Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 107667 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107667 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
My teeth chatter as I look down, trying to control my breathing. His knee slides between mine, and I shift my gaze to his. “There wasn’t a moment when I didn’t want you, D’Artagnan.”
His eyes take on a serious look. “Then what the hell, Tennie?”
My hands shake, and I squeeze them together. “Do you know how hard this is for me?”
“For you?” he scoffs. “How do you think I feel?”
“I’m in a relationship,” I stress, and he shakes his head.
“No, he’s a placeholder for the real deal,” he declares, his confidence overwhelmingly sexy. “And I’m right here, Tennessee.”
My heart constricts in my chest, trying to remember what my mom said. To find out what he wants with me. “And then what?”
His lips curve. “You’ll never walk away from me again.”
His eyes are full of all kinds of naughty promises, which does nothing good for the space between my thighs. “This is so complicated.”
“It’s not.”
“Dart, he says he loves me.”
Oh, he doesn’t like that. His nostrils flare as his gaze darkens. “Do I look like I give a fuck?”
“Quite the opposite, actually.”
“Then why say it?”
“Because he’s the safer choice. He doesn’t make me feel the things you do. Like right now, I want nothing more than to kiss you, lose myself in you, and it makes me wild, crazy even, because I’m not a cheater. I wouldn’t want it done to me, but I can’t deny this pull you have on me. It scares me.”
He shakes his head. “You truly feel there is a choice here?”
I hold his gaze. “What do you mean?”
“Tennessee,” he breathes, as if that’s the only word he was ever meant to say. “There is no choice for me—it’s you or no one.”
My lip starts to wobble as I close my eyes. “D’Artagnan.”
He takes my hand, threading our fingers together. “You ruined me, baby doll.”
And I know the truth. He’s done the same for me. But do I just blow Troy off? “It’s complicated.”
“Only because you’re making it that way,” he says, bringing my hand up under his jaw.
“I work with him.”
“That’s a him problem, not an us problem.” Us. He says it so simply, so positively. “Do you love him?”
I actually laugh at that, which answers the question, but I say, “I told him I wasn’t emotionally ready to feel anything for him.”
Dart leans in, his nose brushing mine, his lips ever so close and stealing every bit of my air. “Because emotionally, you’re mine.”
My mouth goes dry, and my eyes fall shut as I inhale deeply. “I can’t kiss you.”
He inhales just as deeply and then exhales in frustration as time stands still. I can feel the heat of his lips. The brim of my—or really, his—hat brushes against my forehead as I force myself to breathe. “Do you want to?” he whispers, and my center aches. I can only nod. “Then do it.”
I swallow hard, and I almost do. God, I almost do, but I pull back and sigh deeply as my body shakes and tingles. “I can’t.”
A frustrated grunt leaves his lips before he leans back, crossing those thick arms over his chest. “I’m having a hard time understanding how you’re letting him stand between us.”
“I work with him.”
“Then quit.”
“D’Artagnan.”
“What? Dump him, quit, and we’ll find you a job around here.”
We’ll.
Us.
The words come so easy for him. My heart skips because not only is he confirming what he intends for us, but the reason he scares me is on full display. Because I want to say yes. I want to lose myself in him and forget about everything else, but I would be doing exactly what I did back home. I’d be living for him, not for myself. I’ve worked so hard for my career, and I’m good at it. I watch as he leans on the table with his forearms, and his eyes don’t leave mine as he strokes his fingers along my clasped hands, sending warmth up my arms. Without control of my body, I release my hands, and he slides his hand between them, threading our fingers with ease.
“Tennessee,” he says, trapping my gaze with his. “We belong together.”
That simple sentence rattles my core. “I’ve missed you,” I admit, and his eyes are on fire. “But you scared the shit out of me.”
He scoffs. “You have me shaking in my imaginary cowboy boots that match this hat.”
I stroke my thumb along the back of his hand.
“But there is nothing or no one in this world I want more than you.”
My eyes water, and slowly, a tear moves down my face. His gaze softens as he wipes it away, but when another falls, he moves with a quickness that leaves me breathless. He stands before pulling me up and wrapping his arms around me, holding me close. I press my nose into his chest, and the tears come quick. A sob bubbles in my chest, but I swallow it down as I clutch his shirt with my fingers. I inhale him, his smoky scent urging me to do what I want.