Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 127949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
Shit. I was so fired.
Even as the grip of his strong fingers left my neck and I heard the aircon on the wall of his office come to life, my entire being was engulfed in him.
Jesse. The scent of his deep masculine coffee-with-a-side-of-sex filled my nose and only added to my self-disgust. It was a scent I’d known for so long, and it evoked emotions I’d rather not admit.
Had I really possibly thrown away the last good thing in my life?
“Go away,” I screamed, trying to fight off the sob that clutched at my throat.
I didn't want him to see me like this. What would Kent have said if he was still alive right now?
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen. You are in my god-damn office. Wake the fuck up, Kat.” His voice thickened into a deep vibrato. “I said, get up. Now do it."
His iron grip was on my arm this time, pulling it from my face, and all the evil light of a dozen hundred-watt bulbs met my red-rimmed eyes.
"Ow! Stop!”
He tugged at me until I wobbled into a semi-sitting position, desperately trying to hold back the nausea threatening to make things a million times worse.
"Why did you sleep here last night?" he demanded. "Where was Jenette?"
"She doesn't owe me anything--"
"The fuck she doesn't. I pay her rent and bills in exchange for making sure you're safe and have a locked door between you and the outside world, because you won't let me do it, and then I find you here? I'm going to kick her out on her skinny ass."
"What?" My brain was in no condition for this sort of influx of information. "Jenette's the only nice person around here," I protested.
I needed a drink.
He snorted. "Yeah, she's a sweetheart."
The familiar squeak of his desk chair had me sneaking a peek in his direction while hatching a cowardly plan to slither out of here and never come back. It’s just easier to avoid things, even if it means throwing away the last person you have on earth that honestly gives a shit about you.
I leaned forward, masking my face in my hands for a few breaths, then straightened my back, threading my fingers into the hair hanging in my face. It felt like straw. Greasy, stringy straw.
I needed to get to the bathroom and out to the bar for a glass of ice water and a shot of something before disappearing out the front door.
Through slits, I allowed myself a look at him. The star in so many of my midnight fantasies.
Jesse wasn't busy surfing through paperwork or staring at the screen on his Mac with that furrowed brow of annoyance as I expected. His hands were folded perfectly across the expanse of his rock-hard abdominals as his eyes burned into mine from across the room. The carved steel of his jaw flexed as a rush of Judas warmth exploded between my legs.
God, he’s handsome.
No, not handsome. Fuckable, but more. Lovable, sure, but still more.
Like a father you don’t want to disappoint, but even if you do, you know he will love you and protect you and forgive you.
And fuck you.
Oh my God. The little bit of glue that was holding me together was melting. I could feel it.
"Explain," he said, his voice calmer than I deserved. "Start at the beginning. Tell me what happened last night."
"I didn’t have a ride and…or a place to crash.” I desperately tried to form some sort of realistic story that didn’t include several misdemeanors, but I was in no condition for this.
Fuck it. I had to get a drink.
With a deep exhale, I pushed off the sofa, stumbled, reached out for the door handle, and the floor turned to liquid as my equilibrium sent me nearly crumbling into the wall.
“I’ll be back. I’m gonna grab some liquid breakfast.”
My friend Black Cherry White Claw should make this all better.
“Sit your ass down, little girl,” Jesse barked from behind his desk.
My feet stuck to the uniquely pristine floor of Jesse’s office as I processed each thick, sexy word.
“Did you just call me a little girl?”
He bolted upright, the desk chair slamming into the wall, banging both his fists on the top of the desk and sending my heart like a rocket into my throat. Dry air prickled my throat as I took in a sharp breath.
“I said sit your ass down.” His booming voice echoed inside the room and in my head.
“Jesus, Jesse. What the fuck?” He’d never talked to me like this before. I took note of the veins in his neck, like fire hoses ready to burst.
His dark eyes cut into me as I rolled my eyes and shuffled back toward the couch, secretly relieved to not be upright anymore. I flopped down, exhaling hard.
“Do you have any idea who you are hurting, Kat?”