Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 57257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Fuck.
“Are you okay?” she asks.
“Yeah, Sunshine,” I reply.
She makes a hmm noise and nods. Perhaps it’s because she believes me, or maybe it’s because she needs to after this asshole lied to her, manipulated her, and took almost everything. I pull up outside her house, swallowing a lump.
“Let’s go inside.”
“What about our stuff?” she asks.
“Let’s have a look around first.”
She nods knowingly, then reaches into the car and cradles Mira to her chest. I led them to the house, one hand near my hip where my gun is, tucked inside my holster. We skirt around the property, then go in through the back door. I gesture to her to go behind the kitchen counter, then I clear the rooms one by one.
I know no one’s here. I would hear them. Sense it. But I make sure.
When I return, Mira is still sleeping soundly in her sister’s arms.
“Can I put this one down?” she says.
I nod.
She walks down the hallway. I watch her go, an ache in my gut, her confident figure squeezed into those pale blue denim pants. The strength in her posture, the courage to keep going. She’s something else.
I need to get these cameras sorted out. Did I bring my tools? I grit my teeth. Nope. This would all be easier if I moved them into my place, but I don’t want to shake their lives up anymore than I already have. Still, something to think about.
I open a drawer in the kitchen and pull out a small box. Inside, there are some bolts, pennies, and a small leather-bound book. I flip it open. My breath catches. Polaroid photos of nature, of people in deep conversation, and a dog with its tongue hanging happily out.
“What are you doing?”
I look up at Elle, her posture straight, eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Is this yours?”
“Yeah, and it’s stupid.”
“Please, Elle. Goddamn it. Don’t say that.”
“Why not?” She says softly, walking toward the counter and leaning against the other side.
“It’s beautiful. It took the breath away from a cold bastard like me. That’s how you know it means something.”
She rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. “That’s how talent is measured, then? By taking your breath away? By your wise judgment.”
“Yes, I’m wise. Listen to your elders.”
She glares at me, yet smiles. “Don’t start with the old stuff again. Now, be a good boyfriend and hang my security cameras.”
“A good boyfriend might need some encouragement,” I say, walking around the island and taking her hips into my hands. My hunger takes over and I press down on her gorgeous thickness, then pull her toward me.
She places her hand on my chest, pushing me slightly away. But her eyes are lit up, and her breath is coming fast. “Is that the only sort of encouragement you understand?”
I want to slip my hand up her leg, squeeze between her legs, feel the slick admission there, the same ache that’s gripping me. Making my rod grow hard and steely in my pants, even with the emotional war I’ve put her through.
I step back, smiling shakily. “No, Sunshine. Take more photos. Go find your camera.”
She flushes, turning away. “Ha, ha.”
“I’m not joking.”
“You should be. I don’t do that anymore. It was silly and juvenile, and when Mom and Dad’s money runs out, I’ll need to get an actual job.”
“I’m not saying dedicate your whole life to it,” I say fiercely. “But give yourself a goddamn shot.”
“Goddamn? Why do you have to get so angry about it?” She steps forward, fired up, hands clenched into fists at her sides.
I grab her arms and pull her in for a kiss. She gasps at first, pushes against me, but quickly softens, grips my shirt and pulls herself even closer. I glide my hand around her luscious hips, then pull her somehow closer. I’d pull her into me if I could, melt into her.
“You’re… intoxicating,” she says breathily. “Is that something people say? Or is that just plain cheesy?”
“Plain or any other kind,” I groan. “Be as cheesy as you want as long as you keep those kisses coming.”
She leans forward and pushes herself against me. I taste her, caress her tongue, loving the way she shivers against me, how she claws onto me like I’m the only thing keeping her grounded.
“What’s it worth to you, then, for me to find my camera?” She says, all breathy again, making me tight and hard as hell.
“Everything,” I tell her.
She leans back, delighted and powerful. So beautiful it hurts somehow. She seems like she’s playing the role again, or maybe that’s just what she does. Buries things. Rides the waves of good feelings so she isn’t crushed by the bad.
“Okay, well, it’s a hot day. So if you want to work shirtless… I’ll understand.”
I chuckle. “That’s a fair trade.”
She turns away, looking at me over her shoulder, just like she did in the gym. That gorgeous power fills her eyes. She knows I can’t look away from that creamy ass pressed into those jeans, all her begging for me. Her smile twitches, and she walks down the hallway.