Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 83970 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83970 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
I don’t pull my eyes from her as she wraps her lips around the bottle opening. Watching her close her eyes and tilt the plastic container back is amazingly erotic. The way her throat works to swallow the cool liquid has me squirming beside her.
I force myself to pull my eyes away from her and look out over the landscape.
“We need to get you a decent camera for our next excursion,” I say as she hands me the now nearly empty bottle.
She raises an eyebrow at me. “You’re so sure you’ll get a second date.”
I wink at her. “A man can hope.”
She leans into me and rests her head against my shoulder. Not one to miss an opportunity to touch her, I adjust my position and wrap an arm around her shoulder.
We sit and watch the sky begin to change colors in silence. “We have to get going soon. I don’t want to be stuck out here after dark.”
“Afraid of the dark?” she teases but stands up and stretches.
“I’d rather not have to fight off the coyotes and snakes that will be making an appearance soon.”
She cringes. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s get the hell out of here!”
***
Thirty minutes later we’re pulling into a small roadside café for dinner. I can tell she’s grown more comfortable on the back of my bike in just the short time she’s been on it today. I’m becoming aware that, with the exception of the girls at the club, Emmalyn is pretty adaptable to her environment. The thought is both comforting and concerning. She can adjust easily to anything I throw at her, but it also means that’s she’d adapt pretty quickly if she had to move on without me.
I hold her hand as we walk into the small country restaurant, and she doesn’t pull away, rather; she steps in closer to my side. Once inside, I sit across from her in the booth so we can carry on a conversation when I really just want to sit beside her so I can feel the warmth of her body against mine.
I hand her one of the menus propped up on the table between the heavy salt and pepper shaker. “They have the best turkey clubs here.”
The waitress steps up to the table almost immediately, and I almost ask her to give us a few minutes because Em hasn’t had time to look over the menu, but she surprises me when she orders the turkey club with a side of honey mustard.
I smile at her. “Same,” I tell the waitress when she turns her attention to me.
I take the menu from her hand and stand it back up where I pulled it from. I reach my hand across the table, and Emmalyn immediately places hers in mine. I watch her as she watches our tangled fingers. “Thank you,” I say.
“For what?” she asks softly.
“Agreeing to come with me tonight.”
“I’ve had a great time,” she says almost shyly. “I’m glad you asked me out.”
“There’s no other place I’d rather be, Em.” I lean in and bring her fingers to my mouth, kissing the tips.
The ringing of my phone forces me to pull eyes from hers. I keep our fingers twined and reach into my pocket to retrieve the offending electronic with my free hand. The name on the screen, once again, has me cussing.
“Blade.”
He chuckles at my sharp tone. “Yeah, Shadow told me you were busy. When do I get to meet the infamous Emmalyn?”
“At your funeral if you keep interrupting my plans.”
Emmalyn pulls her hand from mine as the waitress sets our plate on the table between us. I should probably get up and take this call in private, but I just can’t seem to pull myself away from her.
“Don’t worry, this is nothing like the last one.” I can hear Blade typing on his computer.
“This one is a huge payday.” I sigh. The higher the payday either means incredibly dangerous or a mission that’s going to pull us from home for an extended period of time.
“I don’t like where this is heading. Just tell me how long I have.”
“Twenty-four hours. Plane leaves at midnight tomorrow.” He’s aware enough to deliver the news with a hint of sympathy in his voice.
“Damn it, Blade.” Emmalyn snaps her eyes up to me at the harsh tone of my voice.
“Keep in mind I’m just the messenger, Kincaid.”
“What does our timeline look like?” I pinch the bridge of my nose in frustration.
“It’s a security contract on a popular star who isn’t interested in being protected.”
Translation means I’ll be spending the next two or three weeks checking caves in the fucking desert looking for some terrorist cell leader who’s gone underground because he knows a tactical team is being activated to kill his ass.
“Thanks,” I mumble and hang up as he begins laughing.