYATT
It’s barely a whisper, the way she says my name. But seeing Hazel turn around, the anger in her eyes drawing me in before it melts when she realizes who she’s talking to, is the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. And the twinkle that grows in her eyes, a twinkle of good humor, is even better.
But that’s only because it was dark last night and I couldn’t clearly see her face as she came in my arms.
“So, you willing to answer a question from me?” I repeat, and her smirk grows, curling at the edges of her lips and making me feel all sorts of things.
“That depends on what you want to know,” Hazel says sassily. “Or if we’re just going on a ranking scale. You know, one to ten.”
Puss N Boots is jam-packed with people, all eyes locked on us, but it feels like it’s only Hazel and me. I step closer to her, until we’re toe to toe and she’s looking up at me. I cup her jaw in my hands, tracing her cheekbones with my thumbs.
“You’re beyond any ranking scale,” I tell her quietly, looking directly into those soulful eyes. “But I do want to know if I can kiss you again.”
Her smile is answer enough. I run my thumb across her soft lips, leaning in. I pause, drawing in the scent of her perfume, tasting her breath on my tongue before she comes the last half inch, and I feel her lips again.
The kiss is heady, soft and sweet at first. I want it that way just to prove a point, not to anyone watching—the whole bar’s faded into obscurity in my mind. No, this is to prove to myself that last night wasn’t a fluke. But a heartbeat later, we quickly ignite.
I feel her press into me, my arms going to her narrow waist as Hazel wraps her arms around me and I feel her lift to her toes, hungry for more. I move my hands to her hips, encouraging her up.
In a single bounce, she leaps, her legs encircling my waist, and I cup her jeans-covered ass. She responds by shoving her tongue into my mouth and I growl, meeting her aggressiveness with my own.
Dimly, in the background, I hear the crowd break out in hoots and hollers, someone yelling, “Hell yeah, Hazel! Ride that boy!”
Another voice yells, “Always figured her for a Chevy lover, but I guess she’s a Ford girl!”
Laughter commences, but I don’t care. Not when I can feel the heat from Hazel’s core against my belly through our clothes and she’s kissing me like she can’t get enough. I pull back, on the edge of tossing her to the nearest flat surface, like one of her beloved pool tables. But I don’t want to give the patrons that much of a show, so I force myself to turn the kiss into more of a sweet peck. Trying to cool us down by degrees, I rub my nose along hers, and up close, her smile is sweet. “Hi.”
“Hey there, yourself.” She slides down my body, and though she steps back only a few inches, I feel the loss of her. “What are you doing here?” she asks, her nose crinkling cutely.
You are all I’ve thought about all day. But of course, I can’t say that, so I downplay it. “Well, I was craving one of Tayvious’s life-changing burgers. And I really wanted to see you.”
She looks surprised but pleased. “Then let’s get you a table. Come on.”
She grabs my hand, dragging me to an already occupied table. The two guys there look amused by Hazel, seemingly not reading that her mood has shifted in the few steps their way.
When she gets there, her voice has gone from the sweet flirtiness she offered me to that of a lioness ready to rip heads off. “Alright, Pork and Beans, time’s up. Move it.”