Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 146477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
I drag my hand down my face. I’ve been asking myself the same fucking question ever since she first told me about this asshole. “How’d you get out? Did someone come get you?”
“I wish. My phone was still on my desk, so I couldn’t call for anyone, but I found one of those little aluminum soda tabs in my pocket so I could jimmy one of the locks free. It wasn’t easy though. My fingers were freezing by that point, and now I can’t seem to get warm. And I know I could have just gone home, but—shit. I’m sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t have come.”
“Don’t be stupid, Morticia. You know you’re always welcome. I’ll get you a key so you don’t have to wait outside next time.”
“That’s not—thanks.”
I turn the corner to my street, and as I see her Honda up ahead, a strange calm pulses through my veins. “I’m just pulling up,” I tell her before ending the call.
I pull into my driveway a second later, and as I do, Harper lifts her head, locking her gaze on mine through my windshield. She looks fucking terrified, something that clearly didn’t come through on my surveillance cameras.
After cutting the engine, I all but bail out of my truck and race across the pavement to get to her. She remains seated on the step leading up to my front porch, and as I get closer, she lifts her chin, following my every movement.
Harper presses her lips into a worrying line. “I’m sorr—”
I reach down and grip her arms, pulling her off the step and straight into my arms, holding her within my warmth. “If the next word out of your mouth is sorry, I’m going to bend you over my fucking knee and turn your ass red,” I rumble, unable to keep from noticing just how cold her skin is. She must be freezing. “Don’t ever apologize for coming here. You understand me?”
Harper nods against my chest, and I can’t help but breathe her in, but I regret it almost instantly. “Goddamn, Morticia. You smell like death.”
“What did you expect? I spent almost an hour climbing over corpses currently decomposing and experiencing different stages of rigor mortis.”
“That’s . . . fucking disgusting.”
Harper scoffs in agreement, and while I’d love to stand here until the sun rises and hold her in my arms, I need to get her inside.
Reluctantly releasing her, I step around her and unlock the door before leading the way inside. “Are you hungry?”
Harper shakes her head. “Just cold.”
I nod. I could wrap her in a million blankets and tuck her into bed, but this chill seems bone deep, and the fastest way to conquer that is to shove her into a hot shower and have a warm soup or hot chocolate waiting for her afterward.
“Come on,” I say.
Harper follows me into my home, and I hastily lock up behind her before leading her into my bedroom and straight through to my ensuite. I could have easily taken her to the main bathroom, but having her in my space like this just seems better. Plus, the main bathroom only has a bar of soap and maybe a spare toothbrush. I rarely have visitors, and when I do, they know if they want to shower, they’re going to have to cater for themselves.
Okay, that makes me sound like a dick, but it is what it is. I don’t like my home being too comfortable for others. I prefer my visitors to come for a good time, not a long time. Harper though, she could stay here every day of forever, and I don’t think I’d care one fucking bit.
Harper follows me straight into my ensuite bathroom, and I don’t hesitate to reach into the shower and turn on the hot water. She stands awkwardly shivering in her scrubs, not knowing how this is going to play out. With her so cold, I don’t care for the usual formalities. I simply grab the hem of her shirt and lift it over her head.
“Pants,” I say.
Her lips press into a tight line and she begins to toe off her shoes, and as she does that, I lean back into the shower and make sure the water temperature is just right. When I turn back, she’s standing before me in nothing but a black bra and matching thong, and while I’d give the whole fucking world to have her, I resist the animalistic needs pounding through me. But there’s no denying it, she’s fucking stunning. Agonizingly breathtaking, and it kills me that I can’t have her as my own.
Harper moves to reach around herself to unhook her bra, and I start to make my escape, knowing damn well that if she were to even look at me right now, I’d be in that shower with her, claiming every inch of her creamy skin.