Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 126030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
She clutched him like a lifejacket in stormy waters. He slowed, savoring the contact, delighting in her willingness to let him completely dominate. His tongue slid across her bottom lip before he sucked that lip between his own. She groaned softly, running her hands up his chest now and hooking them around his neck.
He thought about sliding her off the stool and backing her against the wall, craving more contact, craving more, but backed away instead. He had things to do. He’d only stopped by to help Niamh diffuse the situation.
“Stay with Niamh and the others,” he murmured against her lips, still holding her hair and throat. She hadn’t opened her eyes. “I’ll come and get you after the dinner with the cairn leader and walk you home.”
“Okay,” she whispered.
And then he was gone, striding away from her and the bar before she could get her bearings. He felt the eyes of the women following him as he left. He glanced back at Natasha, disheveled and breathing heavily. She hadn’t seduced him, he’d chosen her, and everyone in the bar knew it. He’d been in control. There would be no denying his affections and desires. He had a woman, and she’d captured his whole focus.
He’d kissed her out of necessity, but he had to admit it was a new and exciting facet of their game. With each new situation they spun closer together. Eventually, she would be unable to deny that she felt what he did. That she wanted more than physical intimacy.
Eventually, she would beg, and he would take it to the next level.
Jessie
“I can’t decide what style to go for.” I looked between a red satin dress with a plunging neckline and a navy power suit with a cream silk blouse to go underneath. “Where’s Tristan?” I was addressing Mr. Tom, currently in the en suite bathroom organizing my makeup. “Or better yet, where’s Patty?”
“Here!” Patty walked in with a smile, her lipstick matching the color of her pink clothes and nails. “Jessie! It’s so good to see you again!” She stopped in front of me and gave me air kisses. “The red, definitely! Oh, how pretty. I just love it! Evan is going to be wearing a suit and a tie. Tristan is wearing something similar, as is Unfixable Sue.”
I paused in picking up the dress. “Unfixable Sue?”
Patty laughed. “Sue went to check on the bar delegation. They’d switched to another one a few streets over and Sue wanted to make sure they weren’t causing any problems. I was already on the job, and don’t you worry, Jessie. They were conducting themselves like any gargoyles would. Not a problem. Except a little animosity, of course, but that’s usual with Guardians. They always clash and then they take it out in the sky.”
Patty wrestled the clothes off me so she could slip the dress over my head.
“Oh, Jessie, yes! That is perfect.” Patty ushered me to the standing mirror. “Mr. Tom, we will be needing some very fancy jewelry for this. I hope you brought some.”
“Of course I brought some, what do you take me for?” Mr. Tom sniffed.
“Well, Niamh and Sue did the thing they always do—one picks on the other and the other sends warning glances and visual threats. You know how it is. Niamh called him Unfixable Sue, and I thought that was hilarious. Unfixable Sue! You know, because he was Broken Sue, and he’s finally finding his footing again, bless his heart. The poor dear has had a hard history. But the look he gave her... Well, it was priceless. It’ll probably stick, I’m warning you.”
Mr. Tom brought over two jewelry boxes. Patty hesitated in taking them.
“Why do you carry them?” she asked.
“I hide them so that insufferable old woman won’t steal them from the miss’s bags or mine and wear them around town. She has no respect for the house jewels. She uses them to lure criminals, and thinks it is perfectly fine and legal to then kill those criminals. Then I’m left to do damage control so she won’t be killed by the town alpha or go to Dick jail, and then I have to fetch the jewels from wherever she may have left them. It is a huge hassle.”
“Ah. Yes, I see.” And it seemed like she really did.
She opened each box, gushed, and chose a ruby and diamond necklace with a dripping spiderweb sort of design that was probably worth a fortune and had been in Ivy House for a great many years. It was absolutely gorgeous. I sincerely hoped it wouldn’t lure those criminals Niamh was so fond of, because I’d be afraid of breaking it by accident while warding off an attack.
“How about a simple diamond stud for earrings?” Patty stepped back to survey me. “Big ones, though. Do you have big ones?”