Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 48446 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 242(@200wpm)___ 194(@250wpm)___ 161(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48446 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 242(@200wpm)___ 194(@250wpm)___ 161(@300wpm)
“Yes, baby,” he said, eyes on my mouth, all semblance of concentration gone. “I heard you. I heard you begging and whining and—”
I kissed him to shut him up, and he met me eagerly with an open mouth, his tongue tangling with mine as he rolled on top of me and pinned me to the bed.
“You’ve never been so aggressive before,” I told him, panting, when he let me breathe.
“I never knew you belonged to me before.”
And I would have argued, but the way he was kissing me, the feel of his hands, the heat of his skin…all I wanted to do was surrender.
So for once, I did.
FOUR
Iwoke up feeling better than I had in a while. There were hickeys on my neck and a serious-looking bite mark on my shoulder, and I was sore in brand-new places, but there was comfort too, which was too terrifying to contemplate. Nothing had changed. I would still have to leave because, again, my brain told my heart for the ten billionth time, I could not live in San Francisco. There was nothing for me to do there.
Having changed and gone out the front door, ready for my morning run, I was surprised when Rachel suddenly appeared.
“May I join you?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She cleared her throat. “Not that I don’t love your sexy drawl when you say ma’am, but I really would like you to call me Rachel, if that’s okay.”
“It’s okay.” I smiled at her.
“Angie too would like to dispense with the ma’am forever.”
She had said as much, so I needed to remember. “Got it.”
“My brother-in-law is head over heels in love with you, my girls think you’re the Second Coming, and my husband probably won’t be able to look you in the eye this morning.”
“And why’s that?”
She arched one perfectly shaped raven-black brow. “You know very well why.”
I shrugged. “He meant well bringing his stockbroker friend up here.”
“Angie doesn’t see it that way.”
“Oh, poor bastard.” I chuckled. “Did she get a hold of him?”
She laughed with me. “Oh yes, she even came to our room last night to ream her oldest son out.”
“Now I feel bad.”
“You shouldn’t. I’ve known Cy for over ten years, and he has never been anything but logical and practical and, honestly, more than a little cold.”
I had no idea what she was talking about.
“Come on, I know a good trail.”
I followed her to the back of the house, but instead of veering right toward the stables, we went left over rocky ground that quickly became dirt. It opened out into a larger wooded area, and I saw other runners. It was cold and foggy, but the green of the trees, the smell of wet earth and grass, and the gray of the sky all soothed me.
“I don’t understand,” I said as we began the slow climb of the trail, “what you were tryin’ to say before.”
“He’s different.” She grinned at me. “Cy. He’s completely changed when you’re around.”
“How do ya mean?”
“That guy he was yesterday—happy, smiling, warm—I’ve never met him before.”
“I am so lost.”
She stopped jogging and stepped off the trail because apparently, she really wanted me to hear what she was about to say. “He never laughs. He’s always serious. And that’s not to say that he doesn’t love his family. We know he does, we all feel his regard, but he’s so driven and focused, he comes off wooden and harsh and in his own head sometimes. I can tell you that we all look forward to him leaving so the rest of us can relax and laugh and just have fun once he’s gone.”
That made no sense at all.
“Don’t get me wrong. If I had a brain tumor, if I needed someone to tinker around inside my skull, Cy’s the guy I would go to in a heartbeat. But the face he made yesterday when he saw you playing with the dogs, his smile, the way he can’t keep his hands off you… I really had no idea he had that in him. I’m as floored as the rest of them. Lyn said being with you guys at his house was absolutely surreal.”
I squinted at her.
“You have no idea what I’m talking about, do you.”
“No, I truly do not.”
She nodded. “C’mon, run with me.”
So I let it go. We ran in silence, and it was nice because normally I did it alone. It was comforting to know someone else was there. I could get used to not being by myself—very easily, if I wasn’t careful.
Everyone was up when we got back, and Brett walked over to me while I was drinking water with Rachel in the kitchen before we served ourselves breakfast.
“Thank you for running with her. I don’t like her going out alone, but I hurt my knee and can’t go anymore.”
I nodded. “It was my pleasure.”