Total pages in book: 180
Estimated words: 179189 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 896(@200wpm)___ 717(@250wpm)___ 597(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 179189 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 896(@200wpm)___ 717(@250wpm)___ 597(@300wpm)
“Whatcha doing?” she asks gently.
“Nothing,” I say, swallowing as I tuck the letter away in my desk.
“Is something wrong?” She steps inside, closing the door behind her softly.
I clear my throat. “I’m fine. Everything’s fine.”
“Really? I can help if you need anything.” She bites her lip. “I wanted to show you my marketing plan, but if it’s not a good time, I can come back later.”
“No, it’s fine,” I say, getting up from the chair and walking around to the front of the desk. “Show me.” I’m already glad she finally came to me.
“Oh, it’s still on my computer. But it’s okay; I can come back later after I’ve printed it out. I can see you’re busy.”
She’s about to escort herself out when I march toward her and shut the door before she can leave.
“Please … don’t go.”
She turns around slowly, her breath hitching in her throat the moment she realizes how close I am.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asks, her eyes skimming down my body, lingering on my chest. Her hand reaches for my tie, and I hold my breath, feeling her touch my body.
She unravels it and pulls it off my neck only to twist it and put it back on. “You had your tie on backward.”
“Oh …”
When she’s done, she licks her finger and wipes it along my face. “And some peanut butter there.”
A lopsided smile spreads across my face. “Sorry, just had lunch.”
“It’s okay.” She pats my chest. “Everything will be fine. Don’t worry about it. Whatever it is, you’ll figure it out.”
“You don’t know that.”
“No, but I know you.” She smiles and pinches her fingers together. “A little bit.”
“Thank you. I must look like a mess,” I say.
“It was barely noticeable.”
“Yet you saw,” I muse, leaning in closer.
The moment I touch her chin, she sucks in a breath.
“Why are you so afraid of me?”
“I’m not,” she says.
“But you’re hesitant. Do you really dislike me that much?”
“No, of course not.” She looks into my eyes, licking her lips. “But …”
“But what?” I place a hand on the door, refusing to let this go. “You can tell me.”
“It … already went wrong before,” she says.
“What did?”
“This. It happened to me before.” Her eyes drift off to the floor, her gaze distant. “Me, making the wrong choice. Falling for the wrong guy.”
I tilt my head and say, “Hey, did someone do something to you?”
“No, it’s not that.”
“Then what did he do?” I ask.
She licks her lips. “I …”
“Tell me.” I look at her intently. “I wanna know.”
She lets out a breath. “My ex … I thought he loved me. I gave him everything. Trusted him to the point of allowing him access to my bank account because he’d always been safe. Except… when things were rough with his job, he started gambling and took all the money I had earned from working my ass off out of the bank to pay off his loans. Then he ran off. I never spoke to him again. Except for the angry voicemails I left, of course.”
“Oh … I’m so sorry. I don’t know what to say. That’s really fucked up.”
“Tell me about it,” she huffs. “He took my savings too. Now I’m scrambling to get back where I was.”
“God … that’s horrible,” I say. “Fuck.”
Fuck indeed. What else am I supposed to say? This is the worst thing a guy could ever do to a girl. No wonder she runs away from every opportunity to be near me. Even though she likes me, she won’t allow herself to fall again because of him.
“I want you to know something.” I grab her shoulders, making her look at me, and I murmur, “I’m not him. I won’t ever do that to you. I won’t take away something you fought so hard to achieve. I like you too much to do that to you. It’d hurt me too.”
She nods softly. “I know. It’s just the memories that sometimes get in the way.”
“I understand,” I say with a gentle smile. “But I promise I’m not like him. You’ve got to give me a chance to prove it.”
“I know.” She nods and bites her lip, her eyes gazing hungrily at my lips. “I just …”
“Don’t be scared,” I whisper, leaning in as I lock the door and press a button on the wall to close the blinds.
She closes her eyes, and I savor the silence right before I kiss her.
Chapter 17
Lesley
His lips are on mine so fast that I have no time to react. No time to think about what he’s doing … And the fact that I’m a sucker for his kisses.
The way he ravages my mouth takes me completely by surprise, so much so that I can barely breathe. And the worst part is that I don’t want him to stop.
He holds my face as he kisses me deeply, greedily, like he wants to have everything and more. His hands quickly find their way to my chest, squeezing my breasts through the fabric and making me moan into his mouth. His tongue dips out to claim my mouth while he gropes my body, wasting no time to get to the good part.