Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 98398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
“Exactly. But now Luc is in the process of taking over for his father, and he has cut ties with the O’Murphy clan. It has brought a lot more to light. It looks like the Senior Manwarring was covering a lot more than just some intimidation.”
“Like?” Eddie moved around so she was sitting cross-legged on the bed, leaning back on her arms and getting comfortable, and I wondered if she knew how tempting she was, exposing just a few more inches of skin while she discussed the merits and reasoning behind this case. My mouth was watering, and my cock started hardening for her again.
“Arson, for one, a few counts of attempted murder, suspected involvement in a few missing persons cases, kidnapping, blackmail, bribing a government official, and extortion.”
“So now that your friend’s family isn’t protecting them, they can be brought to justice?”
“No, now that I know the extent of their crimes, they will be brought to justice.” I couldn’t help myself. I reached out and ran my finger from her neck down along the line of the robe, then brushed it aside to fully expose one perfect breast, her nipple instantly pebbling under the graze of my thumb.
“So now you are going to be the one to take the bad men off the streets and make New York a little safer.” She was teasing me, but I liked it.
“I don’t know, what’s in it for me?” I teased her right back.
“How about the gratitude of the city?”
“What if I was only interested in the gratitude of a single citizen.”
“The mayor?” she asked, placing a finger on her chin like she was thinking.
“No,” I said, tweaking her nipple, making it hard enough to cut glass.
“The governor?”
“Try again, little one,” I all but growled.
She leaned over me, letting the side of the robe open completely, as she grabbed my laptop and moved it to the side table. Then she threw her leg over my lap and straddled me, grinding her hips down over my achingly hard cock.
“What does this citizen have to do to show her appreciation?”
“This.” I reached up, sliding my hands in her loose waves, and pulled her lips to mine. Her kiss was hot, passionate fire, but I wanted something else, something that was more.
I kissed her slowly, waiting for her to follow my lead. I kissed her slow and deep, and when she relaxed against my lips, I rolled her over and made love to her. It was slow, passionate, and intimate. I didn’t want to control her, I didn’t want to dominate her, I wanted to coax pleasure from her body, and I wanted her to love me as I was starting to love her. It was too soon to tell her how I felt, so I wanted to show her.
“You know what this means, don’t you,” I asked, laying on the bed with Eddie in my arms, both of us naked, covered in sweat, and completely enamored in the afterglow of what I could only describe as making love.
“No, what does this mean?” she asked, placing a sweet kiss on my chest before laying her head back down in the same spot.
“It means you’re mine now, all mine.”
She let out a seductive little giggle. “And what does that mean?”
“It means you’re mine to protect.” I kissed her shoulder. “To provide for.” I placed another kiss on her shoulder. “To adore.”
“Mr. Astrid,” she said, looking up into my eyes. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were informing me that we are a couple. In a romantic relationship, not a professional one, with certain… benefits.”
“Ms. Carmichael, that is exactly what I’m telling you.” I leaned down and kissed her forehead.
“Harrison, you know that won’t work. You need a woman like Catherine, preferably not as bitchy, but someone who can be on your arm at fancy cocktail parties, balls and galas, and other pretentious gatherings. You need a woman that can make idle chitchat with the other women of your station. That’s not me. I don’t know how to do that. I don’t want to learn how to do it either.”
“If that was what I wanted, then I would have stayed with Catherine,” I said, looking her in the eye. “That’s not what I want, and she was certainly not who I want.”
“Then what do you want?” she asked.
“I want a brilliant, sexy woman who is as much of a fighter as I am. I want a woman who knows what it means to work, what it means to want something so bad you can taste it. I need a woman with ambitions built on more than just societal expectations.”
“You want a charity case?”
“Ms. Carmichael, you couldn’t be a charity case if you tried. In fact, I did try, and you refused. I had to pick you up out of that god-awful crack den of a room and drag you to somewhere that was more fitting for a woman of your stature.”