Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 21882 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 109(@200wpm)___ 88(@250wpm)___ 73(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21882 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 109(@200wpm)___ 88(@250wpm)___ 73(@300wpm)
But against all odds, a small fist gets through my defenses, and her hand glances off my hard chest.
“You’re a raging asshole!” she’s screaming now. “You deserve to be murdered! I’m going to murder you myself! Ahhh-”
But then her screams are cut off because I’ve lowered my lips to hers, catching that delectable pout in a searing kiss. Madeline Mitchell is hot, sweet, and so angry that I can’t get enough.
5
Maddy
Cameron’s lips are like fire on mine, knowing, knowledgeable, and so demanding all at once. I beat my fists on that massive chest, looking to do bodily injury, but after a few seconds, my arms are snaking around his neck and burrowing into that thick, dark hair.
“Cameron,” I whisper. “Oh my god.”
He breaks away for a moment to look into my eyes. In the gloom, I notice for the first time that his eyes are actually navy blue, and not the flashing black that I’d assumed.
“Maddy,” he murmurs against my cheek before kissing me again. “Calm down. You come in here like a woman scorned but there’s more to the story. Just hear me out, okay?”
I shake my head, and to my horror, tears come to my eyes.
“But Grace is all I have, and I’m all she has,” I choke out. “And now, you’ve taken away my mother’s dignity. How could you do this?”
At that, the sobs begin in earnest, and my shoulders hunch over in pain. But to my surprise, Mr. Savage doesn’t push me away. Instead, he pulls me into his lap, cradling me with those strong arms as if I’m a little child. He strokes my back and murmurs sweet nothings against my temple.
“You’re going to be fine, Maddy. I’ll make sure of it, okay? You have nothing to worry about.”
I hiccup wildly before slapping a hand over my mouth. Have I lost all my dignity? This is the enemy, for crying out loud. What am I doing curled up in his lap and clinging to his massive form like a wet rat?
I sit up abruptly, looking into those blue eyes.
“Thanks,” I manage in a choked voice. “If you give my mom her job back, we’ll be so grateful.”
Cameron sits back then, but to my surprise he doesn’t let me go. Instead, he pulls me against his chest again. At first, I resist and stay tense, but then I give in and melt against that warm hardness. It’s so easy to pretend that everything’s going to be okay when I’m ensconced in his arms like this. It’s so easy to pretend that I’m a princess in a castle, and that my white knight will protect me from all the evils of the world outside.
“Listen to me, Maddy,” he rumbles. His voice is so deep that I can feel the vibrations in his chest, and merely press myself even closer to his masculine warmth. “It’s probably better that your mom was fired, okay? There are reasons why HR might fire someone. For example, she can collect unemployment if she’s fired, whereas if she quits, my understanding is that she won’t qualify for government help.”
But these words don’t sit right with me and I sit up indignantly again.
“Government help? My mom and I don’t need government help,” I say in a stiff voice. “We’ve always been on our own, and I’ll be damned if the Mitchell women live off of the government at this late stage.”
A corner of Cameron’s perfectly-sculpted lips quirk. He looks like he’s about to say something, and then changes his mind.
“How old are you, Maddy?” he asks gently.
I stare at him.
“I’m eighteen. I’m a senior at North Las Vegas High, and yes, before you ask, my mom had me young. She was little more than a girl herself when she got pregnant with me. It’s how all the women in our family are. We like to have our kids early.”
He nods thoughtfully.
“You do seem very ripe,” he rumbles in a low voice. What? What does that mean? But before I can press him, he tips my chin his way. I shiver at the electric contact, and the promise in his eyes shakes me to my core.
“How about I make you a deal, Maddy?”
I snort.
“Like the deal you made my mom? Did I mention that after she was removed from her showgirl position, your hotel offered her her old cleaning position back? So my mom can go back to vacuuming hotel rooms and picking up garbage? I swear, you have no respect for her dignity at all,” I say, tears pooling in my eyes. “Grace worked really hard to become a showgirl, and now you just want her to go back to square one.”
I nod.
“Yeah, that’s pretty heartless. Let me just say that I didn’t know about any of this, and that sometimes human resources at big companies can be a little wacky. The left hand doesn’t talk to the right hand, et cetera. We’ll find a better place for your mom at the hotel.”