Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 31591 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 158(@200wpm)___ 126(@250wpm)___ 105(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31591 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 158(@200wpm)___ 126(@250wpm)___ 105(@300wpm)
For the next several hours, I studied every line and curve of his body and copied it onto my paper. When I was finished sketching his facial features, Talon told me a little about his friends and the lodge where they lived. We chatted about movies and music and everything in between. Unsurprisingly, we were both fans of superhero films. We also both enjoyed anime and chocolate chip cookies.
When I could no longer ignore the eight inches of beefy goodness rising high between his legs, I laid down my pencil to stretch out my hand and asked him, “Talon, are you okay?”
He scrunched up his brows. “What do you mean?”
“Well, your...your, um…” I pointed a finger in the vicinity of his groin. “It’s been...up...for a while…” In the back of my mind, I kept hearing those commercials about calling a doctor if an erection lasted more than a few hours, and I was honestly worried.
His lips stretched into a naughty smirk. “I can’t help myself when you’re in the room. Especially when you’re staring at my body and looking so sexy when you work; the tip of your tongue peeks out between your lips when you’re concentrating.”
“Does it?” I asked, my cheeks growing hot.
“It’s intoxicating.”
My face burned hotter. I assumed that being nude and on display was what was getting Talon’s blood pumping, but to know that I was affecting him was, well, intoxicating; even if I did feel a little guilty. “Should we take a break so that it can...deflate?”
“I don’t think it’s going anywhere for a while. But maybe when we’re done here, you can help me out with it.”
Shit. Breathe, Brandon. He’s giving you an invitation to sexy times; say something sultry. “O-okay.” Dammit. Talon didn’t seem to mind my awkwardness, though; he just flicked his eyebrows and smiled brighter.
To keep my face from igniting, I picked up my pencil and poured my attention back into my work, and steered our conversation to topics that didn’t make my hands tremble. I learned that Talon was a businessman with multiple properties, and I was proud of his success.
Talon listened intently as I spoke about my childhood with my grandpa, and he said he wished they could have met. So did I; my grandpa would have loved Talon.
"And...finished," I announced as I completed the last bit of shading on his feet. "Do you want to see?"
"Of course I do!" Talon dropped his arm and hustled over to me. When his eyes landed on my sketch, his jaw dropped. "Brandon, this is incredible. It's so lifelike." I had to agree; it appeared as if Talon was looking back at me through the paper. I never would have achieved the finished product if I hadn’t had such a beautiful model. Talon inspected the drawing for several long moments before pressing a kiss to my temple. "Thanks for making me look so good."
"You did that on your own," I argued. "Thank you for modeling; I've been stressing about this project for days and I can’t tell you how relieved I am to be done with it. Now I’m excited to turn it in on Monday and I’m confident that I’ll pass my courses for my degree.”
“And now you can relax a little before graduation.”
“I doubt it,” I sighed. “Now I’ve got a new list of things to stress about; where I’m going to work, where I’m going to live, how I’m going to afford to eat. I knew all of this was coming, but my mind was distracted by losing my grandpa and projects and grades...now it’s here and hitting me all at once.”
Talon pushed away the coffee table and knelt on the floor in front of me. “Look at me,” he requested as he took my hands in his. I gazed into his black eyes and felt my stress slowly begin to ebb away. “You don’t have to worry about a thing. Once companies see your work, they’re going to be climbing all over each other to offer you a job. And as far as a place to live, you’ll stay with me.”
“I can’t do that.” It was crazy; I’d known of this man less than two days.
“Yes you can. Remember the lodge I was telling you about? We have lots of extra rooms for anyone who needs them. We own the place outright, and you won’t have to worry about finances or food.”
He has to be joking; no one is this generous. But Talon looked completely serious. His eyes were full of a mix of hope and determination that made it hard to refuse. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Just say yes,” he shrugged.
Not only was I out of options, but I wanted to be with him. It was fast, it was crazy, but it felt...right. And if it turned out to be a colossal mistake, I could move out once I had a steady income. But something inside told me that it wouldn’t happen, so it was easy to answer, “Yes.”