Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 120186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 601(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 601(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
Maybe she won’t come. Am I this fucked in the head? It’s all of three minutes later than she agreed to be here tonight, and I’m ready to give up and drive home. I need to have a little faith that she’ll stand by her word, the way I’m asking her to have faith in me. It’s a fucking nightmare for somebody whose faith was usually rewarded with a kick in the teeth.
When headlights appear in the distance, the tightness building in my chest loosens as she gets closer. Once she’s pulled up next to me, she cuts her engine, then scrambles out of the car and into the truck, slamming the door, rubbing her hands together. “Jesus, it got cold. The skirt seemed like a good idea when I got dressed.”
As far as I’m concerned, it’s still a good idea, along with the knee-high boots hugging her calves.
“How did it go today?” Now that she’s here, close enough to touch, I can think straight.
“All right, I think.” She holds her hands in front of the vent. They’re trembling. From the cold? “I bought a few things. I couldn’t tell you what they look like.”
“Saint doesn’t know anything?”
She shakes her head firmly. “No. I love her, but she’s an awful liar. She would want to tell Calder right away. Or he would guess it or something.”
She doesn’t look relieved, though, when she turns to me. “I kind of think she knows something’s up, though. This is tricky. She knew I wasn’t marrying Jackson because I actually cared about him—even though I never told her the full story—and now I have to pretend I do.”
I see what she means. “I guess all we can do is hope she’s smart enough to keep her questions to herself. As my brother’s wife, she should know when to keep quiet.”
Then something else hits me. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not the most important, but I would like to know. “Does she know about us? Did you ever tell her anything?”
“Are you kidding?” She blurts out a laugh and shakes her head. “I was sure she would never understand. She doesn’t know anything about us now, either.”
Because you’re embarrassed? I need to get it together. I need to be better than this for both of us. Obviously, it’s better that she doesn’t know. At least for now.
“Here.” Reaching into the glove box, I pull out one of the two phones I bought today. “This one’s for you. My new number is already programmed.”
“Why do I need this?”
“It’s a precaution. That’s all. We want to keep our communication private.”
“Gotcha.”
“Also…” She’s going to hate this part. “You’ll want to go back into town tomorrow. Two days at the most.”
“Christ, I never did this much shopping before. It doesn’t look natural.”
“Not for shopping.” I don’t like the idea, either, but it’s the only way. “You need to go to the sheriff.”
Her face pales. “Oh shit.”
“It’s what a fiancée would do.”
She groans and rolls her eyes.
“You have to ask if there’s been any developments. If there’s anything you can do. You would be pissed off if someone you cared about disappeared and no one was doing anything about it. Right?”
Grimacing, she replies, “I already did when Saint was missing.”
“That’s exactly why you have to do it now. It has to look like you’re worried.” I won’t bother asking if she thinks she can do it. It doesn’t matter whether she thinks she can. She has to. It’s as simple as that.
“Fine. I will.” Touching a hand to her forehead, she closes her eyes. “I feel like my head might explode.”
“You’ve got this.” Reaching over, I cup the back of her neck and rub gently. So soft. How did I go this long without touching her?
She looks at me, and all it takes is a split second of eye contact for me to receive her message. The next thing I know, she’s scrambling out of her seat and into my lap. I move my seat back to make room when her ass lands on the horn and makes us laugh before she settles on top of me, straddling my hips.
“Warm me up,” she whispers, leaning over me with her hair brushing against my face and her mouth inches away from mine. She is everything in my world right now. There is nothing but her warmth. The weight of her body. Her thick thighs squeezing mine while the scent of her perfume unleashes a primal hunger in me.
What am I supposed to do but taste her?
She tastes like coming home. Sweet, addictive, something I didn’t know I was missing. Her lips are plump and juicy like the rest of her. I scrape one with my teeth before sucking gently, making her whimper while she moves in my lap.
“What have I done to you?” I ask, running my hands over her boots and up her legs, where goose bumps cover her flesh. “My innocent little virgin turned cock hungry.”