Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 101764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Not a fucking chance.
After Alex kissed me senseless, he helped his mom finish getting ready to head to the hospital. Since they didn’t have a modified car with space for her motorized wheelchair, he had to help her into a manual chair, then into my car, where he folded the chair and stowed it in the trunk.
All before seven a.m.
It was exhausting, both physically and emotionally, but Alex never complained.
And Kenny never came back out of his room.
And Alex couldn’t figure out why I liked doing things for him, why I wanted to spoil him.
No one deserved it more.
The weather had changed, bringing the warmth of spring, which made getting around easier. I no longer had to worry about Alex driving on snow and ice in his old beater of a vehicle. For some reason, he wouldn’t let me buy him a new car, no matter how many times I asked.
Stubborn man.
When we arrived at the hospital, we wheeled her to the OR check-in window. From there, she was whisked away to prepare for surgery, and we had a few hours to kill.
“Want to grab a coffee at that little shop on the first floor?” I asked after saying goodbye to his mom.
Alex nodded. “Unless you need to go. You don’t have to stay with me.”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “I know.”
“Okay, then coffee it is.” He bumped my shoulder, then took my hand, making me smile.
I got it. This relationship thing was new to both of us, and he needed to make sure one final time that I wanted to be here.
Which I did. Over the past few weeks, I’d discovered I’d happily sit on a trash heap just to be next to Alex.
Throwing my arm around his shoulders, I tugged him to me as we strolled down the hallway. “Or we could find a supply closet and reenact what went down in the shower this morning,” I whispered against his ear before kissing the side of his head.
He glared at me with the same scowl that used to annoy me. “Jesus, Ryder.” He shifted his hips as he walked.
“Something wrong?”
“Yes, something is wrong. I’m fucking hard in the middle of the damn hospital.”
“Mmm, I love making you hard, especially when you grow on my tongue. Wanna know what my favorite thing is?” He didn’t respond, but the furrow in his brow told me he couldn’t decide whether he wanted to strangle me or push me against the window and fuck me. “My favorite thing in the whole goddamn world is taking you in my mouth in the morning when you’re still soft and sleepy. I love the way you get so fucking hard on my to—”
He stopped so abruptly that I stumbled, but the way he shoved me against the wall of windows prevented me from falling. “Shut up,” he said with a growl as he slammed his palm over my mouth. “Just shut the fuck up.”
I smirked beneath his hand.
“You cannot say shit like that to me in the hallway of a hospital.”
Since I couldn’t speak, I raised an eyebrow. Why?
He stepped into me, letting me feel his erection pressing along the length of mine, which went hard in a flash. My eyes fluttered closed. Oh, how I loved that feeling.
“Yeah,” he whispered. “That’s why.” He removed his hand and whispered, “Because now I want to fuck when I have to sit in a hospital waiting room for hours.”
I opened my mouth, and he shook his head with a laugh.
“No, I’m not fucking you in a hospital supply closet, you deviant.”
He’d do it. If I pushed, I could get him to the point of no return where he’d drag me off like a caveman to the nearest dark corner. A shiver ran through me at the delicious thought, but I backed off. I’d succeeded in taking his mind off today’s stress.
“Then I guess I’ll have to settle for coffee.”
As he laughed, my phone buzzed from my pocket. A quick check showed my mother’s name at the top. We hadn’t spoken in weeks since the blowup with my father when I’d moved out. She texted a few times, but I’d left them on read. I silenced the phone and shoved it in my pocket.
“You’re going to have to talk to them at some point.”
“I know. Just not today. But I know I have to do it soon. My classes start in a few weeks so…”
The phone buzzed again. Another call from my mother. I frowned at the flashing screen.
“You should get it,” Alex said gently. “It might be important.”
“She’s probably just trying to get my attention.”
“Ryder…”
I sighed. “Yeah, I know.” My mom wasn’t the type to bomb my phone with calls and messages. She seemed perfectly happy to let our silence go on until I finally reached out. If she was calling, it had to be important. I pushed off the wall as I swiped the phone and lifted it to my ear. “Hello, Mother.”