Total pages in book: 20
Estimated words: 18302 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 92(@200wpm)___ 73(@250wpm)___ 61(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 18302 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 92(@200wpm)___ 73(@250wpm)___ 61(@300wpm)
“Twenty-two,” I said almost instantly. And if I was being truthful, I probably would’ve given him my whole life story without any kind of hesitation. Because I wanted Mateo to know about me. And I wanted to know about him. “Why?” I asked softly and licked my lips.
He came closer, his movements stealthy, slow.
Precise.
“Because I wanted to make sure you were of age.”
Heat bloomed throughout my entire body. There’s only one reason a man would want to make sure a woman was of legal age, right? Maybe that shouldn’t have excited me as much is it did. My blood was rushing fiercely through my veins, and all I could think about was what it would be like in his bed, with him on top of me, his huge, muscular body thrusting between my legs.
I had no doubt he’d make the experience memorable.
God, I wanted to give him my virginity.
“How old are you?” It seemed like the most logical question to ask next.
“Thirty-six,” he said without missing a beat, his gaze flickering down to my lips.
I licked them involuntarily, as if the knowledge that he was looking at my mouth somehow triggered this desire in me, this knowledge that putting focus on that part of my body would turn him on even more.
He took another step closer, his head slightly lowered, his eyes hooded. God, he looked... primal. He stopped when he was just a foot from where I stood, his massive body making me feel so small and feminine. His chest rose and fell a little harsher, as if he were having just as hard of a time as I was with breathing. Why was the air so thick, so hot? Maybe it was just this situation… us?
“You should leave,” he finally said in this harsh voice.
I felt deflated in that moment. I knew I hadn’t read the situation wrong, knew I hadn’t read him wrong. I might’ve been a virgin, but hell, even I knew when a man was aroused, and Mateo watched me like he was dying to see what I tasted like.
I shivered at that thought.
“You want me to leave?” I whispered, hating the words as they fell from my tongue.
He didn’t speak for long seconds, just watched me with this sexual, predatory look in his eyes.
“A part of me does.”
I swallowed roughly. “Why?” That word was barely audible as I said it.
“Because I don’t trust myself around you, Charlotte.”
The air left me violently. “Maybe I don’t want you to trust yourself around me.” God, had I just said that?
Suddenly, a wall of hard, warm muscle pressed up against my chest and a gasp left me. The smell of him, the feel of his chest pressed against mine, reminded me all too well of what I really wanted, of who was right in front of me.
Desire rushed inside of me.
"Charlotte.” He said my name on a harsh groan, and it was like an aphrodisiac that heightened my hunger for him.
His hands gently wrapped around my upper arms, keeping me balanced yet drawing me closer to him.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. We didn’t speak, just stared at each other, the darkness wrapping around us like a blanket that blocked out everything around us. My lips were suddenly dry and my heart thundered. I licked them again, my mouth tingling as I thought about kissing him.
I felt myself fall deeper and deeper into the web of arousal. Did he feel that unexplainable pull?
“What’s going on?” I whispered. Whatever it was, I didn’t want it to end. I wanted it to go further.
But Mateo said nothing. He just watched me, like he had something on his mind, some rough, animalistic demand he wanted to tell me. And I wanted to hear all the filthy things he had to say. I wanted to know what he wanted to do to me.
And over and over in my head, I repeated the same things, hoping he’d hear me, hoping I’d have the courage to just say them out loud.
Oh, God. Yes. Kiss me, Mateo.
Take me now.
Chapter Six
Charlotte
I held my breath as I watched him lower his head. He crowded me but in the best of ways. His lips were now a hairbreadth away from mine, and the smell of wildness and pine, of all-male, filled my head. I grew drunk off the scent, wanting to bathe in it, for Mateo to press even closer to me so I drowned in it.
I was intoxicated.
He closed his eyes and growled low, his lips so close to mine that if I wanted to, I could rise up on my toes and press my mouth to his. But I wanted Mateo to take control, to make that first move. I wanted to feel helpless in his arms.
“God, you smell incredible.” His voice was nothing but a rumble, one that had wetness spilling from between my legs as arousal tried to pull me under.