Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72233 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72233 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
What excuse could she offer? The truth was, she lived the sheltered life of a child. Perhaps it was better to be seen as a priss. “No one has impressed me enough to earn my kisses. Did you ever think of that?”
He grinned. “That was my first thought.”
Relieved, she sighed.
But then he was in front of her again, leaning closer as he whispered, “Do I meet your high standards, Ms. Darling?”
Her back pressed into the chair, and her heart raced. Did he meet her standards? She wasn’t sure they were all that high when it came to kissing. It was only a kiss, and she hated not knowing what such simple things felt like. But she was hardly going to throw herself at him. He’d enjoy that too much.
“I’m still deciding,” she said, tipping up her chin.
He gave her space, so she set down her once again empty glass and straightened her mother’s sewing box on the table, hoping to relieve the fidgety energy that bounced inside of her. When she accidentally knocked an antique thimble onto the floor, it plunked softly onto the carpet and then rolled noisily onto the planked floor.
“Shoot.”
“I’ve got it.” Peter scooped the thimble up like a handful of jacks and tossed it casually in the air. He held open his palm, and she stared up at him as if it were a trap. “Take it.”
Her lungs tightened as she held his stare. Touching him felt like consenting to something unknown, so she held her palm open below his. The slight weight dropped into her hand, and she closed her fist and then frowned in confusion when something sharp poked her. She opened her fist and found not a thimble but an acorn in her palm.
“How…?”
He tossed the thimble in the air, flashing an arrogant grin as he caught it with the dexterity of a magician. “Things aren’t always as they seem.”
A strange shiver rushed through her as if marking this moment in time with a stitch. She felt the shift in her soul as if her decision in the next few seconds would change the trajectory of her entire life.
“Why did you come here, Peter?”
“Because there’s something different about you. I knew it the first time I met you. You’re not like the others. You try to be, but you’re not very good at it.”
She scowled. “What does that mean?”
“Trust me, it’s a compliment.” Her breath hitched as he shifted closer without noticeably moving. “Don’t be scared,” he whispered, delicately tucking a wisp of hair behind her ear. His warm breath mingled with hers as his head slowly tipped—
“Wait!” She ducked under his arm and jumped to her feet.
“What’s wrong?”
She shut the door, pressing her back to the wood and ensuring they had privacy. But when his green eyes settled on her, something twisted in her chest.
This was wrong. Not because it was improper but because it was Peter. A strange sense of deja vu flooded her as if she’d been here before. Perhaps it was the wine, but something unsettled her stomach and made her doubt everything she was about to do.
“I…”
“You don’t have to fear me, Wendy. We’re more alike than you realize.”
How did he know what she was like? She was overthinking. The kiss needed to happen. It was time. So what if Peter was the first man to kiss her? Kisses were meaningless in the grand scheme of things.
She was putting too much thought into this. If she didn’t get out of her head it was never going to happen. “Liza could come back at any moment.”
He sauntered across the room with the confidence of a wild jungle cat. “It would be rather hypocritical of her to tattle on you, don’t you think?”
Why did she shut the door? Closing herself in with him felt like a mistake. But as long as they were behind closed doors, no one would know what they’d done, and that—strangely—felt right. Something inside of her demanded this moment stay a secret.
That peculiar sense of wrongness called to her, but she still wasn’t sure Peter was the right man. Her inexperience and curiosity scrambled her instincts. She wanted to be kissed. The end. It was time.
“Just a kiss.” She sensed he wanted more, but those secret parts of herself were not for him.
“That’s all I need.” The walls closed in around her as his long shadow blocked the filtered moonlight. The heat of his body warmed her front. “I’m very confident I could surpass your standards once you let down your guard.”
She could not shake the need for caution.
His hand pressed into the door, just beside her head, and her shoulders drew back, but there was nowhere for her to go. He had her pinned. “Tell me you want it.”
“I don’t know what I want,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. She only understood this great desire for more.