Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 81083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
I took the damn breaths, feeling the surging adrenaline slow.
“Easy,” Gareth warned, not to me, but to Doyle, before I managed to open my mouth. “The rest of us aren’t like you,” he continued while he waited to see if Weston was going to call his bet or not.
“Smart, loyal, and willing to do whatever it takes to get what I want?” Doyle asked, shaking his empty drink behind him, the ice clinking in his daughter Serenity’s face.
She hopped out of her seat, her face void of emotion as she took his glass and headed to the bar across the room to refill. She looked like a robot, trained to respond accordingly.
“We don’t treat people like property,” Gareth said, his tone low and sharp. He rolled a chip along the backs of his fingers, not bothering to give Doyle his attention as he focused on the woman returning to the table. Something flashed in his gaze as he met Serenity’s eyes, some kind of silent question I couldn’t make out but Serenity seemed to, dipping her head just slightly as if to say she was okay before she handed her father her drink and sat back down.
“And you’re not smart,” Gareth continued, finally allowing his eyes to skim over Doyle dismissively. “If you were, you would’ve opted out of this game months ago.”
Doyle shook his head. “I earned my spot. I’m not going anywhere. Even with the shit company you can be, Maxfield. Christ, you’re all so serious. I wasn’t the one who came up with Berkley’s bet, you and McClaren did.” He rolled his eyes, sipping from his fresh drink.
“She’s a delight,” Asher said, clearly trying to diffuse the growing tension between Gareth and Doyle that had been building since the moment the guy won his way into our game. “Alexandra,” he clarified.
“Definitely,” Weston agreed, finally folding his cards. Asher pushed the chips toward Gareth, who stacked them meticulously. “She has something that your previous dates haven’t. She’s genuine and doesn’t filter her responses on our behalf. I like her.”
“Same,” Crossland said, cocking a brow at me. “She’s a wonderful dancer too.” He eyed me with a challenging look that made me laugh.
He was ribbing me to see if I’d have some primal jealous reaction, but I shook my head. “Way better than you,” I said. “I saw the two of you. She practically had to lead you.”
Cross flipped me off, but grinned. He knew I was full of shit. Cross had many talents, dancing being one of them, but there was no real threat with him, not that Alexandra was exactly mine to be worried about.
Even though she damn sure felt like it. Especially when we kept ending up with my mouth on hers. Did I know all the reasons we shouldn’t keep exploring that insatiable draw we had?
Yes. Absolutely.
Did I really care at this point?
Not at all.
Alexandra held my ownership standing and reputation in her hands, especially with the weekly progress reports she was required to submit on my behalf, but my attraction to her went beyond what she could offer me professionally.
I loved her tenacity, her raw honesty, her huge fucking heart and the way she dedicated every second of her free time to helping others. She was a powerhouse of a woman, but she also possessed this beautiful understanding and compassion that I knew I’d never be worthy of. I was desperate to earn it anyway.
And fuck me, the chemistry between us was electric. Every time my mouth grazed hers was another shot of gasoline to a fire that had started the second I’d laid eyes on her. Soon, I’d be absolutely consumed by it. She felt it too. I knew that by the way she’d pull me in, even as she expressed the reasons we shouldn’t cross that line between us.
Not that I’d ever push if she set up boundaries, but we were careening toward each other like a derailed train. We were bound to collide, each time we were together only making it that much harder to stay away.
I hadn’t invited her to shadow me on this trip for that very reason. There was no way we wouldn’t cross those lines if I had her all to myself in our own private suite. We could barely keep our hands off each other in public, let alone a secluded suite in Nepal.
“I’m out this round. Serenity, play the next hand properly if I’m not back by the time it’s dealt,” Doyle said, pushing away from the table and drawing me back to the present. He drained the rest of his drink, then looked down at me. “Sounds like you need to try harder,” he said. “I didn’t pick you for bending over and taking it for Gareth, but hey, to each their own.” He flashed me a sour smirk and then headed out the door.