Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 35875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 179(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 179(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
"Maybe." She eyes me skeptically. "Depends on if you're going to pretend I didn't just demolish breakfast like I have no manners."
"I'm actually trying to talk myself out of fucking you like I have none." I sip my coffee, eyeing her over the rim. "I like watching you eat."
She blushes from the top of her robe to her roots. "If I'm going to be squatting here, we need to set some ground rules."
"Oh, we do, do we?" It's cute that she thinks she gets to set rules.
"Yes. Definitely." She bobs her head for emphasis.
"Let's hear them then."
"No talking about having sex with me. No talking about getting me pregnant. And absolutely no more kissing me."
"Yeah, fuck all that bullshit, Madison." I set my cup down, stalking toward her. I cage her in with my arms on either side of her, planting my lips right up against the side of her throat. Even though she tries like hell to hold herself rigid, she still leans into me. "Here are my rules, baby. I will be talking about fucking you. I am going to get you pregnant. And we will be doing a whole helluva lot more than kissing."
"Jack," she whimpers.
"Also, you're moving out of the pool house into the main house." I nip the shell of her ear. "No negotiations."
"But…"
"There are rats out here," I lie.
"R-rats?"
"Giant, smelly rats."
"Maybe I should move into the main house," she whispers. "J-just in case."
"Yeah, maybe you should." I nip her ear again to hide my smile. If this is what winning feels like, it's fucking great. "You can do that while I'm at work today. And then we'll go to dinner at Drake's."
You know that scene in The Exorcist where the possessed girl's head turns all the goddamn way around and she's screaming "Fuck me!"? Madison's head damn near does that.
"W-what? Dinner where? Why?"
"Dinner with my brother and his wife. At their house." I tilt her head back, brushing my lips across hers. "Because I said so."
"You can't just…"
"I can." I kiss her again. Fuck, do I really need to work today? "You've been hiding out here for three days, baby. You need to see something other than the blue paint. And they don't live in Silver Spoon Falls, so it'll be fine."
She stares at me with wide eyes, doubt written plainly on her face.
"It'll be fine, baby."
"Says you," she finally mutters. "It's not your life on the line."
"Hey." I force her to look at me. "Do you think I'm going to let anything happen to the mother of my children? Hell no."
"Children?" she splutters. "Jesus, Jack. Maybe you're the one with a concussion. You've moved awfully fast from, "Me man, me tie you to bed" to, "You woman, you have all me babies"."
"It's a logical progression, Madison." I brush my thumb across her bottom lip before reluctantly releasing her. "And it isn't awfully fast. It's been seven goddamn years in the making."
I step away, leaving her gaping at me, the shock evident on her face.
"Yeah, I said what I said. See you after work." I stride for the door, only to pause. "Move your shit into the main house. I left it unlocked for you."
Chapter Four
Madison
Idon't move my stuff into the main house. Instead, I wait for Jack to leave and then quickly get dressed before slipping off the property the same way I've been getting onto it—through the broken fence panel on the back side of the property.
I should probably tell him about that, but it serves my purposes to keep it a secret for now. Within five minutes of leaving the property, I'm in my car, heading toward my company. Unlike the last couple of days, however, my mind isn't on stalking my father.
It's on Jack Whitlock. The man is…well, he's something.
Did he really remember me all this time because he liked me all those years ago? Why didn't he say something?
Do I even need to ask? When we met, I was still six weeks shy of my eighteenth birthday. And Jack may be a lot of things, but he isn't a creep. He never would have acted on anything because of my age. Even had I stuck around after my birthday, I doubt he would have made a move. I was too young for him.
I guess he doesn't feel the same way about the decade separating us now.
Which begs the question…how do I feel about it?
Ha. I don't need to ask that question, either. In seven years, I've never forgotten Jack. I've spent more time than I'd like to admit stalking him online, just to see what he's been doing. Or who he's been doing, more likely. In all that time, there hasn't ever been a single photo of him with anyone. He never got married. He's never been linked to anyone. He's always just been…alone.