Total pages in book: 165
Estimated words: 166103 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 831(@200wpm)___ 664(@250wpm)___ 554(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 166103 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 831(@200wpm)___ 664(@250wpm)___ 554(@300wpm)
Ouch. That hurt.
Silly Chloe.
Of course they’d had a girlfriend before. But it hurt to think about another woman laughing with Hux. Getting all of Owen’s intensity. Managing to make Judd chill out and smile. Having Beck open up.
One of the staff walked up to them carrying a tray with a huge sundae on it. She gaped at it. There were several different kinds of ice cream on it as well as whipped cream and a whole lot of maraschino cherries and sprinkles.
She’d never seen anything like it.
“That’s for you?” she asked.
“This is for us, little darlin’,” he replied, picking up a spoon.
She shook her head. “I wanted one small scoop.”
“Well, I thought you deserved more than that, especially after meeting Pippa. You must have burned a lot of calories with all the talking you did.”
“Hux!” She covered her face with her hands. “I can’t believe you just said that. That was terrible. I couldn’t talk.”
“You were starstruck. Do you want to be a princess?”
“Me?” She let out a scoffing noise as she dropped her hands. “Hardly. I am not princess material.”
“I think you are.”
Wow.
How was she meant to resist this guy when he said things like this?
He doesn’t want you. Remember that.
“Now, open wide for the choo-choo train!”
She gaped at him as he brought the spoon toward her mouth, moving it up and down as he made choo-choo noises.
He wasn’t for real, was he? He couldn’t be. She looked around but the only people watching them were smiling.
“A choo-choo train?”
“You’d prefer an airplane? I can do that.”
The spoon was pressed to her lips. “Open your mouth.”
A shiver ran through her at the command, and before she could stop herself, her lips parted. The ice cream hit her taste buds and she closed her eyes for a moment.
That was so good.
How long since she’d eaten anything like this? Not just ice cream but any kind of chocolate or candy?
Sadly, she couldn’t remember.
“Damn girl, you keep making noises like that and it’s going to be really difficult for me to walk out of here without embarrassing myself.”
Huh?
She opened her eyes to find him watching her with a starved look on his face. Like a wolf who’d been hungry for too long.
She swallowed.
“That’s a good girl for swallowing.”
“Hux, you have to stop.”
“Feeding you? Nah. I don’t think I do.” He gave her another spoonful. Then he reached toward her face with his finger. She drew back.
“What? What is it?” she asked, alarmed.
“Shh. Easy. You’ve just got a bit of ice cream right here.” He wiped it off and placed his finger in his mouth, sucking.
That was hot.
Then she realized what happened.
“Oh no. Am I a mess?” she asked, horrified. She grabbed a napkin to clean herself up.
He plucked it straight out of her hand.
“You could never be a mess. You’re always beautiful.”
“You have to stop flirting with me. I know you don’t want me.”
“Don’t want you?” he repeated.
“Yes, so please stop.”
“Why wouldn’t I want you?” he asked.
She shook her head. She was so confused. She stood. “I need to go back.”
“Whoa. No. I don’t think so.” He caught up to her at the door, lightly grabbing her arm.
She startled.
“Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”
“Oh no. I was just surprised. Sorry.”
“If you need help, you can tell me, little darlin’.” He stared at her worriedly.
She had to fight hard not to beg him to help her.
To be her white knight.
Because that wasn’t in the cards for her.
“Sometimes, I just startle easily.”
“I’m here for you, if you ever need me.”
She took a moment just for her, a moment to be weak. Leaning forward, she pressed her forehead to his chest as she closed her eyes. What would it be like to have him to lean on all the time?
Even more amazing if she could have all four of them.
Heaven. It would be heaven.
“I’m here, little darlin’. I’m not going anywhere,” he whispered, holding her close.
She took a deep breath and stepped back. “I don’t understand you. You laughed at me earlier. When I said . . . ”
“When you said that you didn’t want sex.” Understanding filled his face. “Oh, baby, I wasn’t laughing at you. Well, not really.”
She didn’t want to hear this. Again, she tried to step past him and leave.
“Whoa. Nope. You don’t go anywhere without me, little darlin’. Don’t you remember I’m your guard?”
Right. Shoot.
“I’m not in danger.” She felt like a broken record, repeating that again and again.
“Doesn’t matter.” He moved slowly, brushing her hair back off her forehead. She was tempted to lean into his touch, ask for another hug. Was she starting to trust him? “Whether you’re in danger or not, my priority is to protect you. And I wasn’t laughing at you. I was laughing . . . well, at the way you said it. So polite as you told me you didn’t want sex. Are you so polite and proper in the bedroom?”