Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 90769 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 454(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90769 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 454(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
God, he was hot as hell. Not in a Hollywood movie star, smoothly perfect way. In a rough, whiskey-and-nails way. He was tanned from a life spent outdoors and his hair was thick and untamed, the color of a wheat field. His beard was just as richly gold and framed a hard upper lip and a gorgeously soft, full lower one. Then he turned to me and—
Cornflower-blue eyes that lit up as they stared at me. They pinned me, held me as securely as if he’d used those massive hands to push me up against a tree. I couldn’t move, couldn’t fight. Didn’t want to. A hot ripple went right through my body—
And when that ripple hit my soul, it vibrated like a guitar string plucked just right. For a second, I forgot how to breathe.
He stared down at me, transfixed, those deep blue eyes gobbling me up in huge, hungry chunks. And it made no sense because this was me. I’m not some tanned, willowy blonde with abs you can bounce a quarter off. My hair’s black and curly and won’t behave. I was pale even before I started working in the call center and I’m curvy, all hips and ass and boobs. My German great-grandmother used to proudly say that our family came from good healthy peasant stock. We’re dependable, not remarkable. I never transfixed anyone.
And yet he was looking at me like I was the best thing he’d ever seen.
Then he looked away for a second, and when he looked back at me, his brows had lowered and his jaw was set. Those blue eyes had frozen hard and the combination of that glare, and his monstrous size, almost made me back away.
But then, as he looked into my eyes, I saw the lust flash again for a second, scalding hot and primal. In an instant, it was buried again and the glare was back.
I thought of his dog, growling at me in the alley, trying to scare me away.
He reached down and offered me his hand. I stared at it stupidly, then reached up and took it. I was hoisted upright, so fast and effortlessly it was like being in an express elevator. God, he was strong. And his hand was so big, engulfing mine in its warmth, his skin rough and calloused. When he released my hand, I could feel my skin tingling. I couldn’t explain it, but I wanted more of that touch, more of that roughness against me. I wanted to mold myself to him and have him crush my softness against him. What the hell is the matter with me?
He looked at his dog again, at the bandages on its legs. Then he looked at me. “That was you?” Just the bare minimum of words and even they came out haltingly. Like he hadn’t spoken in a really long time.
I nodded and explained how I’d found his dog and treated it. And he just stood there, staring down at me, listening. Really listening, like he didn’t want to miss a word. And the longer it went on, the more I saw those cornflower-blue eyes soften. He started to lean in, millimeter by millimeter.
I finished my story but he said nothing, just kept staring down at me. The dog bounded over to me and circled around and around my legs, pushing up against me so hard it almost knocked me over. I put a hand down and let it trail through the dog’s thick fur, but I couldn’t look away from those blue eyes. Every time I looked into them, I felt that slow, aching vibration. Like he had one of those big, calloused fingers resting right on that guitar string inside me and he was just caressing it, both of us unsure but both of us feeling how loaded with tension it was.
He finally looked away. He glanced at the street, the passing cars, the skyscrapers, as if suddenly remembering where he was, and I saw his body tense. I thought of some huge animal, prowling its concrete cell at the zoo. He didn’t belong here.
“Thanks,” he said gruffly. He turned to go and a sudden, cold panic washed through me. I’ll never see him again! I blinked. What the hell was wrong with me? I’d only just met him!
The dog, I told myself. I’d miss the big fluffball. That was all it was.
He took a step away.
“I’m Bethany.” It was out before I realized my mouth was moving. I cringed. Idiot! What if he just ignored me and walked on? He’s way out of your league.
But he turned back to me. And the shock I saw in his eyes was the good kind. Like he was surprised I’d be into him. Something in my chest lifted and bobbed like a balloon.
For a second, it was like he was battling with himself. Something powerful was trying to make him turn away and march off: he’d glance away from me and those big shoulders would tense as if he was about to turn...then he’d catch my eye again and it was like he...melted.