Total pages in book: 166
Estimated words: 169305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 847(@200wpm)___ 677(@250wpm)___ 564(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 169305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 847(@200wpm)___ 677(@250wpm)___ 564(@300wpm)
Finally—finally—the door whined open.
I stepped back, my breath caught in my fucking throat as I saw her for the first time in nearly twenty-four hours.
Makeup free. Hair a mess. In blue sweatpants and a USA Fencing tee.
Simple. Unassuming. Perfect.
“Farrow.” I choked on her name.
Get your shit together, Zach.
I shook my head, ridding myself of the spell she’d put me under, and trained my face to its usual callous disinterest. “I have some news.”
I brushed past her, entering her room. A jolt of pleasure warmed my shoulder where we connected.
I expected the tiny room to burst with personality as big as its owner’s.
Instead, it seemed impersonal. The bare essential furniture. No intimate belongings. No pictures. Nothing out of place. Nothing in general.
It could’ve been a guest room. Or the torture chamber of a serial killer.
I raised a stack of folders I’d brought with me, depositing them on her nightstand.
Her eyes followed my movements. “What’s this?”
“Bryan and Deanne ran the records in the bureau.” I flipped a folder open and retrieved a document littered with highlights, handing it to her. “There’s a time discrepancy with the will.”
Her mouth tumbled open, her plump lower lip begging to be scooped into my mouth and sucked to oblivion.
Fuck.
I’d never kissed a woman in my entire life, but I wanted to now. Wanted to feel her heat and tongue mix with mine. For us to melt into one entity.
Farrow tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, her eyes running over the text. “What does this mean?”
“It means the executed will doesn’t match the one officially filed three years prior.” I studied her face, searching for a reaction. “Vera’s will has no legal standing.”
As she read, her eyes became shinier, glistening with tears she refused to shed.
Something feral reared its head inside my chest. I wanted to hug her. To tuck her into my side. To shield her from a world that always failed her.
“Zach.” She snapped her head up, smiling. “This is amazing. It’s proof Vera faked the will. We can contest it.”
“Not yet.” I plucked the sheet from her fingers, tucking it back into the file. “Dan, Bryan, and Deanne want more time.”
“What?” Her smile dropped. “Why?”
“The stronger our case is, the easier it will be to win it. We want timelines, hard evidence, a play-by-play of how she did it, when she did it, and who assisted her. There’s a witness on the original will we need to speak with. We can’t half-ass this, Octi. It needs to be bulletproof. You have to be patient.”
“Ugh.” She flung herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck, her lips kissing my skin as she spoke. “But I don’t want to be patient.”
For a second, I froze in my spot, fighting my instinct to pull away.
What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck.
I slammed my eyes shut, counting down from ten.
10, 9, 8…
I popped an eye open, realizing I didn’t feel like pouring acid over my head.
7, 6…
My shoulders rolled back, relaxing a bit, easing into her touch.
5, 4…
I breathed through my nose, familiar with each and every delicious scent coming from Farrow.
3…
…I stopped counting, letting myself enjoy it.
Our skin felt like velvet against each other. Hers glided along mine like silk, squeezing me to her.
It was… pleasant.
And marked the first time I’d ever seen her let go.
She dropped the warrior act, utterly radiating without the heavy armor in the way.
A thread of pride stitched itself into my chest. She’d chosen me to drop her guard around. The cold, cruel villain in her Cinderella story.
The worst part—I doubted she even realized what she’d done.
I weaved my fingers through her hair, unsure what to do with them. Did I stroke her waves? Run my fingers through the strands? Pat her head like she’d just returned from kindergarten with a gold star on her workbook?
My fingers trembled. I almost stepped back with how overwhelmed the options made me.
This is happening.
It is happening, and I don’t want it to end.
I pressed my cheek to hers, relishing the fact that I could. “Time will fly.”
“How do you know?” Her breath tickled my ear.
I didn’t cower. Didn’t shiver. Didn’t retreat.
“Because it always does when you have fun.”
“You are a lot of things, Zachary Sun, but fun is not one of them.”
“Your pussy is in complete disagreement.”
“My pussy doesn’t call the shots.”
“Perhaps it should. Lovely creature. I’m its number one fan.”
Her fingers slid up my neck, cupping my cheeks. She drew away from our embrace, tipping her chin up at me, eyes dilating as she soaked in our position.
The proximity.
The touch.
Our eyes met. Hers gleamed like the sparkling Mediterranean, so impossibly blue I couldn’t look away. Her lips parted.
I dropped my gaze, tracing them with my eyes.
“Just once…” She let her thumb drift to my lips, hovering over them. “Just once, can I kiss you? I mean really kiss you.”