Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 49258 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 246(@200wpm)___ 197(@250wpm)___ 164(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49258 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 246(@200wpm)___ 197(@250wpm)___ 164(@300wpm)
She circled around them and headed into the house as Koa said, “Giana, she hurt her…” The door crashing closed behind Giana interrupted his explanation.
“Oops! She seemed angry. Trouble in paradise?” Sharon asked, looking too pleased.
“I’ll get you to your porch, then you’re on your own,” Koa told Sharon, walking as fast as possible.
“Whoa! Slow down. You’re jarring my ankle.” Sharon lifted her right foot as if to remind him she was wounded.
Koa stopped and set Sharon on her feet in the middle of the sidewalk. “It’s your right foot now? That’s telling. You supposedly hurt your left foot when you entered my house without permission. Make your own way home. Don’t bother me again.” He turned and immediately ran back to his house.
“Koa! I hurt myself at your home. I could sue you. At least get me home,” Sharon shouted after him.
Koa ignored her and raced up his driveway. Sharon definitely knew how to put on a show for the neighbors. As he got to the front door, it opened, and Giana stepped out with her work uniforms clutched in one hand and a plastic bag in the other. He was sure it contained her stuffies.
“Giana, she faked an injury, and carrying her was the only way I could get her out of here,” Koa explained.
“I wondered how long it would take until you were tired of playing Daddy.”
Her expression broke his heart. He had to get her to listen to him. Koa stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. Instantly, Giana struggled. She was in amazing physical shape and a handful to control, but Koa wouldn’t let her go.
Picking her off the ground, he hauled her kicking and yelling into his house. He slammed the door closed with his elbow and set her feet on the floor. “Stop and listen. I’ll let you leave in a few minutes if you still want to.”
“You’re damn right I want to leave. Probably every housewife in the neighborhood is calling the police right now.” Giana glared at him.
“I got home and took a shower. Like I usually do, I put on shorts and started dinner. Sharon came here for some reason. I still don’t know why.”
“Looks like she got swept off her feet by your charm.” Giana spat the words at him.
“When I answered the door, she leered at my chest, making me very uncomfortable. I didn’t want to encourage her, so I excused myself to get a shirt. When I came back, she had waltzed inside.”
“You didn’t want to encourage her?”
He bristled at her tone. “I did not invite her attention, nor have I given her any indication in the year that I’ve lived here that I was interested in her.”
“Right. So how did she end up in your arms?” Giana crossed her own over her chest.
“She faked falling and then pretended to have damaged her ankle.”
“And how do you know she made her injury up?”
“I left her standing in the middle of the sidewalk when she forgot which side she’d supposedly hurt—first it was her left ankle and then her right.” Koa fumed. He’d never decked a woman and would never do so, but Sharon had earned a lot of bad karma through this farce.
“You really don’t want her?”
“Not a chance in hell that I would ever touch that woman—even if my life hinged on it. And I’m not tired of playing Daddy. That’s who I am.” Koa held Giana’s gaze with his. He needed to know she understood.
Giana dropped the hangers in her hand and hugged her stuffies closer. “I really screwed this up, didn’t I?”
“No. That bitch screwed this up. She’s not happy in her marriage, so she had to make sure everyone else is as miserable as she is,” Koa said bluntly. He stepped forward and pulled Giana close. He squeezed her until she squeaked.
“Are you going to spank me?”
“For getting upset?” he asked, taking a step back to study her face. “I’m glad you cared enough about us to get upset.”
“I should have listened to you.”
“Yes, you should have. And I should have checked the peephole and never answered that door. I’m putting in a ring camera tomorrow after training.”
“Surely, she’ll never come back,” Giana said.
“Her type never stops. I’d talk to her husband when he returns, but I don’t think that will make a difference.”
A sound made him stop and look around. “Do you hear music?”
“Oh! That’s my phone.”
Giana fumbled to pull it out of her back pocket. “Hello?”
“Someone broke into my apartment?” she asked a few seconds later and then finally, “I’ll be right there.”
After disconnecting from the call, Giana explained, “That was my apartment complex. My neighbors reported that someone vandalized my apartment. The police need me to come and tell them if anything is missing.”
Her hands shook slightly as her gaze darted around. He knew her brain whirled around in her head. “I’ll drive.”