Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 36890 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 184(@200wpm)___ 148(@250wpm)___ 123(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36890 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 184(@200wpm)___ 148(@250wpm)___ 123(@300wpm)
And there was always the possibility that he had the same concerns as Melanie. Maybe he didn’t want me to get hurt chasing down a theory that could blow up in my face professionally. Or worse.
Aston could just be trying to protect me.
That sounded exactly like something the man I was falling for would do.
9
ASTON
My mind was preoccupied with the fucking Manet and that bâtard, Sterling Ellis. We could be in deep shit if the situation wasn’t handled just right.
I considered canceling my plans with Kerrigan, but she had become the balm to my soul, and I needed to see her. To feel her in my arms. To drag her scent into my lungs and drown in her laughter. I could forget about everything else and focus solely on the woman who had fast become essential to my survival.
It was gorgeous outside, and the evening temperatures were supposed to be a little warmer than usual. So I’d driven my Porsche convertible, thinking Kerrigan might love riding in it. When we walked up to it, she beamed at me and bounced on her feet with excitement. “This is yours?”
“It seemed like the perfect night to have the top down,” I answered, not mentioning that this was one of six cars I owned. Charles and I had been born to wealth and both received hefty trust funds when we turned twenty-five. And forgery didn’t exactly pay peanuts, either.
I wasn’t DeLuca rich, but my grandchildren’s grandchildren would live comfortably if their inheritance was managed well.
I let go of Kerrigan to open her door and chuckled when she clapped her hands excitedly. “I haven’t ridden in a convertible since I was a teenager.”
My lips pressed together into a flat line as I helped her into her seat. “Boyfriend?”
“Uncle,” she replied with a smirk. Obviously, she hadn’t missed the note of jealousy in my voice.
Once I had buckled her in and came around, climbing into my own seat, I hit the button to take the top down. While we waited, I cupped my hand on the back of her neck and urged her to come toward me while my head descended. Then I sipped from her sweet lips for a few seconds before sealing my mouth over hers.
We were startled out of the kiss when the convertible top snapped into place, but I didn’t let her go right away.
“I’ve been dying to do that since the moment I saw you tonight,” I growled, pressing my forehead against hers.
Kerrigan’s breath stuttered when she exhaled slowly. Then she whispered, “Me too.”
“I can’t get the taste of your pussy out of my mind,” I grunted as I dragged my lips along her jaw and up to her ear. “Next time, I won’t be licking it from my fingers.”
A wicked smile stole across my face when she shivered and squeezed her legs together.
“We’d better go before I decide I need that taste on my tongue right now.”
She swallowed hard before nodding.
After one more soft kiss, I pulled my arm back and lectured my dick to stand the fuck down as I reversed out of the parking spot. I drove out onto the road, then reached over and threaded my fingers through Kerrigan’s before setting our joined hands on my thigh.
It was too loud for conversation, but I turned on some sultry, bluesy music, and we rode in comfortable silence. Being with Kerrigan felt effortless, and it would have been all too easy to completely let my guard down. But slipping up that way could end her life, and that thought was agonizing enough for me to remain vigilant.
Despite that resolve, I’d still gone forward with my plans for the night, even though one wrong step could put me in a very dangerous position.
The drive out to Camillia Falls wasn’t long, and when I turned into my driveway, Kerrigan sighed dreamily. I smiled at her relaxed posture and kissed the back of her hand before shutting the car off.
Then she sat up straight, and her body went rigid.
“Where are we?” she practically squeaked as she stared up at my house.
Since I’d grown up in a rather large château in France, this house had always seemed…normal. My small country estate was downright conservative compared to Rafa’s estate, Magnolia Crest, and the houses built on it.
But looking at it from Kerrigan’s perspective, I realized that my place must’ve seemed extravagant.
“My home,” I told her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. She gaped at me, and I chuckled as I let go, then pressed the button to bring the convertible top back into place. “I can give you a tour of the house later, but that’s not why I brought you here.”
“Um…there’s more?”
“You’ll see,” I murmured cryptically with a wink before exiting the car.
I loped around to her side and opened the door, then helped her climb to her feet.