Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 43375 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 217(@200wpm)___ 174(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43375 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 217(@200wpm)___ 174(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
I let out a short breath, not quite a laugh. “That’s what you were worried about? That I’d believe some random jealous gossip?”
She shook her head. “It’s not just that. I didn’t want you getting dragged into it. I’ve heard about the team’s code of conduct. The morality clause in your contract—”
I tunneled my fingers through my hair and looked up at the ceiling, taking a moment to pray for patience before meeting her eyes again. “You think I give a single fuck about what some petty coworker said? Rylin, this wouldn’t even blip on the team’s radar. You’re not some scandal. There’s no public meltdown. No paparazzi photo. It’s gossip in a deli. Not Page Six.”
She bit her lip and stared at me, too many emotions moving behind her eyes for me to grasp what she was feeling.
“But that’s not even what’s killing me here,” I added quietly as I closed the rest of the distance between us and curled my fingers around her biceps. “It’s the fact that you thought I’d believe it. That you think so little of me—of us—that you assumed one rumor could blow this apart.”
Her chin trembled, but she tried to hide it with a swallow and a shake of her head. “I wasn’t trying to blow it apart.”
“You pulled away. You tried to end things. And then ran instead of facing them. You didn’t even give me a chance to explain how little it matters. Baby, I get that you have baggage and scars, but I know you’re stronger than this. What we have is stronger than this.”
Her eyes welled up, finally meeting mine. “I didn’t want to be a liability.”
“For fuck’s sake, Rylin.” I dragged a hand down my face, then held up her notebook that she’d left behind. “You think I want you just because you’re convenient? That I’d give you up because of a whisper? I want you because of this. Because you’ve got a gift and a fire and this big, beautiful heart that you guard like it’s some fucking burden to everyone around you.”
I put the notebook on a little table against the wall and took her face in my hands, my thumbs brushing over her cheeks.
“I want you because you try so hard to keep smiling when life keeps throwing punches. Because you take care of everyone else, even when it costs you. Because you’ve got this ridiculous talent you pretend doesn’t matter. I want you because you make me feel something I’ve never felt before.”
Her breath caught. Her lashes fluttered, and she leaned into my touch like she couldn’t help herself.
“Baby, I take care of you because I want to. I can’t stand to see you give so much and get so little back. Even from yourself.”
I leaned in until our foreheads touched. “I don’t need you to protect me, Rylin. I just need you. All of you. The soft parts. The scared parts. The pieces you think aren’t good enough. I need to be everything for you that you can’t or won’t be for yourself.”
She closed her eyes, and her hands came up to clutch my wrists, fingers trembling slightly.
“This won’t be the last rumor.” I needed to be honest because when shit like this happened in the future, and it would happen, she couldn't run. I would be her rock, but only if she let me. “If you stay with me. I’m not a normal guy with a normal job. People will talk. There’ll be bullshit headlines, half-assed stories, and plenty of jealous assholes trying to stir shit. It’s part of the life I chose when I signed that contract.”
“I don’t want to be a burden,” she whispered.
I lifted my head and backed her up until her spine touched the wall. My palm braced beside her head, my body crowding close until there was nowhere for her to look but up at me.
“You think I see you as a burden?” I asked, my voice low and dangerous. “A fucking charity case?”
She shook her head weakly.
“I’ve never wanted anything this bad in my life,” I growled. “Every single time I look at you, I see the woman I want more than anything else in this world. You’re not something to fix. You’re mine.”
Her breath hitched.
I leaned in, my lips brushing hers but not taking. Not yet.
“Don’t you get it, baby? You’re essential to me now. There’s no going back. Not for me and not for you. You’re mine, and I won’t let you go.”
She opened her mouth, maybe to argue. Maybe to say something noble and self-sabotaging.
I kissed her. Partly to shut her up and partly because I just couldn’t wait anymore. It was deep and possessive. I put a little pressure on her chin, and she opened for me. My tongue stroking in a slow, hungry slide meant to remind her exactly what she tried to walk away from. Who she fucking belonged to.