Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96460 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96460 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
“No, thank you—”
But he ignored me and closed the distance between us, draping the soft fleece, warm from his skin, over my shoulders. “If we’re going to be eaten by a lion out here, at least you won’t die cold.”
He didn’t step away, and I had nowhere to go. My back was against the porch railing. And even if I could get away from him, I wouldn’t.
Holy hell, the man was enticing. Did he realize how risky it was for him to stand so close? I slipped my arms into the oversized jacket that smelled like pine and detergent and zipped it up.
Was that necessary?
The fleece was a barrier between our bodies. Again, the thought of his rough hands on me flooded me with heat. Since my head was already tilted up to meet his gaze, I let it go further to the night sky above and gasped.
“What is it?”
“The stars.” I’d been an Army brat, moving around before my father retired in Detroit, but the sky looked the same from all the different places I’d lived in the States.
But now, a million stars dotted the black, shining in brilliance. The beauty of it halted my brain.
“When I was younger,” I said, “during the summer, my brothers and I would go out into the road in front of our house. We’d lie on the warm pavement and make up fake constellations, then convince our younger brother they were real.”
Why the hell was I thinking of the memory, and more surprising, why had I told him about it?
He had no comment, and I refocused on the diamonds sparkling overhead.
“Anyway,” I said quickly to cover my embarrassment, “I’ve never seen it like that.”
“It looks that way without the ambient light of the cities.”
“It’s gorgeous.”
“Yeah.” There was an uneven quality about his voice that drew my attention.
He wasn’t looking up. His intense gaze was cast down on me, and for the second time this evening, it drained all the air from my lungs. Lust burned through my body, and I wanted this intimidating man I knew almost nothing about to set his mouth on mine.
His expression said that was exactly what he was thinking about doing.
But he didn’t. Instead, the gaze hardened into something that looked very much like aggravation.
What the hell was his deal?
“Have I done something to upset you?”
“No,” he replied. “But I need you to get to your cabin so I can go back to doing my job.”
“Oh.” Had I been reading him wrong? “Wait a minute. You told me to leave at dinner, which is probably going to piss Giovanni off. You want to hurry back to that?”
“Maybe I like pissing him off.”
“If that’s true, then spending another minute out here won’t hurt.”
He blew out a frustrated breath. “Do I need to remind you that I have a gun?”
His hollow threat was borderline cute. “Oh, so you do have a sense of humor.”
“What makes you think I’m joking?” He gave me a sharp, intimidating look.
With the jacket off, I could see the full, thick biceps and toned form he had hidden beneath his t-shirt. He was totally lying. All his gaze did was send indecent thoughts flying into my brain faster than a jet engine. Damn, what was this man doing to me?
“You can’t threaten me after you gave me your jacket and manhandled Giovanni when he tried to cop a feel.”
“That was—” He stopped himself, looked like he wanted to try again, maybe a different angle. “I can’t afford to waste time on distractions.”
“Excuse me?”
“I find you incredibly distracting.” He said it like the words burned his mouth.
He’d just accused me of doing something, but I didn’t understand what. “Why?”
The muscles in his face tensed. “You’re a smart girl, figure it out.”
He blinked, and the mask on his face drained away. Holy shit. There was unadulterated lust painted on his face.
But abruptly, he reined in the emotion, pivoted, and took off, forcing me to follow. His stride was long, and I had to take two steps for every one of his. I wasn’t completely out of breath, but when we reached the side of the cabin, he shoved me aggressively against a wall, my back slamming into it.
“Be quiet,” Nathan hissed in my ear. “Giovanni and the other translator are heading this way.”
His large hands were gone from my body, but he was much too close. I could feel his warm breath on my face, and his gaze was locked on mine. There was nothing to do but be still and quiet.
And wait.
I wanted to point out that he, once again, was trying to save me from Giovanni’s advances, which was sweet—but unnecessary. I could handle whiny, sleazy Giovanni.
Nathan’s head turned to the sound of knocking on the door, and I didn’t like that I was no longer his focus. I liked the way he looked at me, even when he was pissed off or distracted.