Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 63911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 320(@200wpm)___ 256(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 320(@200wpm)___ 256(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
She stammered, “Jaak, I—-”
The frustration in her eyes made him shake his head, and he soothed her with a smile, saying gently, “It’s okay, babe.”
Was it?
“I can wait.”
Could he?
“And when you can say the words—-” He brushed his mouth with hers, whispering against her lips, “I’ll say them, too.”
His mouth pressed hard against Ilse’s.
I love you.
He thought about all the hardships she had survived, thought about how much strength and courage it took to smile every time she was confronted with the past—-
I love her.
And he always would.
Ilse was the only poison his heart would accept, the only woman he knew he would never have to rescue, the only woman who was strong enough to love Jaak back – without needing him.
Chapter Twelve
It was almost eight in the morning by the time Ilse made it to the bakery a block away from Jan’s school, and for one moment she almost thought that the billionaire had gone and left her just because she was a few minutes late. But then she saw a couple of schoolgirls giggling, two office women fidgeting, and when Ilse followed their gazes—-
Found you, Ilse thought.
Where Jaak de Konigh was concerned, admiring females would most likely be involved.
The billionaire was seated alone on the bench, and he looked like he had dozed off with his head bowed and his arms casually locked over his chest. He had an olive-green waxed cotton jacket over a plaid shirt, and a pair of tight denims and boots completed his look.
Stylish and gorgeous as always, Ilse thought crossly, but really her irritation was more because she found him too, too handsome for her own good.
She bought their breakfast from the bakery before crossing the street, but when she stopped in front of him, Ilse was suddenly struck with indecision. Should she wake him or let him sleep a few minutes more?
She fidgeted and paced in front of him, wondering what was the right thing to do.
But a moment later, she realized the decision wasn’t hers to make at all. The billionaire looked up, and the way his blue eyes gleamed up at her told Ilse he had been awake the entire time, had probably been enjoying the way she had agonized over waking him up.
“It’s not funny,” she scolded him sternly. “I was worried—-”
“Morning, babe,” he mocked.
She flushed. “Good morning,” she said belatedly.
He pulled her down, taking her by surprise, and she fell into the space beside him. “I thought you were cute—-”
Ilse stiffened. “I’m not cute!”
“You were,” he assured her. “Your obvious concern for me was very, very cute—-”
She tried getting up at that, and he laughed, saying, “Do you see? Very cute—-”
Ilse growled, but this only had the billionaire laughing harder.
“I am NOT cu—-” But the rest of her words disappeared in his kiss.
She tried to keep still and stay silent, but this only made the billionaire kiss her more deeply, and when she felt him fisting her hair, in broad daylight, and with so many shocked eyes glued to them, the thrilling, forbidden pleasure of it tore a whimper out of her—-
The billionaire’s lips gentled, and when he finally pulled away, Ilse wasn’t at all surprised to see the sly smile on his handsome face.
Jackass, Ilse thought even as she fought to get her bearings back.
A certifiable jackass, with his stupid habit of kissing her until his passion eviscerated her senses.
A world-class jackass, because his only goal was to have her making sounds like she was auditioning for a porn film.
But he was her jackass, and she really, really liked that it was so. This was her most mortifying secret, and Ilse had long vowed to take the secret with her to the grave.
And so when the billionaire glanced at her, she only had three words to say.
“I hate you.”
But his blue eyes only gleamed. I love you.
Argh. That was another annoying thing about Jaak de Konigh. He loved her, but he had yet to say the words.
“I hate you,” she said again, more feelingly this time. She tried using her free hand to push him off, conscious of the way they were still drawing attention. This was a particularly busy street in the city, and then there were still those schoolgirls across the street. “Jaak, I’m serious. Stop—-” He started nuzzling the side of her neck, and Ilse’s voice trailed off.
Making out in broad daylight, she thought weakly. When had she become so shameless in her personal life?
It was utterly unlike her, but even so—-
Her toes could only curl hard when the billionaire nipped the tender skin of her neck. “J-Jaak...” Even as the breathless note in her voice made her want to cringe, Ilse knew from experience that would always be how she’d sound whenever the billionaire did these thoroughly wicked things to her body.
His mouth moved to her ear, whispering, “You smell so damn good, babe.”