Total pages in book: 174
Estimated words: 172061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 860(@200wpm)___ 688(@250wpm)___ 574(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 172061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 860(@200wpm)___ 688(@250wpm)___ 574(@300wpm)
Was pretty sure I had…
I slammed my eyes closed and tried to breathe around the panic that wanted to take over.
I was only human, I tried to remind myself. And I was face to face with the man I’d loved for so many years. One I thought I’d never see again. One who’d been my every fantasy for so long.
Yeah, he’d demolished my heart, left me when we both needed each other more than we ever had before, but in that vulnerable moment in the safety of his room? I couldn’t stop the reaction.
It had to be a culmination of the fatigue and trepidation and the stunning relief at finally being here.
Blowing out the strain, I tossed off the covers and slipped from the bed. Lying here humiliated wasn’t going to help a thing, though I couldn’t stop myself from keeping my feet quiet on the rug as I tiptoed across the floor. I pressed my ear to the door, listening for any sounds on the other side.
There was nothing.
But I could feel it—the presence that swarmed like an intoxicating drug.
Dark and intimidating.
So different than the sheath of warmth I once knew.
I sucked in a cleansing breath and turned the knob, deciding I wasn’t going to shrink away.
I needed to be bold.
Of course, my footsteps faltered the second I stepped out and saw Cash was in the kitchen. His back to me as he nursed a cup of coffee, staring blankly out the window that was over the sink.
But I knew he could feel me. The way his muscles bunched in a bow like he needed to guard himself from my presence.
Or maybe he was only trying to block the image of me last night.
Now he had on a fresh white tee. The fabric was stretched thin across his wide, wide back. He wore a cap on his head, and his jeans were snug, only hinting at that insane body hidden underneath. He had almost a country vibe to him, though that casualness was written in a dark type of peril.
A pure dichotomy that I couldn’t make sense of.
The one thing I knew for sure?
The man was hot as hell.
A blaze I could feel rushing over my skin.
Far better than I’d even been able to express to Hadley.
All glowery and broody and…
“You shouldn’t be looking at me like that.”
Crap. I bit down on the inside of my cheek as he grunted it.
Flustered, I tried to come up with an explanation. Some way to tell him it had nothing to do with him.
Only he spoke before I had the chance. “We’re gonna pretend like what happened last night didn’t.”
“Oh, I…” I shifted from foot to foot.
“Coffee is ready,” he said like he never brought up the subject.
I hesitated for a beat before I floundered my way toward the kitchen.
Agony left me on a yelp when a sharp pain suddenly shot through my foot and up my leg.
“Holy frick,” I rasped under my breath, trying to hold it in.
Did I literally stub my freaking pinky toe on the edge of the island?
My knees buckled with the torment, and I grabbed onto the granite countertop to support myself, biting down on my tongue to keep from crying out.
I was convinced nothing in the world hurt worse than stubbing your toe.
Delivering three children had been a piece of cake compared to this.
Okay, fine, epidurals and all, but—
“Goddamn it, Daisy. Are you okay?” Cash bit out, suddenly in my face and taking hold of the outside of my arm.
“Stubbed…my…toe,” I gasped as I hobbled around, jumping on the other foot as the sharp pain spread out to a horrible throb.
“Of course, you did,” he grumbled under his breath. He almost sounded irritated by it.
“Yes, of course I did,” I hissed low. “What sane person would put an island right out in the middle of the room to trip over?”
Those hazel eyes narrowed, and he turned on his heel and rounded back into the kitchen.
It was fairly simple.
A long counter against the back wall with the sink in the middle and the dishwasher to the right of it. The refrigerator and double oven were on the left.
The large island ran perpendicular to it, and the stovetop was in the middle of that.
It was all done in brown wooden accents and raw stone, the same as the rest of the cabin.
“Okay, fine, your decorating skills are stellar. I’m just clumsy, remember?” I managed as I fumbled my way around into the kitchen, putting all the pressure on my heel as I went.
Cash didn’t humor me with a response.
He only moved for the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of creamer and set it next to the coffee maker.
A coffee cup was already there, along with a ceramic container of sugar.
Affection ballooned in my chest.
Foolish, I knew, but still…