Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 25768 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 129(@200wpm)___ 103(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25768 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 129(@200wpm)___ 103(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
A growl of frustration escaped Preston’s throat. “Gabriella’s friends were here a few nights ago and saw her helping out behind the bar, talking to you and your workers. Or should I say slumming? You couldn’t hack it in the world of finance so you tucked tail and came here.”
Nothing the man said fazed Maddox. Gabby’s so-called friends had betrayed her. Then again, on the first night they’d met she’d told him she didn’t have any friends she trusted. This just proved her instincts were solid.
And Preston was deluded in thinking she was his fiancée…or anything else. “You just said she was your girlfriend. Now you’re claiming she’s your fiancée. Even if you got your lies straight, we both know she’s neither.”
Preston’s lips lifted in a smug smile. “So you admit you know where she is?”
Maddox folded his arms across his chest and glared at the man, barely holding onto his anger. “I know no such thing. Now get out of my bar or I’ll call for the bouncer and have him show you the door.”
“And I’ll call the police.”
This asshole’s posturing was getting old. “Gabby,” Maddox emphasized her preferred name, “is an adult, asshole. You can’t make her do anything she doesn’t want to do. Which brings me to another point.” Stepping into Preston’s personal space, Maddox walked forward until he backed the man against the bar, bracing his arm at his throat. Not to hurt but to make his point about the way he’d attacked Gabby. “If you ever put your hand on her or any other woman again and I find out about it, I’ll put your pretty face through the nearest wall.”
Preston’s complexion grew pale. “You can’t prove a damn thing.”
“I don’t need to. I’ve seen you in action and I’d trust the word of any woman over a piece of shit like you.” Maddox dropped his arm and stepped back. “I take it we have an understanding.”
Preston shrugged and fixed his collared dress shirt. “Her parents will never allow her to walk away.”
Maddox snorted. “You clearly don’t know her very well. Now get the hell out of my bar before I call the cops.”
Preston’s cheeks turned red and he spun on his dress shoes and walked away.
“What a dick,” Cal said, coming up behind him.
Maddox nodded. “I’m leaving.” He wanted to make sure Barrett didn’t figure out where Gabby was staying and make a stop on the way home.
He might have spent the last week avoiding the combination of minx, flirt, and innocent that was Gabby, but things had changed. Preston’s appearance, trying to stake his claim, had Maddox reevaluating what he wanted from his houseguest.
Chapter Four
Gabby yawned. She’d stayed up watching a movie on television in the family room. The couch was comfortable and once the walls were painted the warm cream, based on the samples already on the walls, combined with the with wood trim, the room would have a homier feel.
She rose to her feet and walked into the kitchen where she poured a glass of water and finished the drink just as she heard the front door open and close again. Her stomach flipped at the sound.
Knowing Maddox was home, she couldn’t deny the anticipation that coursed through her veins. The week here had flown by. Staying at his house had worked out. He accepted her presence and though he kept his distance, she felt him watching her when he thought she wasn’t looking. She understood, because she was always aware of him, sensing his presence before she knew for sure that he was nearby.
More than once, she’d caught his heavy-lidded gaze and hoped he was suffering with the same suppressed desire she was, knowing he was in his bedroom, a short walk across the house. Eventually, she’d given in. She’d slipped her fingers into her shorts and stroked her wet sex. She’d pretended it was his fingers arousing her and sliding inside her. That it was his tongue on her clit as she came. And afterwards, as she caught her breath, her body pulsing but still somehow empty, she wondered if he was in his bedroom, masturbating while thinking of her.
“Gabby?”
His voice startled her despite hearing him come in. She placed her glass in the sink before heading out of the kitchen and meeting up with him as he locked the front door.
“Hi,” she said.
He turned, his gaze darkening as he took in her bedtime outfit, a camisole and matching shorts. They were her favorite pair, decorated with pastel-colored stars on a white background. She thought she’d be in her room when he returned. Hadn’t planned for him to see her in the barely-there pajama set, but she couldn’t deny she liked knowing her skimpy outfit affected him.
“Hey,” he said in a gruff voice that caused goosebumps to pop out on her skin.