Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
“Shoot! I forgot about your ribs!” I started to move off her.
“Don’t,” she quickly said, taking hold of my shirt. “Don’t move, Liam.”
I didn’t move a muscle. Mallory was on her back, looking up at me, and I had my arms on either side of her. “You’re so beautiful. You take my breath away.”
Her hand rose and she placed it on the side of my face. “How you look at me sometimes makes my whole body warm,” she said.
I leaned down and kissed the side of her mouth. “I feel the same about you and those ever-changing eyes of yours. One minute they look gray; the next, green.”
“You’re the one with beautiful eyes,” Mallory whispered.
“Do you ever remember being on a roller coaster?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Driving down a country road with the windows down, full speed, and you hit a dip in the road, and it makes your stomach feel like it flips?”
“I wish I could say I knew that feeling. But I know when you touch me, my stomach does all kinds of acrobats.”
I grinned. “That’s the feeling. All you have to do is smile at me sometimes and I feel that. And when Randy looks at you like he wants to devour you, I want to punch his damn lights out.”
Mallory laughed and covered her face, then dropped her hands to her sides. “He does not look at me like that!”
“The hell he doesn’t.”
She chewed on the side of her lip before she said, “Maybe we should let him know I’m taken.”
My brows shot up. “Are you?”
Lifting onto her elbows, she nodded. “Yes. Because you’re the only man I want looking at me like that.”
“Mallory,” I whispered before my mouth captured hers. She lay back down, and I lowered with her, kissing her as if it was the last time I’d ever see the woman.
Eventually, I slowed down and drew away, not wanting my fear of possibly losing her to set the pace. Her chest rose and fell with quick breaths.
“Promise me something right now.”
I ran my finger along her jaw. “Anything.”
“Promise me that no matter what we find out, we don’t let it ruin what’s happening between us.”
“Mall—”
Her finger covered my lips. “Liam, promise me.”
I closed my eyes and cursed. I knew I shouldn’t, but everything inside of me wanted to make that promise. So, I did.
“No matter what we find out, it won’t ruin what’s building between us.”
She smiled and pulled me back to her, kissing me in such a slow and sweet way, I nearly melted into a puddle next to her.
When she drew back, her eyes sparkled. “We should get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”
Thank God one of us was thinking straight, because I was two seconds away from picking her up and taking her to my bed.
##
Mallory looked nervous as she sat in a seat on my private plane. We were about to take off, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d ever been on a plane before. Before leaving last night, Randy told me privately that Mallory and her grandmother were exceptionally close, but they didn’t have much when she was growing up. At least according to the county worker he’d spoken to. That would have explained why Mallory cleaned offices at sixteen years old. Most likely trying to bring in money to help her grandmother with living expenses.
I looked out the window at the mountains, which were still lightly dusted with snow, and silently thanked my parents for giving me the life I had. Chad and I had never wanted for a single thing. I’d never known struggle like so many people…including Mallory, if Randy’s source was correct.
Glancing over at Mallory, I reached for her hand. “It’s going to be okay.”
She gave a wobbly smile and closed her eyes as the plane started down the runway.
“I still can’t believe you have your own plane and mini airport.”
Laughing, I said, “It’s just a runway and a plane hangar, that’s it.”
Once we were off the ground, Mallory squeezed my hand. To say she was strong was an understatement. When the plane leveled out, she eased up on her hold and opened her eyes. She looked out the window and stared.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” I asked.
“So beautiful.”
The flight to Chicago would be a few hours, so I convinced Mallory to sleep for as much of the flight as she could. Meanwhile, I worked on my laptop, going over all the information Randy had sent me. The key was Mallory’s hometown of Arcola. If we could get answers there, then we could possibly retrace her last steps in Chicago. She’d had a job in Arcola, hopefully friends…and for my sake, hopefully not a man in her life.
When it came time to land in Chicago, I gently woke up Mallory.