Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 133531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 534(@250wpm)___ 445(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 534(@250wpm)___ 445(@300wpm)
“Kissing has to be out until your doctor gives you permission,” she said firmly, knowing that would definitely get a rise out of him.
“Permission from my doctor to kiss you?” His voice sounded raspier than ever.
She did her best not to smile. “Written. In a note with his letterhead so I know you didn’t forge it. I’m certain you’re capable of forging notes.”
“You want me to ask my doctor to write a note on his letterhead giving me permission to kiss you?”
Now there was a distinct threat in his voice. Sheer menace. She was really doing her best not to laugh because he looked and sounded so outraged.
“Like I’m a schoolkid.” He practically growled it.
“Well, yes. Because you tend to ignore the doctor’s advice just the way a schoolkid would.” She was playing with fire but it was fun. She needed fun and so did Gideon.
He took the food containers from her hands and set them alongside the empty ones on the end table, leaving her feeling a little defenseless.
She put up her hands, palms out, and leaned back away from him. “You behave yourself.”
One long arm reached for her, his palm curling around the nape of her neck. “Kissing you is mandatory. I don’t need my doctor’s permission. In fact, kissing is the one thing guaranteed to make me better much faster.”
“It is?” She widened her eyes, trying to look as if she were skeptical instead of wanting to kiss him until they both burned up in the fire.
“Yes, Red, it is. I need to kiss you. I need to do more than just kiss you.”
Now she couldn’t breathe. She needed to do more than just kiss him, but they could be in real trouble if they did more. “Gideon.” She poured caution into his name even as she allowed him to draw her closer.
“I’ll show restraint. I have discipline. You’ll see.”
“I’m not sure I do,” she admitted. “Javier is really mean, and he scares me.”
“He’s afraid of me.”
“He isn’t afraid of anyone,” she corrected.
He gave her his bad-boy roguish smile. “He will be if he starts interfering with my time with my woman.”
He kept applying steady pressure on the nape of her neck. Gentle. Firm. Sure. She found herself scooting up against him. That didn’t seem close enough for him.
“Gideon,” she cautioned.
“Red. Sit in my lap.”
She shook her head and placed one hand on his lower abdomen. “No, we’re going to be very careful.”
“Straddle my thighs. There’s nothing wrong with my thighs.”
His voice was pure temptation, and she was weak when it came to him. The pressure on the nape of her neck was relentless. She found herself held captive by the burning intensity of his eyes. There was such a mixture of affection and pure sensual lust, it robbed her of her ability to think clearly.
Rory found herself obeying his command and straddling his thighs. The moment she did, his hands found her hips, and he pulled her tight against him, aligning their bodies much more intimately. Before she had a chance to protest, he gripped her hair with one fist, pulled her head back and took her mouth.
He’d always been gentle. This was a complete takeover. Ruthless. Predatory. Merciless. His teeth caught her lower lip and bit down hard enough for her to gasp, and his tongue slid into the heat of her mouth. There was an instant explosion, as if he had lit a match and set off a stick of dynamite. He poured fire down her throat.
Flames rushed through her veins. There were no smoldering embers bursting into flames. The fire was already out of control, burning hot and wild. She could have sworn a volcano exploded and molten lava ran through her body, branding his name on every bone and organ along the way to pool wicked and sinful, low and hot, between her legs.
One of his hands moved to the little pearl buttons on her blouse. His mouth never stopped dominating hers, turning rougher. More insistent. She gave herself up to that fire, letting it take her until she was boneless and pliant in his arms. His fingers were on her right breast, stroking, kneading, tugging on her nipple until she cried out in need, rocking her hips against him.
The moment she did, a semblance of sanity returned, and she pulled back, tearing herself out of his arms and scrambling off his lap. Her blouse was open. How he’d managed to undo every button was going to remain a mystery. She could barely catch her breath.
“You’re a menace,” she accused, returning her blouse to order.
“Come back to me. We were just getting started.”
“We’re finished, Gideon.” She didn’t want to be finished, and she was extremely happy that he didn’t want to be finished either. “I mean it.”
Rory had to put distance between them, or they were going to have sex on the couch, and he would start bleeding internally again. “I have to find your kitchen and put the rest of the food in your fridge. And I need to locate a bathroom.”