Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100423 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100423 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
I collapse back on the sofa, frozen with shock, and wonder—why was it so intense, so goddamn vivid? I could feel him like it was real, his tongue dragging wet, the roughness of his hands gripping me. Even the stretch of him inside me lingers like a bruise.
I need to cool the fuck down, get my head straight.
I push up and shuffle up the stairs to the bathroom. I flick on the light, A harsh, yellow glow from a naked lightbulb. I turn on the shower. After some anxious coaxing, hot water pours out, and I am so grateful for it, I almost cry. Slow, steaming, thick clouds rise lazily into the air, and I peel off my soaked clothes and step under the hot spray.
I tilt my head back, letting the heat sink deep into my bones. My hands press against the tiled wall. I open my eyes and watch the water stream through my fingers as I try to pull myself together, claw back some grip, some sanity. But it won’t go away—his weight on me, his breath on my neck, those mesmerizing eyes cutting through the dark, that slow, rough voice, filthy with need. I shudder with a mix of dread and want, horrified at how my body hums, still craving for him, even now. I don’t know how to shake it off, and so I stand there for ages, water pounding on my head, trying to drown it out.
The butler, for God’s sake.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
Chapter
Nine
HUGH
To say I’m annoyed doesn’t even begin to cover it—it’s a gnawing itch that’s got my stomach in knots. It just won’t go away. No matter what I do.
I sit at the head of the long dining table, the polished mahogany gleaming richly under a good spread: bacon crisp at the edges, eggs soft and golden, toast slathered with butter, coffee steaming in a white porcelain cup. Everything is exquisitely presented, but I have no appetite. The staff move as quiet as shadows, careful not to clink a dish or drop a spoon. They sense it, the storm brewing in me, but it’s not them making my head pound.
It’s her.
I didn’t sleep last night. Not one bit, even though I was bone-tired when I got back from her cottage. I stepped under a hot shower and collapsed into bed, exhausted, yet my shoulders remained tight and my eyes stayed open, fixed on the ceiling.
What a shocker. But that goofy, neurotic slip of a girl with her sharp tongue and dusty hair kept me up. She’s fucking stuck in my mind like a burr I can’t remove. No one’s ever lingered around this long—hours, maybe if they’re really special, then they’re gone, forgotten. But this one?
I lay in the dark for hours and her order, ‘Get out,’ ringing sharp and clear, turning me on like I’ve never been before. It’s all so ridiculous. To start with, I’ve never had to hatch absurd plans to seduce and ditch a woman just for a patch of land, or twisted myself up like this for a woman. To top it all, I’m looking forward to the challenge of breaking her. I should be disgusted with myself for letting her drag me into these childish games.
When I finally gave up the idea of sleep, I had to contend with a painfully hard erection.
I tried to will it away, rolled over, buried my face in the pillow and tried to think of the most boring business deal I could, but her image refused to fade away—strawberry blonde hair dusted with grime, and those startlingly blue eyes glaring, fierce. As alive as flames.
With a groan of defeat, I hauled myself to the bathroom, flicking on the shower. Cold water poured out, sharp against my skin, streaming over my chest, my legs, but it didn’t help—still hard, still throbbing.
I gave in, wrapped my hand around it and stroked, hard and fast. Water dripped off my knuckles, my jaw, as I moved, picturing her—lips parted as she cursed and swore at me while I fucked her. I saw her sprawled out, legs wide open, her curses loud in my ears. My grip tightened on my swollen dick as I came hard. The spray washed away my release as I stood there, breath ragged. Fuck her. Wanting her is bad enough, but jerking off to her like that is just pathetic.
I went to bed disgusted, and for the first time in longer than I can remember, I overslept and missed my morning run. By the time I woke up, the sun was already in the sky, and it was too late to hit the trails. Not being able to shake off the excess energy threw me off and left me restless and out of rhythm. The exact kind of thing I left London to avoid.