Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22700 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 114(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22700 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 114(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
A crack forms in my heart. Look at what I’m doing to this poor girl. The pain I’m causing her, all from making one simple choice that I thought would fix the situation. Instead, I’ve only made things worse.
“Did I do something wrong, Rhett?”
“Of course not!” I snap, causing her to jump. Shit. Calm down. I close my eyes, take a breath, and open them again. “You didn’t do anything, Cassandra. There’s nothing you could do that would make me…”
My voice trails off. I’m floundering. Drowning.
This isn’t like me. I’ve coached hundreds of women. Plenty of them have flirted with me, and it’s never fazed me. I’ve remained professional. Always. But Cassandra…all she has to do is look at me and I’m a wreck. One single whimper of her melodic voice and I’m all twisted up inside.
“Did you get bored of me already?” she asks, forcing a smile that doesn’t extend to her eyes. And it makes me lose control.
I leap forward like a leopard, snatch her by the wrist, and pull her to me. She gasps and drops forward into my arms. I catch her soft body and feel the tender flesh of her plump breasts as they rise and fall with every breath. Her nipples harden against me, and my cock pulses with aching lust.
Shit, what am I doing? No, no, no!
I let go of her before I do something rash and stare at her, directly in the eyes. “I could never get bored of you, Cassandra. Don’t be silly. I can’t even–”
No. Don’t say it. Don’t. But I just can’t help myself. “I can’t even sleep without seeing your face…you’re in my head every second of every day.”
Her beautiful, plump lips part. They’re gleaming, as if challenging me to kiss them. She reaches out her hand for mine.
I step back.
“No,” I rasp, shaking my head. “I’m resigning. I have to.”
I reach into the back of the truck and grab the envelope, lick it, and seal it shut.
“Rhett, you can’t!” she pleads. I avert my eyes. Her beauty is just too much to handle.
“You don’t understand, Cassandra. The way I look at you–the things I fantasize about…” My voice drops to a whisper. “I can’t want you like this.”
She steps closer, blessing my nose with the familiar, sweet scent of her perfume. “But…you do already…don’t you?”
Is she unsure? Can’t she see the lust in my eyes? The bulge in my pants? The torture I’m experiencing every moment I’m around her?
But then I remember just how young and naïve Cassandra is. Like a beautiful bird that’s spent its entire life in a gilded cage, she has no experience with men. Least of all an unrefined man like me.
“You’re not just gonna quit on me, are you?” she asks.
“I…wouldn’t put it like that,” I admit. “But yes.”
“Why?”
My heart thuds heavy in my chest. “I have to.”
I move to step past her, but she slides in front of me, eyes down on the ground, holding herself like a timid dove. “No.” Her voice is firmer now. “You can’t go.”
“Cassandra–”
“You’re the only man who has ever…touched me like you did. And now you’re leaving me to think about it for the rest of my life? Will you not let me get to the end of our romance story? Like the ones from my books?”
Christ, she’s so goddamn innocent. She has so little experience she has to relate our interactions to something from one of her books. But her body has me drowning in the filthiest thoughts imaginable. It’s taking every bit of strength I have to not throw her to the ground and tear her clothes off.
Would she still like me if she knew what I was thinking?
I can’t stop myself. I lean closer…closer…until we’re nearly kissing. Why do I torture myself? I can’t have her. She’s off-limits.
“I want you so bad it’s driving me insane,” I say softly. We’re alone in the parking lot, but there are always people moving about the estate. Never know who might be watching–or listening. “But you know I can’t have you.”
“Why?” She twists her hand, showing me the massive rock on her finger. “Because of this?”
My lips twist in disgust, and I bite my cheek in anger. “Yes. But also because you’re too young, Cassandra. Too innocent. Too perfect. And if I have you–even once–I won’t be able to let you go and watch you walk down the aisle with another man. It would kill me.”
Her eyes shine with the hint of tears.
“Then don’t let me.”
Fuck it. I kiss her.
I kiss her like I’m a man dying of thirst and she’s a well overflowing with the most delicious water on earth. I kiss her like she belongs to me.
I’m not gentle. I’m not sweet, tender, or romantic. I’m driven by pure passion and the desire to possess her.