Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 69330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
There were so many things to consider, Doumar and his team for starters, not to mention that he was seducing her to steal information for Cain. Not even the knowledge of what a lowlife he was could drag him away from those lips. The lure was too strong. The only thing that could stop him and save them both the heartache the truth would bring was if she said no.
“I’m going to kiss you, Sky. If you don’t want this, now is the time to say so.”
Say no, beautiful. Save yourself. Tell me to fuck off, and I will.
Her answer was to hold his gaze and slip a hand around the back of his neck. Her skin was cool and her touch light. Everything about her was fresh and untouchably fragile, like a cloud in the sky. She was like phantom energy, a mist in the night—too delicate, too intense, and way too fleeting.
Too late.
They were both screwed. He was breaking every rule in his book, starting with rule number one—never hit on another man’s woman.
“Don’t say I didn’t give you a chance to run,” he whispered, blowing air over her lips as her tongue peeked out to wet them.
She kept her eyes open as his mouth came closer like he knew she would. There was nothing scared in her breakable, vulnerable body. The kiss was sweet and, like her touch, light. He didn’t push for more. Something inside him warned him to take baby steps with her. He wrapped his arms around her and cradled her body against his, nipping at her lips while giving her what he sensed she needed most—warmth and comfort.
He only took what she offered until she broke the kiss. Her lips were red and plump, deliciously bruised from his stubble and teeth. It stirred a possessiveness in him that was scary because she didn’t belong to him, and while she was with Doumar, she never would. They were on opposite sides of the fence, each playing for the enemy team. It was a cruel tragedy, a Romeo and Juliet kind of fucked-up situation.
Resting their foreheads together, he pulled her against him for a quick hug. The desolation raging through him sounded in his voice. “Fuck, Sky.”
She pushed back with her hands on his chest, regarding him as if she couldn’t figure him out.
“What is it, beautiful?”
“You’re not like other men.”
“Do you want me to be?”
“No.”
He gripped her chin in a soft caress, searching her eyes. “Then we’re okay.”
A tremble ran over her body. “I’m going home.”
Confused at her sudden change, he grabbed her arm when she turned from him. “I’ll take you.”
“I can walk.”
“I’ll walk you.”
She pulled free and started making for the exit, dumping the cotton candy in a trashcan on the way.
He caught up with her and moved around to block her way. “Did I do something wrong?”
She shivered and hugged herself even if the night wasn’t cold. He pulled off his jacket and draped it around her shoulders, expecting her to protest, but she didn’t. The reason for bringing her here was to make her happy. He wasn’t going to let her go like this. Besides, he still had to get some answers or Cain might decide to pull him out and kill her sooner.
That wasn’t an option.
“Sky.” He took her shoulders. “Tell me.”
She rested her chin on her shoulder, staring blindly into the crowd. “Why didn’t you take advantage? You could’ve. I would’ve let you.”
“I want you, but not like that.”
She sniffed and looked back at him, the flicker of hope in her terrified eyes almost his undoing.
“It’s all right.” He tugged her closer and stroked her back. “We’ll figure it out. Will you let me see you home? I don’t like the idea of you wandering around alone this late at night.”
“You’re concerned about me?”
“Yes.”
More than she could know. If she knew what were in the cards for her, she’d run from him. The pain of his betrayal was something he’d expected, but not the intensity.
“We’ll find a way,” he said, more to himself than to her.
He had to find a way to keep her safe. How to do that while saving not only himself but also everyone else on the team was a problem he didn’t yet have answers for.
“You should hate me,” she whispered. “Don’t you see? I’m trying to be kind. I’m giving you a chance to walk away.”
He kissed the top of her head. “It’s too late for that, beautiful, way too late.”
She buried her face against his chest, gathering fistfuls of his shirt in her hands. For one, sweet moment she clung to him, unabashedly allowing him to see her in a moment of weakness, and then she straightened her spine and said, “We better go.”
There were no more protests from her as he hailed a cab and took her home.