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Running over to my brother, I throw myself into his arms and say, “I’m going to be a bridesmaid.” Jumping out of his arms just as quickly as I jumped into them, I dash toward my bedroom. “I’m going to pack.”
“Fuckin’ hell Mara, is that all I had to tell you to get you to agree? I really don’t understand women,” he mumbles, following me into my bedroom.
“Look, we both know why I’m not too keen on heading home, but if there is a wedding happening then hopefully there will be more to do than sitting at home with Mom.”
As I grab my bag from the top of the closet, it suddenly dawns on me that I’m probably not the only one going home for the wedding.
“Is everyone coming home?”
“Yeah. Why?”
This should be fun. “No reason.”
That means my sister Sarah will be home as wel
l. She’s had a crush on Donovan about as long as I have and she’s two years older than me—that’s two years closer to Donovan’s age.
I’m not going to worry about her right now because we do have a sister code, and she won’t go after the same guy I’m in love with. But she doesn’t know you’re in love with Donovan.
Sighing and shoving the thought of my sister and Donovan out of my head for now, I open the drawers on my dresser before turning back to Reece. “Can you go and do something else while I pack? I’d rather not have my brother seeing my bras and panties.”
I grin as a look of pure horror fills Reece’s face and he races from my room before slamming my door behind him.
My clothes tend to be more towards comfort than fashion. I practically live in jeans, and back home, I live in those as well as shorts. But my underwear, I have a tendency to splurge. All my panties and bras were bought from Victoria Secrets with my hard-earned cash.
For the past two years, I’ve been blogging. At first it started out as a way to pass time, but my reviews of art books and art shows I’ve attended has really taken off. Mara’s Thoughts has over sixty-seven thousand followers, which makes my heart flutter every time I think about it. I’m not sure how that happened, but I’m not about to ignore something that I’m good at—something that I’m respected for. I’m not sure how people would feel if they ever discovered I’m only eighteen and that I was sixteen when I started the blog. My family are still unaware of my hobby or job.
About seven months ago, a publisher approached me and asked for rates for art book reviews as well as reviews for fiction novels set around the art world. Of course being seventeen, and constantly having to ask my mom for money every time I needed something or every time I was going out with friends, I jumped at the opportunity to get paid for doing what I love. And it’s a publisher who is paying me so it’s not like I’m taking money from the actual author, right? I’m also honest with my reviews even when it’s a paid review. If I don’t like the book, I say so.
The fiction novels certainly opened my eyes to the world of sex and eroticism. My mind had boggled reading some of the scenes in the books they’d sent me. I’m so glad that they had no idea of my age otherwise I’d have missed out on some very steamy lessons in what a guy likes, and what he can do with his tongue and dick. I have one word to describe them—fuckin’ hot—okay, maybe two words.
Donovan is going to have a shock when he discovers what I know. I’ve never wanted to practice on anyone but Donovan. To be honest, I can be shy by nature, but something tells me I’m going to be too lost in the man to worry about being shy. And now I get to spend hours in the car with him while he drives me home. I’m not even going to ask him if he wants me to share the driving because I know what his answer will be. One very big, fat NO! He’s rather possessive about his truck. And yes, I’m rolling my eyes.
Chapter Four
Donovan
Turning down the road to Mara’s apartment to pick her up, I spot a space directly out front, which doesn’t happen often. Much to the annoyance of the car that comes up behind me, I reverse into the space and spot the woman of my obsession struggling through the front door with her suitcase and bag.
Jumping out of my truck, I run over and help her by taking the suitcase out of her hands.
“I’ve got this,” I say, pulling it the rest of the way through the door.
“Thanks. The door keeps sticking.”
“It always has.”
She turns her face up to look at me, but not before I catch the scent of her perfume.
Very subtle, but it’s there teasing my nostrils. I’m going to be damned uncomfortable on our ride back south, and I’m not talking a couple of hours here. It’s probably going to take us about seven hours to reach our destination, which is why I wanted to get going so early in the morning.
Now I have my fresh-faced beauty standing in front of me with a smile on her lips as she waits for me to get moving. But I can’t move, instead, I’m blocking her way with my feet feeling like lead.
“I thought you wanted an early start,” she comments, tilting her head to one side as she observes me.
“Um, yeah.” I turn away and put one foot in front of the other back to my truck.
Her soft footfalls behind me tell me she’s following. My only hope is that I can pull myself together before we’re cooped up in the truck all day. It’s going to be a long drive trying to keep my distance from her. I’m not sure why Reece suddenly decided it was cool for me to hang with his ‘out of bounds’ sister, but apparently it is.
