Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 90315 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 452(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90315 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 452(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
The kid shrugs, passes Gideon the bags, and walks away.
“Wow, no human interaction for me.” I roll my eyes as he sets the bags in the back and then fastens his seat belt. “I don’t think that kid was a security risk, big guy.”
“You don’t know that.” Suddenly, his hand cups my chin, making me turn to him, and my skin ignites from the fire of his touch, which seeps all the way down to my bones. “Roll your pretty eyes at me again and see what happens.”
Holy Jesus in a rowboat.
That threat has my vagina doing the foxtrot, and I’m not mad about it.
“You’re in a mood.”
He lets go and starts the engine, and within seconds we’re back on the freeway, headed toward the ranch.
The food smells good, but I’ve lost my appetite.
I should have stayed at the ranch.
Chapter Thirteen
Gideon
She should have stayed at the goddamn ranch.
Instead, I’ve had her right next to me all day, her orange scent wafting over to me every time she so much as moved. She’s in my hoodie, which is so big on her, it’s laughable, but she won’t let go of it.
And fuck if I don’t like that.
Walking through that store, with my dick pressed against her back and feeling her heat against me, was the kind of torture the army never trained me for.
And they trained me for both physical and psychological warfare.
Which I’m pretty sure I’m in the middle of right now.
My control is hanging on by a fucking thread.
Thank fuck she finally fell asleep. Glancing her way, I make sure she’s still out, and then breathe a sigh of relief.
I need a break from her sweet-as-honey voice and her questions. I wish the smell of her went away when she slept.
That would be a bonus.
But no, I can still smell her oranges, and I want to strip her naked, spread her open, and bury my nose in her. Inhale her and then eat my fill.
I’m going to hell for all this. I’ve been entrusted with her safety, and I’m not even sure I can keep her safe from me.
When I turn off the freeway and onto the ranch road, Lena stirs next to me. Her whimper sounds distressed, and suddenly, she gasps and sits up straight in her seat.
I brake and shove the truck into park and turn to her.
“Look at me.”
Her glassy eyes find mine. She’s breathing hard.
“You’re okay. It was just a dream.”
Rubbing her lips together, she gives a jerky nod and then exhales. “Yeah. Shit. Sorry.”
After watching her for a moment longer, I drive us the rest of the way home, listening in agony as Lena tries to steady her breathing. Something terrified her, and I want to tear it apart.
“What was it about?” I ask her, fisting my hand so I don’t reach out for her.
“The same as always” is all she says, and when I come to a stop at the house, she pushes out, slams the door, marches up the steps to the back door, and waits for me to unlock it.
After I grab the food out of the back seat, I join her and punch in the code, and she pushes through.
“I just need a minute,” she says, and doesn’t bother to go upstairs—she heads right into the half bathroom down here.
Leaving her be, I set the food on the island and go back out to get the supplies for her bedroom door. I leave the lumber where it is until I need it, and once I get back inside, I lift an eyebrow when I see Lena march out of the bathroom, pulling the hoodie over her head.
Her shirt comes off with it, leaving her in a practically see-through black bra, and there on full display is the metal in her tits.
Jesus Christ. Those sexy-as-fuck horizontal barbells will be what brings me to my knees.
When Lena lifts her head and sees me standing before her, those gorgeous eyes widen, but she doesn’t hurry to cover herself.
And I don’t turn away.
I stride toward her slowly, giving her plenty of opportunity to tell me to stop. To move back. To at least scowl at me.
But she does none of that, and my control is officially nowhere to be found.
“This is against every rule I follow.” My voice sounds like gravel, and she swallows hard but doesn’t falter. Her pupils dilate with every step I take, her chin lifting to keep her eyes on mine.
“Fuck the rules,” she whispers, and that’s all I need to hear.
Framing her face in my hands, I sweep my thumbs over her cheeks and lower my mouth to hers, and we both moan, as if we’re starving and this is our first meal in weeks.
She’s so fucking sweet.
Her lips are softer than I imagined, moving gently under my own, and when she parts her lips, inviting my tongue to dance with hers, it feels like every nerve in my body is on fire.