Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 38284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 191(@200wpm)___ 153(@250wpm)___ 128(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 191(@200wpm)___ 153(@250wpm)___ 128(@300wpm)
“Angel,” I uttered, wishing she wouldn’t leave me, but the light dimmed again. It was the only thing I could say before I lost consciousness.
Weeks Later
I woke up to footsteps in the dark. Where was I? Was I dreaming again? Fuck, I remembered a man coming toward me on the reef, but that might have been an illusion as well. Then, there was a beautiful voice telling me stories. I couldn’t see her, but I could feel her touch all over my skin as if she branded me with every move of her fingers. The heartache in her voice was evident as she shared painful moments. Then it was the laugh she had. This all must have been a dream because there could be no real woman with that perfectly adorable giggle that went straight to my heart.
The memory of a dream brought the name David to the forefront of my mind, and a wave of anger barreled through me like a wild boar. I wanted his head, but I didn’t know a David. At least, not that I remembered.
The sound of pattering feet moved lightly in my direction. Either my attacker was creeping up on me to kill me, or it was a tiny person. I looked for my gun in my nightstand, but then I realized I wasn’t in my home and was attached to something. Looking down, I spotted where an IV was in my arm. “I must be in a hospital,” I muttered to myself, trying to puzzle everything out. My mind was so damn fucked up that I couldn’t make sense of shit.
I couldn’t find the light around the room. “Who’s there?” I called out, my voice cracking.
“You’re awake,” a soft, feminine voice said as she moved closer to my side. It was angelic, and it shot a jolt of energy through me. The dream of an angel came back to me. I attempted to sit up, but I didn’t have the strength.
“Wait. Let me help you, Ricardo.” She reached for the light on the nightstand. It was blinding at first, but as my eyes adjusted, I recognized her as my angel.
That voice. It was her. The sweet woman who rambled on in my dreams. Were they really dreams, or just hints of clarity? “You’re so beautiful, my angel.”
“Thank you, but I’m not an angel.”
“It seems you’ve been helping me, so I’d say you are.” She blushed so prettily that I wanted to touch her cheeks to feel the heat off them. “Wait…Where am I? How did you know my name?”
She cringed and then said, “You made the news two days after we found you. It’s not good. Everyone thinks you’re dead.”
So the boat thing was real. Shit. I closed my eyes for a minute as I tried to pull my thoughts together. I had a million questions, but first I needed to know how safe we were. “Everyone? You haven’t told anyone?”
Nervously she bit her bottom lip. “No. We didn’t think you’d be safe if we did.”
“God, I could kiss you right now.” Her blush deepened, causing my length to grow. Fuck, I had no damn manners, it seemed, even though I felt my body ache. I wanted to kiss my angel. Maybe she wasn’t available to kiss. “You said ‘we.’ Please tell me you’re not married.”
“I’m not. My father pulled you out of the water.” My audible sigh of relief and smile gave away my intent.
I took her hand in mine and brought it to my lips, kissing it gently. “I owe him my life. And you…I don’t even know how to thank you when all I want to do is taste those lips of yours.”
“Awake for five minutes and already hitting on my daughter. Maybe I should have left you in the ocean.” I looked over at the man by the door in his robe and pajamas. Her father was a burly looking man who was about my height or even taller. The upturn of his lips belied the anger in his voice.
“Daddy,” she huffed.
“I’m sorry, sir.”
“Before you start making moves on my daughter, I need to know more about you. Now that you’re awake and obviously alert, I suppose you could fill us in.” I moved to adjust the pillow behind my head, but my woman saw my struggle and assisted.
“Don’t try to move too quickly,” she scolded. Her face inches from mine, I did my best to hold back the insane urge to pull her into my arms.
“I’m surprised that you didn’t look me up,” I grunted out, stretching my legs a little to get the blood flowing in them.
“I didn’t want to pull any information just in case someone was looking for hits on your name.”
“I’m not from here. Well, shit, I don’t even know where here is.” It blew big time that I had no idea where I was. Being vulnerable and at the mercy of others had never sat well with me. My entire life, I’d been the one people relied on. This was foreign and unacceptable. I had to get back on my feet and ready to strike at those who put me in this position.