Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
I wrap my legs around his waist. I love the feeling of his weighty arousal. It nestles between my thighs. I wiggle against him, trying to get more of that feeling.
Finally, he pulls away long enough to gasp for oxygen. I watch as the lust in his gaze fades only to be replaced by horror. He regrets kissing me.
6
RYKER
There are things a man shouldn’t know—like the way it feels when his son’s ex-girlfriend grinds her sweet little pussy against his jeans. I shouldn’t know how warm she feels. I shouldn’t know how soft her lips are or how her hips were made for my hands.
Now I do know these things and I can’t undo any of it. Not that I would if I could. Even if I live to be a hundred, I’ll never forget that perfect moment, the moment I held an angel in my arms.
But that can’t happen again. She needs protection, not me pawing at her like some horny teenage boy.
The entire drive to my place, I never said a word. But that was fine because she said everything. She talked non-stop, and I didn’t even find myself annoyed. If anything, I wished she’d always be with me. I’d love nothing more than to hear her voice every day for the rest of my life.
So, I listened as she talked about cows and pondered aloud how many different types there are. I listened when she talked about farming and how it was such a change from what I was doing and did the new pace ever bother me. I even listened when she started reciting Girls Just Want to Have Fun backwards, which apparently she did in a fourth-grade talent competition.
Now I’m out here on the porch, staring at my phone. There’s a text message from Ian. He’s letting me know that he wants to come visit in a couple of days. I know what this is. It’s a threat. How would he have figured out she’s with me? Or is this just a bluff and he hopes I’ll panic and tip my hand?
It doesn’t matter. I have years of experience bluffing. I send a quick message back. Sounds good. I’ll pick you up from the airport.
“Um, Ryker,” she calls my name softly.
I glance up from the messages, careful to school my expression. She’s nervous enough since I kissed her and I won’t put her more on edge.
“The thing about Ian is…we never did anything.” She twirls the hem of her long t-shirt around her finger.
I don’t even know what that means and I’m not about to ask. It’s obvious from his earlier description on the phone that he never treasured her the way a girl like Brooke deserves to be treasured.
“Physically,” she finally clarifies, her gaze on the floorboards. “I was never physically intimate with him.”
I didn’t realize there was a girl that would resist Ian. He’s had so many girlfriends over the years, young women that are eager to throw themselves at him because of his stepfather’s money and reputation. If they only understood what it means to become a mafia wife, they’d think twice.
She reaches for the front door, but there’s something I need her to know. “My dad ran with a rough crowd. He was in prison for most of my life. When Melanie became pregnant, I thought things would be different.”
I let out a soft sigh and stare out over my front yard. The storms are brewing just on the horizon. “Point is, I love my son. But I don’t know him and he sure as hell doesn’t have my loyalty.”
She turns back to me. “Sorry that he’s a douchebag to both of us.”
I chuckle. “Me too. Now, get in the shower before the lightning starts.”
As soon as she’s gone, I take several long moments to collect myself. I want to follow her into that bathroom more than anything. I want to spend the afternoon on my knees, worshipping her curvy body.
But there are more important matters to handle right now. Namely, putting my friends on high alert.
“He knows,” I tell Brody as soon as he answers my call. I already warned him last night after Brooke fell asleep that Ian was sniffing around.
“You think she’ll go for the island idea now?” He sounds as stressed as I feel. Both of us want a way to keep her safe. But she’s never been allowed to make her own choices. She’s never been given any type of freedom. I can’t steamroll her and demand she does what I want. I’ll be just as bad as her father.
“I want her to go,” I admit. I want to know she’s safe. I’d put a security team around her. She’d think she was alone on that island. She’d never see them. But they’d be there, silently guarding her from the shadows. I’d personally supervise them. Nothing would get through me to her. She could spend her days with her toes in the sand and a drink in her hand. The thought of her wearing a tiny bikini has me swallowing hard.