Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 88463 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88463 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
He swallows hard, and I cup his face.
“You heard a bunch of sexy talk.”
“Live sexy talk. Not in a book.”
Ah, I get it.
“I can admit, if I’d heard that puck bunny talking to you like that at the bar that night, I would have ripped her fucking hair out.” I show him the iPad. “But this is in a book. See? We’re starting this project tomorrow, and he wanted to know if I thought this character was afraid in this scene, or if she’s apprehensive, and we just started running lines to get a feel for it. Shawn is famous for not liking to text. He calls or sends voice notes almost exclusively. It’s just how he works.”
“And you’re going to Chicago with him.”
My eyebrows climb in surprise.
“First of all, I’m not going anywhere with Shawn. Second, you knew we were running lines. How long were you standing in my doorway?”
He backs away from me completely and looks . . . hurt.
“Whoa. Nope, no shutting down on me, Ry.”
“I get it. You were working. Sorry to interrupt.”
“No,” I say again and reach for his hand, relieved when he doesn’t pull away. “Talk to me.”
“Anything I say right now will make me sound like a controlling asshole, so I’d probably better not talk to you.”
“You don’t sound like an asshole. Controlling? Maybe a smidge. This is my job. I was not flirting with Shawn. He’s a flirt all on his own, but he’s harmless. My boyfriend happens to be the hottest man in the universe and does this thing with his tongue—”
He shuts me up by using said tongue, pulling me against him and kissing the hell out of me, as if he’s claiming his territory all over again.
“You’ve never been a jealous man, Ry.”
“I’ve never had so much to lose,” he replies, and it makes my heart stutter.
“I’m right here. Completely obsessed with you. You don’t get to listen to me work anymore if it upsets you like this.”
“What’s in Chicago?”
I smile. “A book signing, where I’ve been invited to come and meet readers and sign their books too. Wanna go with me?”
“Absolutely. You’re not fucking going without me.”
I frown. “You don’t trust me? Is that what this is all about?”
“You’re the sexiest woman in the universe,” he replies, echoing my words. “I trust you. I don’t trust anyone else.”
“Don’t scare Shawn.”
“I’m not making that promise.”
I snort and check the time. “It’s not the end of the day yet.”
“No, I was going to see if you want to ride into Missoula and check on your place. Aiden wants to go to an electronics store and buy a gaming system so he and Mac can play together in the evenings.”
“His money’s been burning a hole in his pocket.”
“I’m going to teach that kid to be responsible with his paychecks,” Ry promises.
“He’s fifteen,” I remind him.
“It’s never too early to start.” He kisses my forehead. “Are we good, Trouble?”
“I think I should be asking you that question.”
He nods and gestures for me to walk ahead of him out of the office. “Let’s go. Before I carry you to the bedroom and fuck you so hard, there’s no way you’ll forget exactly who you belong to.”
I pause and squeeze my thighs together. “We could make time for that.”
Ry smirks. “Aiden’s waiting downstairs.”
“Damn.”
“I can’t believe my fridge died.” I’m scowling as we lock up my little house and then walk out to Ryker’s SUV. “At least it only had condiments in it. But still. Gross.”
“I’ll call a crew in to get it out of here.”
I don’t know how I didn’t end up with a ruined floor from any melted ice from the freezer.
“Wait, did you toss the ice and turn off the ice maker last time we were here?” I ask Ry.
“Of course I did.”
“You think of everything.”
He smirks and has just pulled out of my driveway, headed toward Aiden’s favorite electronics store, when his phone rings, showing Andy on the screen.
He accepts the call with an annoyed huff.
“Hello.”
“Hey, Ryker,” Andy says. From the corner of my eye, I see Aiden take his earbud out of his ear. “Is this a bad time?”
“I have about five minutes,” Ry replies. “What’s up?”
“I wanted to apologize.” His voice sounds sincere, but it’s that fake kind of sincere, when you know someone is full of shit. “I’m sorry and honestly embarrassed by the way everything went down when you were in Seattle.”
My gaze whips over to Ryker, whose knuckles are white as he grips the steering wheel, and he’s already clenching his jaw.
“We’ve worked together for a damn long time,” Andy continues, “and you know that I always have your best interests at heart. I don’t know how we got so far off course, but I don’t think you meant any harm.”
“What the fuck?” Aiden mutters under his breath, and I don’t even bother to shoot him a dirty look for swearing.