Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 88064 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88064 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
And fuck, if that isn’t as sexy as hell, then I don’t know what is.
Mitchell doesn’t spend the night with me. He has things to do in the morning, and that’s cool. I like my own space in bed, anyway. But he does stay long enough to make me feel good about everything we did together. And by the time he kisses me goodbye, I know we’re going to be great friends. Great friends who fuck occasionally, hopefully.
Isn’t that the best kind?
5
JARED
Dawn’s moving in today and I still can’t believe that Lachlan suggested it. A girl living among nine men. What’s the saying? She’s a rose between thorns, that’s for sure.
When she arrives tugging her suitcase, I’m the first to see her and I jump to assist her with her bags. "Here, give them to me."
"I managed to get them across town. I’m sure a few more paces won’t hurt." But she passes me the handle anyway and then the bag on her shoulder and the one on her back. By the time she’s unloaded everything, I look like a donkey.
I lead her through the bar to the back, where the hostel accommodation and staff quarters are. We each have rooms off of a hallway. Lachlan has his own, as do Mitchell, Logan, Cooper, and Thomas. I share with my twin, Joshua, just like Bradley and Bryce bunk in together. The last room we’ve mostly kept free if there’s a requirement for privacy or to house a visiting relative. Now Dawn’s going to take up residence in the eighth room.
When I throw open the door, I allow her to pass and inspect the accommodation. It’s basic but clean, and I hope she’s going to like it enough to stay.
"So, you’re British?" she asks, in that American drawl that I find so damned sexy.
"What gave it away?"
"The cute accent," she says.
I rest her suitcase against the wall and place her carry bags on the bed. "Cute is not a masculine word," I say, raising my eyebrow in mock disgust.
"I could say sexy accent. Would that be better?"
"Infinitely," I add. "I miss being in America. People love our accent so much over there."
"And they don’t here?" she asks, standing next to the window and looking out at the view. She’s got a good room with a clear view out over the central communal area, complete with pergola, bean bags, and hammocks.
"Here they sometimes call us Poms, and it’s not meant in a complimentary way."
"Really. I wonder what they call me?"
"Cute?"
Dawn places her hands on her hips and eyes me from across the room. "Sexy would be an improvement."
Oh, she is that, for sure. Before I heard that Mitchell spent half the night in her room, I’d already vowed to get to know Dawn with a view to something more. She has the look that I love. Pretty in a girl next door kind of way, but with enough confidence bubbling under the surface to wipe out a small country. Her eyes are green and sparkle with mischief, too.
Mitchell didn’t disclose, but the smile on his face said it all. The girl’s dynamite.
Dynamite, and not looking for a committed relationship.
"So, what brought you to this part of the world?" she asks. "You’re a long way from home."
"The surf," I say. "Me and my brother Joshua, we love to surf. There are parts of England where you can catch some waves. Cornwall, mostly. But it’s nothing like here."
"Really?" Dawn says. "I’ve never surfed."
"Really," I confirm. "We can teach you, if you like?"
I’m cut short by Joshua who knocks on the open door. "Is my brother doing a good job of being on the welcoming committee?"
"Well, he carried my bags and offered to teach me to surf. He’s doing well so far."
"No offer to assist you with your unpacking?"
I shake my head at my brother’s frankly ridiculous suggestion. "You think Dawn wants us rifling through her underwear?"
"I’ve never heard it called that before," she quips, and we all laugh. My eyes meet my brother’s, and with twin communication, I can already see he’s interested in her too. It’s not unusual for us to like the same woman. It’s not even unusual for us to sleep with the same woman. My brother is like my own flesh and blood, and we’re so similar it can seem strange to others. Between the two of us, it just feels normal.
"So, surfing?" I ask, eager not to lose more of the day than I have to.
"I guess I don’t have anything else to do," Dawn says.
"Other than rifling around in your own underwear," Joshua says, earning a startled laugh from our new housemate.
"Thankfully, I don’t need to do that much. There’s always a helpful hand around to take on the task."
"Like Mitchell?" Joshua asks, with a glint in his eyes and a crooked smile.