Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 52447 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 262(@200wpm)___ 210(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52447 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 262(@200wpm)___ 210(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
“Whatever the reason for your reaction, the pleasure I’d give you won’t be any less intense.”
He was dangerous, much more than the media gave him credit for. A man like Lann would chew her up and spit her out. She was no match for him.
Turning on her heel, she hurried down the stairs to the exit, eager to escape into the dark night. She ran into the garden until she stood face to face with the statue of Saint Teresa, dragging in the cool air to calm herself. Shame for how she ran off heated her face. A more experienced woman would’ve jumped on the opportunity. In her case, sex and emotions were inseparable. She always felt too much too soon.
He followed her outside in his own sweet time, leaving her alone for at least a minute to calm down or maybe to sweat it out. When he stopped short of her, she took a step back.
He frowned. “I never force, Katherine.”
His proximity made her heart thump louder in her chest. “I’m going home.”
He considered her answer for a while before saying, “Give me one good reason why you won’t stay.”
Oh, she had plenty. “For starters, I’m serious about my studies. I’ve worked hard to get where I am. I don’t have time for casual flings.”
He nodded. “We can work around that.”
“We won’t work around anything.” She wasn’t getting her heart broken again, and that was a sure outcome if she took him up on his offer. It was too easy to fall for a man who could make a woman’s knees weak with a mere look. “Thank you for dinner. I’m leaving now.”
“All right,” he said. “Would you like me to drive you or do you feel safer with my driver?”
She didn’t hesitate. “Your driver.” She didn’t even care that she sounded like a coward.
He nodded. “I’ll tell my driver to take you home.”
The fact that he gave in so easily should have had her sighing with relief. Instead it scared her.
Chapter 3
From the breakfast nook in the kitchen of their tenth-floor apartment, Kat had a view over Las Condes. The skyscrapers glowed in the first light of the day as the aroma of her favorite Juan Valdez coffee filled the small space. When her roommate, Diana, placed a mug in front of her, she pulled it close and inhaled. Smiling with appreciation, she sipped the strong brew.
Diana leaned against the counter, her own mug cupped in her hands. “Feeling better now that you’ve had your first mouthful of caffeine?”
“Don’t make me regret that I told you,” Kat said, stealing a glance at her friend.
“You’d never hold out on telling me that the big, bad, wealthy Lann Dréan hit on you.”
“Can we not talk about it anymore?”
“If it was me, honey, I’d be drinking my coffee with him right now, preferably in his bed.”
Kat groaned.
“What?” The petite blonde cocked her shoulder. “It’s not like you’re a virgin.”
“Mac was a mistake I’m not repeating.” Kat turned to the window. In the reflection of the glass, Diana’s brow furrowed.
“Don’t measure all men by Mac’s standards,” Diana said. “He’s an ass.”
Kat sighed. She’d broken up with her boyfriend just over six months ago. They’d shared an apartment for two years, and all she’d gotten out of the fairytale she’d thought it would be, had been a broken heart. While she’d envisioned a wedding ring and sipping their morning coffee together in bed for the rest of their lives, he’d been making plans to cross South America on a motorbike and write articles for a motorsport site.
“Not all men are the ten seconds type,” Diana continued.
Actually, Mac was quite good in the sack. Diana was only trying to make her feel better. She couldn’t help but defend her ex. “It only happened once and he’d been away for four months.”
“To Asia,” Diana said with meaning. “Don’t tell me he didn’t cheat on you at least once.”
Fine. Mac had the libido of a horse, and Kat had to admit the photos of him partying with the pretty Phuketian girls had made her a little jealous. Especially the one of him in the turquoise ocean with the laughing girl sitting on his shoulders.
“You don’t know that,” Kat said. “Besides, I trusted him.”
She meant it. They had an honest relationship and if Mac said nothing had happened, she had no reason not to believe him. He broke her heart when he chose his dream over her, but he wasn’t a cheater.
“You should take the mysterious Russian up on the offer. A chance to sleep with the world’s hottest man doesn’t come along twice.”
She’d played the scene over in her mind so many times, she’d started to wonder if she hadn’t imagined things that weren’t there. “He didn’t offer in so many words.”
Diana lifted an eyebrow. “He showed you a bed, told you it was for sex, and asked you to stay, and you’re saying he didn’t offer in so many words? Shit, Kat, a man can’t make it any clearer than that.”