Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 104081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 520(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 520(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
“But… you’ve lost games since then,” I pointed out. “So it can’t always work.”
“You don’t get it.”
He was gathering the last of his things to head out the door when I cut him off. “So explain it to me.”
He sighed, looking up at the ceiling. The movement exposed that long column of his throat, and I traced his Adam’s apple with a bolt of electricity firing off between my thighs.
How is this man’s throat so damn hot?
“I can’t. It’s just… I don’t know. Something I have to do.”
He walked toward his bedroom then, which confused me, since we needed to head downstairs. I followed him, and when he turned on his closet light instead of flicking it off like a normal person would do before they left, I laughed.
“Don’t tell me this is part of it, too?”
He didn’t answer, but the muscle in his jaw ticced.
I shook my head on another quiet laugh, jotting it all down in my notes. “What’s next? Going to hop on one foot, rubbing your belly and patting your head at the same time?”
At that, Vince gritted his teeth, the muscle of his jaw flexing under his skin. “Can you stop being such a bitch?”
My jaw fell open at that.
“What did you just—”
“A bitch. That’s what I called you. Because that’s what you’re acting like.” He stepped into my space, sucking all the air out of the room when he did. “Maybe this isn’t important to you. Maybe all you can focus on is getting your little photos and videos and likes and shares. But just like that’s your career, this is mine, okay? It’s my whole fucking life.” He stepped even closer. “It’s important to me. And if you can’t respect that, then we can’t work together.”
We were chest to chest now, and his was heaving almost as hard as mine.
“You’re such a bastard,” I said, lifting my chin to let him know I wasn’t backing down. “So, what? I’m a bitch because I didn’t smile and tell you how adorable you are when you do idiotic, superstitious stunts before a game?”
He puffed his chest even more, and that scarred eyebrow dipped low and menacing.
I couldn’t explain it, the electricity buzzing through me then. He was angry. He was staring at me like he wanted to wring my neck.
And something inside me was giddy about it.
“Fine,” I said after a moment, dragging the word out. I knew I sounded like the bitch he’d accused me of being even as the words came out of my mouth, full of sarcasm and not genuine in the least, but I couldn’t help it. I wanted to test him, to see just how far I could push. “I’m sorry. How dare I not understand why it’s so important to turn on your closet light before a game? I promise to be more respectful of your precious little rituals.” I smiled sweetly. “Okay, Tanny Boy?”
His hand shot out so fast I couldn’t register it.
One minute, I was smiling up at him with my little jest.
The next, he had my chin gripped tight between his thumb and forefinger, his knuckle guiding my chin up even farther so he could properly look down at me. He was just above me, his lips maybe only an inch from mine, so close I could smell the mint on his breath when he spoke.
“If only you had something better to do with this smart mouth of yours.”
He spat the words like a curse, like he wanted to throw me to the ground and leave me there. Instead, he held my chin in place, dark hazel eyes flicking between mine before they fell to my lips and stared hard and long.
Shock zipped through me from where his bruising grip held my chin, but it was quickly washed away by the stronger, more prevalent sensation I couldn’t quite name. It was hot and charged, reckless and consuming.
I should have been appalled. Intimidated. Scared, even.
Instead, I was aroused.
I didn’t have a single ounce of fear in me that he would hurt me. I wasn’t afraid of how hard he gripped me, or how he was so close I could feel his breath on my lips.
All I could focus on was his hazel eyes and how they darkened the longer he stared at my mouth.
He blinked, three times in rapid succession, like he was waking up from a sleepwalking dream. His expression softened, along with this grip.
Vince released me, tilting his chin a bit higher before he turned and took all the heat with him.
He grabbed his bag without another look in my direction, tossing it over his shoulder and barreling out of the suite with the door clicking shut behind him.
And I just stood there, blinking, sucking in a breath that burned as my hands floated up to trace where his had been.