Total pages in book: 180
Estimated words: 168121 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 841(@200wpm)___ 672(@250wpm)___ 560(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 168121 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 841(@200wpm)___ 672(@250wpm)___ 560(@300wpm)
Tanned skin smoothed his face, giving him a calm expression, but there was a restlessness in the way his eyes shifted between hers. She recognized that look from that morning, and it twisted her gut. “You’re high.”
Her words hung there between them until movement drew their attention outside the bathroom. Nathan stood in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest, glaring at Jay.
Jay pushed off the wall and formed the other half of the deadlock with an identical stance. They bandied hostile looks, flexing their jaws and issuing so much testosterone the small room choked with it.
She sighed. “Nathan.”
The only thing Nathan moved was his lips. “He’s high.”
Protective till the end. “He’s harmless. Is there a plan? We need to leave, right?”
Nathan glanced at the dents in the wall. “Backup’s here. So are the cops.” He met her eyes.
“And we can’t trust them,” she said, softly, miserably.
Jay swung his head toward her. “Why not?”
“They’re probably on Roy’s payroll.” She chewed a fingernail. “The officers outside are probably here to ensure this ends according to Roy’s directive.”
“Roy’s directive? Fuck that.” Jay’s eyes blazed. “Do we know who these corrupt cops are? Why don’t we just call in different ones? He doesn’t own the entire NYPD.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do.” A tic bounced in Nathan’s jaw. “But officers protect each other. I can’t penetrate the blue code of silence with a couple of phone calls. It takes internal affairs and special investigations a long time to unearth who’s on the take and who isn’t. We’re on our own.” He raised his hand and stared at the screen on his phone. “The security team is sweeping the perimeter. Could take a while, but once we get the all clear, we move out. Be ready.” He and Jay shared another stare down, and he left the room.
Jay closed the door and turned to her, eyes on the floor.
Where was the battle glare now? “Jay?”
He looked up, the richness of his gorgeous brown eyes loaded with uncertainty. “I’m not high…at the moment, if that helps.” He rubbed his neck and shifted his weight from foot to foot. “I’m pretty much back to fucked up, angry, and vulnerable.”
A sudden influx of feelings for him welled up, filling her with a perverse sense of intoxication. His admission was the steel that made the man. He had no idea how courageous he was. “Everyone has vulnerabilities. A strong man isn’t afraid to show his.”
He chewed the inside of his cheek, making his adorable dimple more pronounced. “I don’t like feeling this way, Charlee.” His body drew ever closer, and she realized she was doing the same.
“Putting your trust in someone is the most vulnerable thing you can do.” She placed her palms flat on the counter behind her and spread her knees in invitation to stand between them.
The shadow of Roy’s forceful hand coiled around her, inside her, strangling her. She shook it off and focused on the man before her. “Dare to be vulnerable with me.” Was the quake in her voice as noticeable as the trembling in her legs?
A vibration seemed to ripple over his body. She might’ve been relationship handicapped, but she knew what arousal looked like on a man. It was evident in his sharp gasp, the softening of his gaze as it lowered to the apex of her thighs, and the way he carried himself through his pelvis as if all energy and thought were concentrated there.
Desire resonated from him as he followed his hips into the triangle of hers, holding her eyes until their faces were close, so close his breath became hers and their lips brushed through their exhales.
Wedged between her legs, he smoothed his palms along her jeans from her knees to her thighs, around her waist, and hooked his fingers beneath her butt. Then he yanked her to the edge of the counter until the zipper of her jeans was flush with the strain behind his leathers.
It was hard to remember not to touch him as his lips fell over hers and his tongue caressed back and forth, taking over her mouth and stealing her breath. She tasted the familiarity growing between them and savored the potency of it.
His fingers grazed her jaw and he rolled his brow against hers, panting heavily as he caught her licks and deepened them with the flat of his tongue. Her own fingers were locked, curling against the countertop.
They came up for air, slowly, breathlessly, and smiling like fools. His body was rigid. Pulsating. Ready. And at that moment, it was all hers. She rubbed her chest against the chiseled wall of his, her nipples hardening through her t-shirt.
He groaned and floated a hand over her breast, holding her eyes in silent question.
The imploring way he looked at her and the caution that preceded his actions made him someone she wanted to place her confidence in. She dropped her head back on her shoulders and pushed her breast into his waiting hand.