Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 128260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 641(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 641(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
I parked my car and made my way upstairs, weaving through the lobby and the casino until I was in the hallway where his office was located. The door was closed. Maybe he didn’t even get in this early. I paused but took a deep breath and knocked twice on the door. I heard voices and some scuffling. A few seconds later, the door was pulled open and Carson was standing there in suit pants and a crisp, white shirt, a girl in a small, gold cocktail uniform appearing behind him, straightening her outfit. His eyes filled with surprise when he saw me.
“Thanks, boss,” the girl said, stopping to wipe some imaginary lint off Carson’s shirt and then winking at him and stepping around us.
Carson nodded at her and turned back to me. “Grace. Hi.” He smiled, leading me into his office and closing the door behind us.
“Were you…in here…with that girl?” I demanded.
Carson parked himself on the edge of his desk and crossed his arms, his biceps pulling the white cotton of his shirt tight.
Amusement, and something that looked like satisfaction, lit his eyes and he chuckled.
“What’s funny?” I asked.
“You. You’re jealous.”
“Jealous?” I sputtered. “I’m not jealous. Why would I be? That’s ridiculous. I just don’t see how you could ask me to call off my engagement last night and then be in here with another girl this morning.”
“Did you call off your engagement?” he asked quietly.
“What? No! No,” I said, shaking my head. “Of course not.”
“No?”
“No.”
We stared at each other for a few beats, my pulse kicking up another notch and a tick starting in his jaw.
I stood taller, pulling forth my resolve and setting my hands on my hips. “I just came here to tell you we couldn’t see each other again.”
“You already told me that last night.”
“Oh. Yes, well, I did, but I’m telling you again. To make sure you heard me.”
“That’s why you came here? To make sure I heard you?” he asked.
I nodded. “Mm-hmm. To make sure you heard me,” I repeated, my words faltering slightly. What are you doing, Grace? I suddenly began doubting myself. Why are you really here?
“Yes, I heard you,” he said. “I was two feet away from you when you said it, Grace.”
I huffed out a breath. “Well, I know you heard me. But I want to make sure, you know, you heard me.”
Carson’s eyes narrowed, his chest rising and falling steadily. I could practically see the wheels turning in that head of his.
Suddenly, he stood up from the edge of his desk and stalked toward me. I backed up, but he kept coming until my back hit the wall. My pulse skyrocketed and I sucked in air. The delicious smell of him—clean soap and Carson Stinger—was suddenly all around me, intoxicating.
“Yes, I heard you, buttercup. Did you hear me when I told you I didn’t agree?”
He leaned in toward me, taking one finger to lift my chin so that we were staring at each other eye to eye. He studied me for a few seconds. “Look at you, buttercup. You’re all worked up—that brain of yours going a million miles a minute, isn’t it? You’ve been trying to solve this problem since you jumped out of my truck last night, haven’t you? Maybe since you walked out of this hotel yesterday afternoon. It’s got you all twisted up, turned inside out. How’d you sleep last night, Grace? Did you want to shut that brain of yours off? Give the control over to me? Let me take charge until you were mindless, the only thing coursing through your system pure pleasure? Wouldn’t that have been sweet relief, buttercup?” His voice was like silk, flowing over me, making me shiver with want. This is why you’re here, Grace. You know it is. He read you exactly right.
I stared up at him as his eyes glittered down at me. Yes, I wanted that. God, I wanted that so badly I ached. I wanted him, needed him. The memory of what he could do for me was so vivid in my mind, I wanted to scream with frustration.
Carson moved closer, putting his hands on the wall to either side of my head and bringing his thigh up so that my core was resting on it. He reached a hand down and lifted my skirt so that I was pressed firmly against him. Oh, God, oh, God. My thoughts scattered and I moaned with the pleasure, pressing down harder, my eyelids fluttering closed. I couldn’t think and it was blessed relief.
“Does he do this for you, Grace?” He leaned forward and whispered in my ear, “Do you scream out his name when you come?” My eyes felt heavy and I was vaguely aware that I was moving on his leg, bolts of pure arousal pulsating through me. God, it had been so long.