Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 108531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
“Yes, you do. You tell yourself you knew who he was. You tell yourself you were okay with the cheating because you knew what you were getting into. You say all those things because you think it’s better to be cynical and smart than to have gotten your dumb heart broken, but, baby, it’s better to have a heart that breaks than to have one encased in ice.” He caught her again, dragging her close. “You are not icy, Jayna. You are warm, and your heart works fine. Stop thinking and let me show you.”
He lowered his lips to hers, and all that toxic energy inside her morphed into something wild, something primal and necessary, something she wasn’t sure she’d ever felt before.
Want. Not need. She’d known so much need, but this longing was beyond anything. It was scary, and she couldn’t turn away from it. She knew she would likely ache later, but it didn’t matter in the moment. Now, all that mattered was him.
She needed this after the day she’d had. It wouldn’t last forever, but these moments with Quaid might save her sanity.
She wrapped her arms around him as he deepened the kiss, his tongue surging into her mouth and sending heat through her system. Quaid was right. She’d been cold for so long. She’d wrapped herself in cold logic for years, and it felt so good to be warm again.
His hands stroked down her back, moving toward her backside, and she pressed herself against him.
“Damn it, Jayna.” Quaid took in a shaky breath as he brought his hands back up to her waist. “We need to take a minute.”
All she heard was a rejection.
Quaid didn’t want her. Well, Todd hadn’t wanted her, either, and she’d survived that. She pulled away. “Take as long as you like. I’m going to find a motel.”
“I don’t think we should do this when you’re so emotional.”
“Fine. I won’t do it at all, Havery. Like I said, I’ll find a motel and we can both go back to our regularly scheduled lives.” She couldn’t stay here with him and listen to all the reasons why they couldn’t work. She hadn’t asked for some long-term relationship. She’d wanted to spend some time with him. That was all.
And he felt sorry for her. They all felt sorry for her. Well, the ones who didn’t actively loathe her. Like her own mother.
God, she was such a fool to have thought he would actually have a sexual interest in her. Hadn’t she learned she wasn’t that kind of woman?
“I’m starting to believe my life will never be normal again,” Quaid growled her way. “I know this is a mistake. I know we should take our time, but you’re not going to let that happen, are you?”
She was about to argue with him, to tell him he could go to hell, when he kissed her again. His hands went to her hair, holding her in place while he ravished her mouth. Even if her bruised heart had wanted to fight him, her body didn’t care. Her body simply needed, and it had found the one man she would put aside her ego for.
He kissed her for the longest time and then she was in his arms, being carried up the stairs.
She’d never been carried anywhere. “Quaid, you should put me down.”
“And lose you again? No.” He stared ahead, climbing the stairs. “I’ve wanted you from the moment you walked into my office. I wanted to go slow because I want this to last as long as it can, but I’ll take you any way I can get you, Cardet. Any damn way.”
He managed to get the door open and then Luna was staring up at her from the couch with wide doggy eyes.
Luna was going to have to learn that the humans sometimes closed the doors and did things she couldn’t be a part of. The big dog had started wagging her tail, but Quaid ignored everything as he strode toward his bedroom.
He kicked the door open and closed again before setting her on her feet.
“I’m going to show you how unforgettable I find you.” He smoothed back her hair and then he was kissing her again.
No one had ever kissed her like Quaid did, like he’d been hungry for years and only she could satisfy him. He devoured her mouth, and all thoughts of how awful the day had been fell away. She let herself feel something other than anger and anxiety, and it was magnificent.
When he tugged at her blouse, she brought her arms up, letting him drag it over her head. She kicked off her shoes and was suddenly so much shorter than he was. Or perhaps he was just bigger than he’d been before. Bigger, stronger, safer than she’d believed.
“I was right,” he said as his hand came up, fingers brushing her shoulders before running down to skim the tops of her breasts. “You’re even more beautiful without your clothes on.”