Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22472 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22472 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
She turned me into a feral animal that was desperate for her.
“Let’s go somewhere nicer,” I whisper. “I know just the place.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Lara
My body is humming with happiness as I stare at the beautiful view overlooking Los Angeles. Dillon drove us up to a secret spot in the mountains and we’re sitting here enjoying the view, enjoying the night, enjoying each other. It’s perfect.
The gorgeous lights of the city look like stars in a distant galaxy. It feels like it’s just the two of us left in the world.
We look at each other and both smile. Just the sight of this stunning man looking at me like that—those protective eyes overflowing with love—it makes my heart swell.
He takes my hand and threads our fingers together. His big hand swallows mine, but it makes me feel protected and safe. Who can ever hurt me with this strong alpha male protector by my side?
The whole way up here, he’s been asking question after question, trying to get to know everything about me.
We fell into a comfortable silence as we admired the view, but he’s looking like he wants to know more.
“I’ve never met anyone who wanted to be a librarian,” he says as he stares at me with a loving warmth in his green eyes.
“I guess there’s not a lot of librarian wannabes in the street racing world,” I say with a chuckle.
He smiles and my core clenches with happiness. I love to make him smile like that. I’d like to spend the rest of my life teasing smiles out of this man.
“I can see that for you,” he says as he strokes the back of my hand. “We’ll make your dream come true, Lara. Whatever I can help with, whatever you need me to do, I’m here for you.”
I rest my cheek on his arm and smile. “Thank you,” I whisper. With him having my back, there’s nothing I can’t do.
“And what about you?” I ask softly. “What’s your dream?”
He sighs slowly as he stares out the window. “No one’s ever asked me that before.”
“Really?”
“I’m not that close with anyone.”
I jerk up in my seat and look at him in shock. That’s surprising. He was the most popular person back at the race. But I guess that doesn’t mean much. I’ve heard of world-famous musicians who go back to empty hotel rooms and cry from loneliness after a night of being worshipped by fans. Having people admire you is not the same as having true intimate relationships.
“I come from a small town in Oklahoma where my parents own the only grocery store. I spent my youth stocking oranges and milk and bread and a gazillion other things, and the entire time, I was dreaming of racing.”
“You’ve always wanted to be a race car driver?”
“Yeah,” he says as his eyes get a distant look. I wish I could crawl into his brain and see what he’s seeing. I want to be with him in that memory of Oklahoma. I’d love to see what Dillon was like as a child. How he talked, what he looked like, watching him race his bike down a dirt road while pretending he was driving a Formula One car.
“My father wanted me to stay and take over the grocery store for him,” he says as he shakes his head slowly. “I didn’t want to disappoint him, but I just couldn’t. We get one life and I couldn’t spend mine doing something that I knew wasn’t for me.”
“I’m sorry,” I say with a sad smile. “I know it couldn’t have been easy to go against your parents’ wishes.”
He shrugs. “My mom wanted what was best for me, so she didn’t mind. My dad took it hard though. After I left, he asked my cousin to take over instead. It’s better that way. Mike has a wife and a small kid in the town. He knows everyone and has no plans to ever move.”
“What did you do when you first came here?” I ask, wanting to know everything about him. We’ve been apart for so long and we have so much catching up to do.
“I talked my way onto a pit crew,” he says with a laugh. “I’m only working in amateur races now and fixing cars on the side for cash, but one day… One day, I’ll be racing on the big stage. I can feel it.”
His enthusiasm is contagious and my heart starts to thump harder. I’d go nuts if I was in the stands watching my man compete. It would be equal parts stressful and exhilarating.
“I know you’ll get there,” I say as I kiss the back of his hand. “You can do anything.”
“We can do anything,” he says with a firm look. “And we’ll do it all… Together.”
I’ve never felt so excited about life. It feels like the future is going to be amazing.