Spent (Wrecked #2) by Charity Parkerson Read Free Book Online

anywhere he went.
    “What is this place?”
    The boat hit dry land and Sol stood. Reaching for her hand, he helped her climb out. “You’ll see.”
    Pride shone heavily in Sol’s voice, making Bailey twice as curious. He didn’t release her hand. Instead, he held tightly as he led her toward the structure. She let it go on. Starved for touch didn’t even begin to cover the yearning chasm in her chest. Not to mention, his palm felt amazing pressing against hers.
    The smell hit her first. Dirt, rain, and nature assailed her senses. As much as Bailey wanted to see everything, her eyes fell closed as she inhaled the scent. “It smells like life.” She opened her eyes to find Sol staring at her, wearing an unfathomable expression.
    “I suppose it does,” he admitted.
    Tearing her gaze away from the too-serious version of Sol, before she became attached to this side of him, Bailey finally took in the sights surrounding her. Plants, flowers, fruits, and herbs of every kind imaginable filled the interior. There was every probability that anything else could’ve been inside the maze of exploding colors, but Bailey’s senses were too overwhelmed to notice. She was speechless. No matter how hard Bailey searched her mind, she couldn’t come up with a term strong enough to describe how amazing the place was. She could feel his stare, waiting for her opinion.
    Bailey moved to a gorgeous purple flower she’d never seen before and inspected it up close. “When I was a little girl, my mom took me to this curiosity shop. You know, where they have shrunken heads and whatnot. I wanted to see everything, know its history, and hold each item in my hands. Of course, they didn’t allow that, since—I’m sure—more than half the shit there wasn’t real.” She finally met Sol’s gaze once more. “That’s how I feel right now. This place is too amazing for words. I want to study every inch.”
    Sol dropped his gaze to the floor, but not before Bailey caught the pride crossing his face. To Bailey, her answer seemed nowhere near enough. Yet it appeared she’d given Sol what he needed. It took Bailey a minute to recognize the unfamiliar sensation growing in her chest and easing the tension in her shoulders. She was content and enjoying someone’s company. Those emotions were completely underrated. She’d never realized how much so until now. Life and death had been fucking hard. Rest was all she’d ever wanted—craved. Being with Sol was so damn peaceful.
    Lost in thought, she didn’t see Sol move until he was inches away.
    “Close your eyes.”
    Without hesitation, Bailey did as told. Something soft brushed the tip of her nose, making her want to sneeze. She instinctively inhaled. The wonderful scent had her doing it again. “Oh my gosh. That smells amazing—like a cherry sucker.” Because she couldn’t stop from doing so, Bailey continued drawing the scent into her lungs. “Why are my eyes closed?”
    Sol chuckled. He sounded closer than he’d been before. “Because it’s an ugly flower, and I wanted you to love it for its hidden qualities,” he said, moving it away from her face. Bailey suppressed the urge to chase after it. Sol’s body pressed against hers, stopping her from giving in to temptation. “Plus, I wanted to do this,” Sol added, touching his lips to hers.
    Bailey startled at the unexpected move. She didn’t pull away. He made no attempt to deepen the kiss. His lips simply clung to hers. Sweetly. Innocently. Except there was nothing sweet or innocent about her reaction. Bailey’s body lit like an inferno. Her hands remained at her sides, balled into fists by force of will alone. In her mind, Bailey did things to Sol that would make a sadist blush. His lips moved to her cheek, pressing a light kiss there before traveling to her ear. The slight catch in his breathing against her ear weakened Bailey’s knees.
    “I have something else to show you.”
    “God, please let it be handcuffs and