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)
“Keep your hands to yourself, on your lap.” Monty shoots me a stern look. “Or I’ll have you naked before we reach the dock.”
Damn, he’s intense.
I glance at Carl in the driver’s seat, and my ears grow hot.
“Carl has been briefed on our new dynamic and is here to protect us,” Monty says. “Nothing more.”
The other guards follow in the car behind us. I’m used to the constant audience.
“Okay.” I place my quivering hands on my lap.
“Good.” Monty’s fingers twitch on his thigh. “Now let’s talk.”
“Talk?”
“We have until we reach the island to say what needs to be said. The second we enter the house, we’ll be using our lips for something other than words.”
My mouth dries, and my nipples harden.
I haven’t had sex with Monty in fourteen months. He’s been celibate for over a year.
My body is ready. “What needs to be said?”
“I get that you’ve been in a polyamorous relationship for a while. But you haven’t been in one with me.”
“We’re not setting rules.” Leo twists in the front seat, staring back at us.
“I’ll remember that when my dick comes in contact with yours.” Monty grins.
Kinky, filthy bastard.
While Leo doesn’t smile back, he doesn’t recoil, either. He simply says, “All in.”
Holy fucking shit.
This is happening.
“I take full responsibility for everything that happens from this point forward,” Monty says. “All decisions go through me. Every concern. Every conflict. If something bothers you, come to me, and we’ll work it out as a team.”
“The self-proclaimed team leader.” Leo arches a brow.
“Yes. We need one until we iron out the bumps in the road. And there will be bumps.”
Pragmatic as always. He built a successful global enterprise with an iron fist. He’ll apply that same ruthless control to ensure our relationship doesn’t fail.
I nod with excitement, nervousness, and overwhelming happiness.
The drive to the dock is quick. We board Monty’s yacht, and the no-touching rule remains firmly in place.
“Tell me what I missed. I want to hear everything.” I curl up in the armchair in the cabin, hoping they’ll all squeeze onto the couch.
To my delight, they do.
They sit side by side, manspreading, legs touching, completely at ease with Monty in the middle.
What life is this?
“We were slow to work things out.” Monty stares at me, eyes burning as if he’s thinking about later tonight rather than the present. “Kody initiated the first heart-to-heart. We talked. Really talked. Then I paid a visit to Leo and left the ball in his court.”
“He framed Wolf’s sketch of the cockpit,” Leo says, his voice softer than usual.
Then he tells me the story.
Hearing him talk about his reaction to the gift breaks my heart and puts it back together again.
They explain how they worked things out maturely, and their reunion this afternoon fills me with a relief I can hardly describe.
It’s everything I hoped for and more.
As they update me on the past few weeks, we don’t bring up the stalker, the hired Russian mobster, or the failed attempts to find the cabin. We focus on the good things, their successes with their business ventures, and their sessions with Dr. Thurber.
“It’s what you wanted.” Kody’s voice drops, rumbling through me. “For us to be together. We’re doing it the right way.”
“But is it what you want?” My hands curl on my lap. “Or are you only here because I gave an ultimatum and forced you into this.”
“There’s no forced participation here, darling.” Monty smolders at me, his lids lowering. “Don’t get it wrong. We are all consenting, and we’ll spend all night proving it.”
Perspiration beads on my skin. What’s with this heat? I’m burning up.
Pulling the front of my scrubs away from my sweaty chest, I squeak, “Okay.”
Monty sees right through me.
We stare at each other across the space until something shifts in his expression.
He glances at his watch, out the window, and back to me.
“Hand me that pillow.” He motions at Kody.
A wordless conversation passes between them. Then Kody tugs the throw pillow from behind him and tosses it on the floor between Monty’s feet.
A swallow lodges in my throat.
I know what Monty will say before he says it.
“Come here.” He sits back, his baritone a silken caress.
Every nerve tingles with anticipation, charged with the electricity in his command. My heart thunders, breaths come faster, and heat rises through my skin.
Wetting my lips, I stand and walk to that pillow. “What about the no-touching rule?”
“Your clothes stay on until we reach the house.”
“And yours?”
“Depends on what you want.”
I start to lower my knees to the pillow, but he grabs my hips and pulls me onto his lap.
He stabs his hands into my hair, and God, I missed that commanding touch.
Guiding my face to his, he spears me with his eyes. The glacial depths ensnare me, like I’m stepping onto a frozen lake. Like the surface is cracking, and the danger is imminent. Because, of course, it is.