Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 132657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
She managed a pretty flush, and her eyes turned slightly down. “I wasn’t shaming you. I like your gym. You’ve got some trainers there who actually know how to work with women.”
He made sure of it. “So the reason you never play with me isn’t because you find my blue-collar status distasteful?”
Her eyes came up, flashing a little fire. “Of course not. I didn’t say those things because I believe them. I said them so you would see who Leah is, though now I get that you already knew. How was I supposed to know you’re the smart one? I certainly don’t care how much money you make as long as you’re working hard and trying to be a good person. Which you do.”
He knew this was wrong, but he couldn’t help himself. Their chemistry… He never felt anything like it. Never wanted any woman the way he wanted Harlow. Maybe he could ignore it if he thought for one second she didn’t feel it, too. He could absolutely ignore it, could sacrifice for Jensen if he thought she didn’t need him. But she did. The truth of the matter was they both needed him. “So why don’t you play with me, Harlow?”
Those gorgeous eyes stared at him, sexy bottom lip disappearing behind her teeth. “You know why.”
He reached out and touched her, running his fingers over her jawline and then brushing the pad of his thumb over her lips. “Because you’re afraid of me.”
Her eyes rolled, and he was reminded how much he wanted to slap her ass a couple of times and get her to cry for him. “I’m not scared of you.”
Little liar. She was absolutely afraid of what was between them. “You are, but you have a question for me. You’re going to be brave today, and I might finally get what I want.”
“What do you want, Niall?” The question came out a bit breathless.
He gave her a smile. “A chance to show you exactly how good I can be for you, Harlow Dawson.”
The way she was looking at him damn near sent him to his knees. And then it changed, that gorgeous face frowning. “Wait. How did you know I was going to ask you a question?”
He had an answer prepared because he decided to chuck Gabe under the bus the minute he told on Harlow. Oh, he knew the guy was trying to watch over his kingdom and shit and he liked him. The ladies deserved their privacy, however, no matter what King Gabe thought was true. Niall wasn’t lying to her about anything he didn’t absolutely have to. “Gabe has a whole spy network going. He told me when I came in this evening.”
Her jaw dropped. “That asshole. I thought it was the spy kids. I should have known they didn’t care about anything but the betting book and national secrets. When did you get here?”
“Around nine-thirty.” He saw her car in the lot when he parked. He always checked on her. If she asked her question tonight, it would be far easier to do it since he could stop by her work and bring her coffee or stop by her place to see if she needed anything.
Or wake up in her bed.
She huffed. “I only made this damn decision around nine and fucking Gabe Lodge already knows about it and goes straight to you? Unbelievable. I’m going to kick his ass. I think we’re going to have a fight club tonight.”
Oh, that wasn’t happening. He wasn’t worried about her taking care of herself. She was solid, but he didn’t want to waste time. He reached for her arm, pulling her back. “Slow down, my Valkyrie.”
A brow rose over her eyes. “Valkyrie?”
“I have a thing for warrior women,” he admitted. He thought of her as one of the Viking warrior women because her fierce nature was always evident. She didn’t simper and pretend to be less strong than she was so she could get some man to do something for her. Not his Harlow.
God, he hoped she was his Harlow.
She frowned. “Well, you’re in the right place, but I would think you would want a Taggart.”
He shook his head. The Taggart women were lovely and he enjoyed their company, but there had only been one woman for him. “Nah. I walked in and knew exactly who I wanted.”
“I don’t think I’m a warrior woman, Niall. I’m a PI. I didn’t even go into the military like so many people here.”
She was playing around with semantics. “What would you call yourself? Let’s see, you are absolutely an expert at self-defense.”
“Only because Big Tag tried to kill me a couple hundred times. Well, he sent people to. I had some weird training classes.”
He’d heard. “You take on dangerous cases for not a ton of money.”
“I can fund us for a while,” she admitted. “You’re right about the trust fund baby status.”