Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 76559 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76559 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Because of you. Because I was an idiot. “Because this is my family.”
“Family.”
The word came out of Kat’s mouth filled with a hardness I didn’t understand. She stood and crossed to the railing, stared out for a long minute before she turned to me with another indecipherable look on her face.
“I’m not your sister, Terry.”
“Yeah, Kat, we’re not family. I got it.”
She walked to me, intent in her eyes as she leaned forward and pressed both hands on me, gripping my arms tight.
“No Terry, I really don’t think you do got it. We’re as close as family but we are not fucking family.”
I opened my mouth to tell her I got the message loud and clear, but then her plump lips were on mine and I couldn’t even think of any words beyond a few grunts and groans. Kat’s lips were soft and lush, and her tongue warm and demanding as it traced the seam of my mouth back and forth. Back and forth.
One hand slid up the back of my neck and tangled in my hair, gripping it tight enough to sting as her tongue slipped inside my mouth, explored and teased until I was hard as fuck and my hands went to her hips and then her ass, and I squeezed. Hard.
Kat groaned and deepened the kiss. She kissed me like I was a man, not some rando she’d known her whole life. Kat kissed me like I wasn’t family, like I was something else. Someone else.
That thought had me on my feet and walking her backward until her ass met the concrete balcony and she was trapped, right where I wanted her. My hips pressed against hers as my hands tangled in her thick silky waves and I took over the kiss, loving her mouth the way I’d dreamed of doing since I was seventeen years old.
The kiss went on and on. It felt like decades passed while I tasted her mouth and savored the blend of Kat and whiskey on my tongue.
Her hands slid under my shirt, cool against my overheated skin and I gasped, taking a step back to look at her. Yep, it was still Kat Ashby. The woman I’d wanted more than I ever wanted anything. Or anyone.
“Kat,” I growled.
Her lips curled into a satisfied smile. “Definitely not family,” she sighed and put one hand on her chest. “Now you know. Sleep well, Terry.”
I stayed rooted to the spot on the balcony and watched Kat walk off with a swing in her hips. I stood there long after she disappeared from my sight, not daring to move until I heard the door to the other bedroom shut with a quiet click.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Kat
The best thing about working in my home office was that no heels were required, and I could spend a ridiculous amount of time daydreaming, totally uninterrupted. And there was just one episode playing on repeat in my mind. That incredibly hot, panty-melting kiss with Terry.
A low groan escaped, and I covered my face with my hands, still embarrassed over how bold and aggressive I’d been.
I’d love to blame the whiskey and it was damn good whiskey, but the truth was that I saw my shot and took it. And yeah, okay, all that talk about family had hit a sore spot with me, so I felt compelled to act so that—if nothing else—Terry would understand that I was not his damn sister.
“Daydreaming about that blond hunk?”
Madison’s voice startled a gasp out of me. “Damn girl, do you moonlight as a ninja?” She had the ability to move through the house without making a noise, which I found unsettling, especially since I was daydreaming about that blond hunk, as she started calling Terry the second she woke up in the hotel suite.
“No. I’m thinking about work.”
At least I should have work on the brain because it was work hours, and the only reason I was home was to keep an eye on Madison and her stab wound. Well, that and the fact that she refused to sleep in the main house filled with people she didn’t know.
“And that blond hunk has a name.”
Madison flashed a smile and shrugged her shoulders, a move that produced another wince, which she shook off, so damn reluctant to show a moment of vulnerability. Not that I blamed her.
“It’s all right. I’ve dated a few guys who were just slumming it.”
I whirled around in my chair to stare at her, shock written all over my face.
“First of all, no girl is slumming it with Terry.” He was all man and had done well for himself. “But second, how old are you to have dated a few guys?”
Madison flashed her straight smile, chin notched in up an expression that closely resembled pride.
“Twenty. I’m small for my age, but the old dude wouldn’t take my word for it, and the streets don’t require ID.”