Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 26566 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 133(@200wpm)___ 106(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26566 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 133(@200wpm)___ 106(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
“Cole!” Erica calls after me.
“Where is she?” I snap at her. She jumps back.
“Who? The young girl? I thought she broke in. I tried to call you but you didn't answer.”
“Where is she?” I repeat, taking a step toward her.
“She ran out of here,” Erica rushes to say.
“Get the fuck out of my house, Erica. This is breaking and entering,” I yell over my shoulder as I rush out the door and hop back into my car. “Fuck!” I hit the steering wheel hard thinking about all my girl has been through today and what she must be thinking. First this shit with Ren, then running home and finding a half-naked chick in our fucking house. I grip the wheel hard as I race over to her old house.
When I pull in I barely have my cruiser in park before I’m jumping out and running toward the back door. I see a crowbar on the ground and a few boards have been pulled away. The hole isn't big enough for me to fit through, but my little Cathaine could have.
I give the boards one hard kick and they crumble and shatter apart. I go straight for her room. I stop when I see her running around the room packing a bag, her face soaked with tears.
“Baby.”
She whirls around to look at me when she hears me. A sob escapes her lips.
“I’ve never touched that woman in my life. She’ll be lucky if I don’t press breaking and entering charges against her.”
She lets out a little sob before she runs at me and jumps in my arms, wrapping herself around me. I hold her tightly to me. I don’t think I’m ever going to be able to let her go again. I walk over to the bed, grab the bag she was packing and head out of the cold house with her still wrapped around me. I toss the bag in the back then push my seat back and slide into my cruiser.
I rub her back as quiet sobs wrack her tiny body. “Baby, you're breaking my heart,” I whisper in her ear. “I've got you. You’re never going back to that fucking school again. I’m going to lock you away in my house.” I’m only half joking. Or maybe I’m not joking at all. Not with the way I’m feeling right now.
“We can’t be together,” she sobs.
“Over my fucking dead body we aren't going to be together,” I snarl. She leans back a little to look at me. I cup her face and kiss her all over, stopping the tears in their tracks.
“They won’t let you be sheriff.” Her bottom lip trembles as she says it. “They’re going to say terrible things about you being with me and you don’t even know it all.”
“I don’t care what anything thinks and I could give up this job in a second to be with you.”
“Not if you knew everything.” She wrings her hands. “I’m a thief and a liar!” She throws herself at me again, wrapping her arms around me.
“No, baby, you're a survivor,” I tell her in a soft voice. “I’m a cop, Catherine. I’ve put some things together and I know what you’ve been up to. The way I see it, you were surviving and no one is going to hold that against you. No one ever even has to know. I told you, I’ll take care of you. Nothing is going to touch you.”
She leans back again to look at me, her tears finally stopping. I pull her back to me and take her lips in a deep, hard kiss, reminding her that she belongs to me.
“You want to talk about the other stuff?” I ask her. I don’t want to push too much and upset her more when I just got her calmed down.
“I hate all these women. They all freaking want you,” she growls, like a little kitten, and my mouth twitches in a smile. She smacks my chest, but I grab her hand, pulling it to me. “It’s not funny. It’s going to drive me crazy.”
“Then let it be known we belong to each other.” She looks at my through her lashes. Her attention is drawn to her finger as I slide a ring on it, one I picked up this morning.
She gasps when she sees it clearly. It has an emerald stone in the center, surrounded by little diamonds on a platinum band. When I saw it, it made me think of her eyes and I had to have it.
“We don't even really know each other.” She bites her lip, but I can tell she wants this.
“I knew from the moment I picked you up you were the one for me. My soulmate. I felt it in my gut. I know you want this, baby. I love you more than anything in the whole world and I’ll fight this whole fucking town to keep you. Say yes. Tell me you’ll be mine. That you belong to me and only me.”