Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 155775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 779(@200wpm)___ 623(@250wpm)___ 519(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 155775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 779(@200wpm)___ 623(@250wpm)___ 519(@300wpm)
“Back to what we’re meant to be discussing,” Titus said with a disapproving look at them all. “You need to be ready to leave at any time if Dante wants you to go searching for Ortega.”
Both Cash and Ralen nodded.
“You can tell Dante that we’ll wait for his call,” Cash said.
“Good,” Titus replied. “Because I wouldn’t like to tell him that your loyalty was being split.”
“Cash and Ralen are still loyal to Dante,” Bonnie said to Titus. “They’re allowed to show interest in a girl.”
“Right, we will get going. We need to go get Addie some period supplies,” Cash said.
Both Titus and Bonnie looked surprised. Titus quickly shut that emotion off his face, but Bonnie just smiled. “That’s so sweet.”
Cash didn’t understand what was so sweet about getting period supplies, but he nodded.
“I’ve actually got some things in stock here,” Bonnie said. “If you want to take her down aisle ten, right at the end, she might find some things she likes there.”
“Addie, Addie, wake up.”
Addie sat up with a gasp, glancing all around her. What was it? What was wrong? What was going on?
Had she fallen asleep in class? Or while her mother was droning on in one of her lectures?
But it wasn’t her mother’s face that she stared up into. No, this face was far more masculine and way more beautiful. And yes, it was possible for a face to be both masculine and beautiful at the same time.
“Cash,” she said, grimacing as she heard the breathy note in her voice. She sounded like she was staring at somebody that she loved. Oh, that was just embarrassing.
In order to cover up her embarrassment, she sat, but her forehead slammed straight into his chin, and he sat back with a groan of pain.
Oh, shoot. Oh, shoot.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to,” she said hastily. Her words were almost tripping over each other as she tried to force them out of her dry, sore throat.
Standing, she wrung her hands together, shifting her weight from foot to foot. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sor-eek!” she cried as he stood up.
Taking hold of her shoulders with his hands, he gave them a squeeze. “Addie, stop apologizing. I’m fine.”
“I hit you. I hurt you.”
Addie would never deliberately harm someone, and she felt horrible.
Cash drew her into a gentle embrace, and she found herself with her face pressed to his chest, nestled just under his shoulder. Oh my God. She’d already been held in his lap, but his hug? It was the best feeling in the world.
Addie slumped into him and let him support her.
“Hey, are you all right?” he asked.
To her shock, he placed an arm under her bottom, then lifted her into the air so her face was close to his. She rested there with her feet dangling in the air.
Should she wrap her legs around his hips? But wouldn’t that be weird?
Why had he picked her up? What was she meant to do? Oh, God. Was she making a mess of this? She was, wasn’t she?
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Are you not feeling well?” he asked. “You just slumped into me, and I was worried you were going to fall over.”
Oh God.
She had done that, hadn’t she?
“Sorry.” She buried her face into his chest.
“Addie, we have got to stop you apologizing for stuff all the time. Don’t be sorry. Just tell me what’s going on. Also, put your legs up around my hips. That can’t be comfortable.”
Her legs moved without her even thinking about it, wrapping themselves around his hips. Oh, yeah, that felt so much better.
“Good girl.”
Jesus, she thought she’d do just about anything to hear the words ‘good girl’ coming from his lips.
Which was kind of a scary thought when she considered it.
She would have to be careful because she couldn’t trust just anyone with that power over her.
“What are you thinking?” he asked her.
There was no way that she wanted to tell him what she was really thinking.
“Addie,” he said in a low voice, “I know you can tell me.”
Drat. How had he figured her out so quickly? No one figured her out this easily. Of course, most people didn’t actually bother to try.
“You can tell me anything, remember? We’re a team.”
Oh, how she wished that was true.
She really wanted to be a team with Cash, maybe for the rest of her life.
Stop, Addie. He’s not going to marry you, for God’s sake. He’s just being kind to you because he’s a kind person.
“I like when you call me a good girl,” she blurted out.
“That’s good,” he told her. “Because I like being able to call you a good girl. That isn’t what is worrying you, though.”
“It’s just when you call me that I think I’d do anything to hear it.”
“And you’re worried about what you might actually do, without really meaning to?”