Total pages in book: 192
Estimated words: 189782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 949(@200wpm)___ 759(@250wpm)___ 633(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 189782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 949(@200wpm)___ 759(@250wpm)___ 633(@300wpm)
“No one has told her about Denver or the stalker,” I say.
“What if she found the cabin long before you started helping her?” She squints at me. “She could’ve found Wolf, Denver, and that fillet knife.”
“How did she deliver those things last night while she was in Fairbanks with us?” Leo shakes his head.
“With help.” She shrugs. “The woman is resourceful. Is she still trying to fuck you?”
“Is he still trying to fuck you?” Leo thrusts a finger at Monty.
“Yes.” Monty leans against the wall, legs crossed at the ankles. “Trying and failing. None of this is helping. We can’t rule out Sirena. Her involvement doesn’t seem plausible, but we must consider every angle.”
Leo releases a snarling string of curses and paces the room.
“If we could just find that fucking cabin.” I slump onto the couch beside her. “It’s like it doesn’t exist.”
“We’ll find it,” Monty says with a confidence that I’ve come to admire. “When do you leave on the next scouting mission?”
“Not for a while. Leo needs to take his exam, and I have a distillery to open.”
“Once it’s open, finding time for anything else will be hard.” She reaches for my hand, lacing our fingers.
“I’ll make time.”
I can see it in her face. The doubt. I haven’t made time for her in weeks.
Once the distillery is running and the stalker is found, I’ll dedicate the rest of my life to her. I’ll give her the epilogue she wants.
With a lot of sex.
We spend the rest of the day scrutinizing the details of the investigation, looking for things we’ve missed, and ensuring we’re all on the same page.
That night, Leo and Monty slip away to discuss Monty’s proposal for the seaplane base.
Leo has decided to accept the offer. We’ve talked about it often over the past month, and he’s grown past his distrust for Monty.
So have I.
“Let’s go to bed.” I lift her from the couch and carry her up the stairs to the room she sleeps alone in more often than not.
She doesn’t try to wriggle free. Instead, she coils her arms around my shoulders and buries her face in my neck, telling me without words how much she missed me.
I don’t need to wonder how her date ended last night. She would never betray Leo and me.
After we undress and wash away the day’s stress, we turn off the light and climb under the covers.
“What are your plans tomorrow?” She drags her fingers through my hair, massaging my scalp.
“Going back to work.”
The renovations are finished, but I’m still putting the final touches on my handcrafted vodka recipes. I retained most of the staff from Tipsy Sailor, but there’s training to be done and so many little details to finalize.
I wish I could take her to work with me. She hasn’t seen the renovated space. But it’s too dangerous. I don’t want her to leave the island.
“I’m going back to work, too.” Her hand tightens in my hair.
“What?” I rear back.
“Shh.” She pulls me back to the pillow. “Listen, you brute. I’m surrounded by security guards. Here. There. Every fucking where. Monty took me to the hospital last night to arrange the details for my safety. I’ll be under constant watch with guards and cameras and hospital staff at all times. Kody, I need this.” Her voice wavers, her eyes pleading. “I won’t let this stalker control my life and keep me prisoner.”
“Frankie…” My temples pound.
“And I’m going to the opening for your distillery.” She sets her jaw. “I’m not missing it.”
“Christ, woman.” I bring our foreheads together. “You’re going to take years off my life.”
“You said that in the hills. We’re still alive. Still fighting. This is what we do. We survive.”
“I’m sorry about yesterday.” My pulse thuds, heavy and sluggish. “I didn’t know. I should’ve worked out the date.”
“It’s not a day I wanted to remember. But four days after I was abducted…” She dusts her mouth across mine. “I met three beautiful, feral men.” She bites my lip. “I met you.”
“That’s a day to remember.” I tug her hips against mine, fitting us together.
“Will there come a time when I tire of my compulsion to be touched and kissed by you?”
“Don’t count on it.”
Our tongues collide, and sparks fly across my skin. Our hands roam, each fingertip a brushstroke of electricity, singeing my nerve endings.
We kiss and touch and reconnect for the rest of the night. My cock throbs. My balls ache. But I don’t break her rules. I promised I would wait.
Besides, my desire extends beyond sex. My all-consuming need for her is this. Our connection. The intimacy that exists between us.
I only need her to look at me, see me, and feel the temptation as I feel it with her.
And she does.
With a kiss that lasts hours.
With an embrace that doesn’t break.
With a whisper of love on her lips that no one can take.