Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 149641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 748(@200wpm)___ 599(@250wpm)___ 499(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 748(@200wpm)___ 599(@250wpm)___ 499(@300wpm)
He’d come to apologize to her and he’d known exactly where to go. While he might not know where she laid her head at night, he knew where she spent her time. The Hideout. He’d been to the place before, and Maggie’s team treated it like their clubhouse. They played in the club and did not mind having classified meetings in the conference room.
The first time he’d come she’d been sitting waiting for him in an electric blue corset that made his eyes damn near bulge out of his head. And he’d wondered if she’d been playing with Cooper McKay.
So when he went looking for her this time, he’d gone straight for the club.
He’d found her there and after kissing her she’d asked him to meet her here.
Should he leave? Did he have the answer he needed in that one kiss?
“Ben?”
He turned and she was there. She’d changed from athleisure wear to a cocktail dress that clung to her every curve. Her magenta hair curled around her shoulders like sweet candy he wanted to sink his hands into.
But that kiss…
That fucking kiss. “Was it weird for you the way it was for me?”
Her head tilted slightly. “What are you talking about? The fact that you saved my life and Cooper made a big scene? I was unconscious, you know. I couldn’t control how he reacted.”
She was referring to the time he couldn’t forget. “We should probably talk about that, but it wasn’t what I meant. I was talking about the kiss. I kissed you an hour ago and I’m worried it was forgettable enough that you’ve already put it out of your mind.”
Her lips curled up in a secretive smile. “So it wasn’t a good kiss for you?”
“It was awkward. It wasn’t… I suppose I’ve built it up in my head.”
She moved into his space, and his dick responded immediately. “It was rushed, Ben. And it was awkward because I knew Cooper was there and could see us.” She put a hand up. “I don’t love Cooper. I didn’t run after him. I got ready to come and see you, but I couldn’t have this discussion at the club. I can’t ask him to leave.”
Cooper had been there at the end. Cursing him and telling Ben that he wished him luck with her.
She was right. It had been rushed and awkward, and it bothered him that it was their first kiss because he was done playing. He wanted her. He was going to have her, and he didn’t care about the potential fallout.
He’d seen her die. He’d held her body that day in Toronto when Manny kidnapped Maggie and a woman named Carys and her fiancé, Tristan Dean-Miles, and Captain Zach Reed. When the bullets went flying, Manny set off a fail-safe—a bomb meant to take the house down around them. And Ben knew he couldn’t leave Maggie behind.
“Maggie, I want to forget all the reasons why this can’t work.”
She went on her toes and brought her lips close to his, hovering. “Then maybe you’re ready. Kiss me, Ben. See how it feels this time. See how it feels when it’s the right time and the right place and the absolute right woman for you.”
This was what he’d expected. This heady, almost drugged feeling he got when he was close to her, when their bodies brushed together and he could feel her warmth. When he could smell the citrus of her shampoo and her pink hair caressed his cheek.
He followed his instincts, which had gone haywire when they’d kissed earlier, but they were right back online now. He felt electric when his mouth touched hers. He moved this time instead of standing there. He took control because it felt right to do it. She wanted a dominant lover, and damn, but she brought it out in him. One kiss and he was ready to strip her bare and place his mark on her.
His tongue slipped inside her mouth and stroked over hers, and it took everything he had not to come in his freaking slacks.
He stepped back because they were standing right on the street, and no matter how much he wished it wasn’t true, they were still targets for his psycho ex-friend. “Let’s go inside.”
She pulled on his hand when he started leading her in. “Ben, was it different? Was it good?”
Was it good? It was beyond, and he had to deal with it because he was through pretending she wasn’t the be-all, end-all of his existence. “It was perfect.” He leaned over and kissed her again. “It was everything I wanted it to be. Needed it to be, and we need to talk.”
There was the sweetest flush to her face. “Yes, we should talk.”
He led her into the restaurant, hope in his heart for the first time in a long time.