Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 74122 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74122 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
She giggled at the image of a Neanderthal dragging his woman by her hair into his cave after clubbing her.
Mine.
Woman. Mine.
When she was least expecting it, he came to a dead stop and before she could slow her forward motion, she slammed right into his back.
“Hey!” she yelled at him. “A little warning would be nice.”
He said nothing, and she moved around him to see what he was staring at.
“Oh,” she breathed.
He had taken her to a waterfall deep within the woods. It was absolutely stunning. Breathtaking even.
“C’mon,” he grunted, then releasing her hand, climbed out onto a nearby boulder that overlooked the falls.
“Are you supposed to do that?” she called out as she watched him choose his footing carefully as he picked his way over the large rock.
He dropped to a seat, twisted his head toward her and held out his hand. “C’mon!”
She carefully climbed up onto the rock and when she reached him, he snagged her hand, tugged her in front of him and demanded, “Sit.”
She settled between his spread legs and he wrapped one arm under her breasts, pulling her back into his chest. The other snaked around her lower belly. With a sigh, she relaxed, leaned back, and let him take her weight.
“This is beautiful,” she whispered, peeking over her shoulder at him.
He was staring out over the falls, his green eyes dark in the low light caused by the shade of the trees. “Yeah.”
“I never knew this was here.”
“Then gonna have to bring your girl here when she gets home.”
When she gets home.
Emma’s breathing stuttered, her heart did a flip and suddenly the tears welled up in her eyes. What did she finally do right in her life to deserve this man? One who did not fit into any of the molds of acceptable society, but seemed to be more caring than the ones that did.
The waterfall became a blur as she leaned her head back against his shoulder and his arms tightened around her even more.
“Emma,” he murmured next to her ear.
She sniffled and wiped at her cheeks. “Yeah?”
“You got dealt a shitty hand. Gonna make it right. Got me?”
“Yeah, Dawson, I got you.” She twisted in his arms. “But I’m not sure why you feel you need to do that.”
“’Cause...” He stopped, his face got hard, and he didn’t say anything for the longest time. “Just because.”
Just because.
Just because he was Dawson. A good man. A caring man. A man nicknamed Dawg who, on the outside, could probably scare most people with a pointed glare, but inside had an enormous heart.
Oh Lord, she’d only known him for three days and...
She reached up and stroked her hand along his beard, the texture of it coarse and wiry against her fingers.
“I won’t ever be able to repay you.”
“You’ll find a way,” he said softly.
Emma had a feeling what he meant had nothing to do with money.
Chapter Nine
A sharp pain shot through Dawg’s chest as he watched Emma work the floor. It wasn’t the first night she worked where the club was packed solid. Two of his girls were currently on stage and were raking in the tips. Especially when they “played” with each other. Though neither were lesbians, they knew what the men liked and didn’t mind playing them, since it paid off. The evidence being the numerous dollar bills being thrown their way.
Cubby was busy behind the bar serving beer and drinks as fast as he could. The VIP rooms had a steady flow of customers and dancers going in and out of their doors. Moose was busy playing bodyguard outside of them, making sure that none of the girls got manhandled. Dawg had even called in a couple more prospects to help be bouncers for the night.
The floor was crowded, the cash was flowing, and Dawg should be very pleased, but he fucking wasn’t.
Ember was wearing a long sleek royal blue dress that she had borrowed from one of the girls, which worked perfectly with her blonde hair. The clingy dress had strategic slits in it, so when she moved a bare thigh would show, the flesh of her hip, or the curve of a breast. The back was open all the way to the top curves of her ass. The front plunged practically down to her fucking belly button. He had no idea how her tits weren’t falling out of it. One of the girls must have shown her the magic of double-sided tape.
But even so, he knew she wore nothing under that fucking dress. It would be impossible to do so. The only thing under that scrap of fabric was Emma herself.
And he did not like that at all.
He downed a shot of whiskey, then gritted his teeth as she moved from one customer to the next with a huge smile on her face, her eyes sparkling. They were all beckoning her over to them, vying for her attention.