Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 128801 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 644(@200wpm)___ 515(@250wpm)___ 429(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128801 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 644(@200wpm)___ 515(@250wpm)___ 429(@300wpm)
A slight giggle got free, and I let the tease wind into my voice. “Are you jealous, Ryder Nash?”
“At the thought of another man touching you? Fuck yeah, I’m jealous, Dakota. Then you had to go rubbing it in. You’re really trying to drive me out of my mind, aren’t you?”
“And what was I supposed to say?” I got entranced by the energy that swept the atmosphere, mesmerized by Ryder here, looking at me this way.
My spirit light and my heart pounding so heavily I was sure the rest of the house could hear it.
“You were supposed to say that you wouldn’t dream of touching him. Of touching anyone.” It was a soft growl, a razzing that slipped from his delicious mouth.
His mouth I was fast becoming addicted to.
I feigned regret. “Oops, I guess I didn’t get the script.”
Possession reverberated in his wide chest, and he pressed me harder against the wall. That big body covered mine.
So powerful.
So protective.
It was everything I’d craved for so long that a needy whimper slipped out.
Ryder only tightened his hold. “Script goes like this, Dakota…you’re mine, and I’m yours. You got it?”
“I’ll try to remember.” I whispered the tease.
“You better,” he rumbled back, pecking his lips to mine.
I moaned that time.
That was all it took for him to deepen the kiss.
A crackle that sparked.
Our mouths moved in a desperate dance, and his hand came around to the back of my neck to angle me just right. His lips plucked and pulled at mine before his tongue swept into my mouth.
Tangling.
Licking.
Commanding.
My hands shot out, diving into his hair as he rubbed himself against me.
Gasping, I writhed back, my breath instantly gone.
My pulse crashed as it thundered.
I nearly cried when he peeled himself away. He dropped his forehead to mine, panting with his hands still gripping my face. “You’re everything, Dakota Cooper. The most important thing in this world. Whatever happens, promise me that you won’t forget that.”
“I won’t.”
He gulped then nodded as he stepped back, then he sent me a cocky grin. “Do you have any idea the number of times I’ve considered following you into this bathroom, wondering if you’d let me kiss the hell out of you? Wanting to push past that line?”
A surprised laugh ripped from my throat, and I shook my head, my grin coming slow. “Probably as many times as I imagined you doing it.”
His hand slipped under the skirt of my dress and took a handful of my left butt cheek. “I blame it on this dress.”
Shivers raced, a collision of this love and the playfulness and the edge of the darkness that kept seeping into the atmosphere.
“I guess I’m going to have to order one in every color.”
“You do, and I can’t be held accountable for my actions. All of them are going to end up tattered shreds on my bedroom floor.”
“Oh, and here I thought it was going to be on my office floor?”
“Whatever floor is below us at the time. The bedroom. The kitchen. Your office. This bathroom is seeming like a mighty fine place.”
“Sorry to break it to you, but I think my family might notice if I come out and my dress is torn to bits.”
“We can blame it on a pack of wild dogs that came through.”
“I’m pretty sure a wild dog would be the one to blame.” My fingers plucked at the fabric of his shirt.
Amusement traipsed through his features, this fierce affection that pulsed so thick when he reached out and stroked his thumb over my bottom lip. “I love you, Cookie.”
“I don’t think I’m ever going to get tired of hearing that.”
“Good, because you’re going to be hearing it forever.”
Emotion dumped into my chest.
All the years of holding it back and there was no chance of keeping it checked any longer.
“You’re the only person I’ve ever loved, Ryder.”
He rushed forward, pressing his lips to my forehead, breathing me in before he forced himself back to the door. He set his hand on the knob and glanced back. “This pretending bit is fuckin’ painful.”
My bottom lip caught between my teeth. “We won’t have to do it forever, will we?”
“No, baby, not when I want to shout your name from every rooftop in this town.”
My spirit glowed, and I gave him a nod. He returned one before he slipped out.
I waited for a minute before I followed, and I started to slink down the hall.
All stealth mode.
Only I startled when I heard the movement behind me, and I whipped around to find my mother coming out of her room with a bottle of sunscreen.
I was pretty sure I was painted in guilt with the way I gulped and fidgeted and tried to smile around the discomfort.
Her gaze turned knowing. “While you didn’t hit things off with Brad, it appears to me that you might have hit it off with somebody else.”