Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 109205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
“Look closely,” he said, his voice rough yet soft at the same time.
I felt my throat work to swallow as I dragged my gaze from his and studied his face. I only saw the one scar. It was about an inch or so and it ran down the side of his left cheek. I lifted my hand, knowing I should stop myself, but I didn’t.
When my finger lightly traced the scare, my breath caught, and I jerked my hand away as if I’d been burned. The tingles zipped from the tip of my finger straight to my lower stomach and left me nearly breathless.
“One,” I whispered, my gaze flittering from his scar back to his gray eyes.
Aiden’s tongue quickly swept over his lips, but I was not about to look at his mouth. “Two more,” he stated.
With a lazy smile, I went back to searching. After another minute of hunting and feeling, the throb between my legs growing stronger and stronger. I slowly shook my head. “I can’t find them.”
He laughed and kissed my forehead. “That’s because I only have one scar on my face. I just liked watching that spot on your throat that pulsed while you looked for the other ones.”
My mouth dropped open, and I slapped him on the chest as I took a step back. “That is so mean, Aiden O’Hara! I was looking hard for the other two.”
He winked. “I have plenty of other scars on my body you can search for.”
“Really?” I asked as I took another step back. My body was overheated from being so close to him.
“Yep. You’re more than welcome to try and find them all.”
I shot him a smirk and shook my head as I went back to my seat. I kept adjusting as I tried to get comfortable on the stool in my really short, very tight dress.
Aiden stood and reached for my hand. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?” I asked as I let him lead me out of the kitchen.
“To my room.”
I instantly stopped walking. “Why? What for?”
He glanced back over his shoulder and tugged my hand. “We’re going to find you something to change into. You look fucking hot in that dress, but uncomfortable as hell.”
I felt my cheeks heat, and all I could do was nod. “I am. Uncomfortable, I mean. Not hot.”
He laughed and led us down the short hall to the steps.
I stood in the doorway of Aiden’s room and took it all in as he lifted a suitcase and tossed it onto the bed.
“Did your mom change your room while you were gone?” I asked, studying the immaculate room. There was nothing on the walls but maps—pictures of major cities all around the world—and the rest of the room had a dresser, a queen-size bed, a nightstand, and a bookcase filled from floor to ceiling with books. A large, oversized chair sat in the corner next to the window, near the end of the bookcase.
I’d been in Aiden’s house a few times when I was younger but had never been up to his room. It was mostly during holidays, when my mother would stop by and drop off cookies or other sweets she’d made. My mother, Mary, and Aiden’s mother, Rose, were best friends.
“No, she hasn’t touched it since I graduated.”
I blinked several times. “Okay, I wouldn’t have pictured this as your room.”
He looked up and regarded me with a half smile. “How would you have pictured it, Willa?”
I lifted my shoulder and then let it fall. “I don’t know. Pictures of Victoria’s Secret models. Sports stuff, trophies. Things like that.”
He stared at me for a moment, and I got the strangest feeling I had offended him. Finally, he spoke. “Nah, that shit was never my thing. I liked reading.”
I walked into the room and strolled over to the bookcase. There were classic novels mixed in with science books, books on scuba diving, language books, history books, military books…it was an eclectic collection, to say the least.
“Did you read all of these?” I asked as Aiden came and stood next to me.
He looked at me as he replied. “Yes.”
I had known Aiden was smart, but I hadn’t known he was…smart.
I trailed my finger along some of the spines until I landed on a book that said How to Speak Italian. Then I saw one about learning to speak Arabic. Another on French. Another for Spanish.
I turned to face him. “How many languages can you speak, Aiden?”
He stared at the books for a moment, then walked over to a pile of clothes he had taken out and put on his bed. “Here, you can use my bathroom and change into these.”
I glanced down and saw a pair of sweats that had Navy down one leg and a long-sleeve T-shirt that said SEALs.
He held the clothes out and motioned for me to take them. I did, walking across the room toward where he pointed. “The bathroom is right there through that door.”