Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 147733 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 739(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147733 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 739(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
“Holy crap,” I whisper, batting my eyes.
“Big dreams, I know.” He smiles bitterly, something sad and sharp in his eyes. “For a time, I thought that was all Simone was. Harmless. One more driven career freak with ambitions a thousand feet taller than her. I didn’t see the danger—or the dagger, not until it was in my back. Once she shattered my trust—along with any faith in humanity I ever had—I called the deal off. She’s been bitter as hell ever since, thinking I’m the reason she never clawed her way to the heights she was hellbent on achieving.”
“But wait. If she backstabbed you, then why would she be bitter about you canceling the merger? She had to expect it would happen.”
His expression darkens.
Why do I feel like I’m getting the truth, but not all of it? What else is he holding back?
“The knife was almost a mortal wound, though I don’t think she intended it to be. She still imagines I’ll get over it someday, everything she fucking took from me.”
He goes quiet.
I want to know what that means so bad, but the edge in his voice, the pain, it scares me.
What I really want more than anything right now is for Miles to stop suffering.
So I grab his hand gently, bring it to my lips, and just hold it against my cheek until his breathing softens.
“She’s been scheming to force her way back into my good graces,” he says finally. “Obviously, that’s never going to happen. I can’t do business with someone I can’t trust, no matter how solid their company seems. If she thinks she can’t get a piece of my business, I think she’ll do everything in her power to destroy it, and she doesn’t give a damn who or what she hurts along the way.”
“What?” My breath catches. “We can’t let that happen. I’ll do whatever I can to help. What you did for Pinnacle Pointe...even if you had your own reasons, it was a huge plus for the whole town. No good deed should be rewarded with a crazy stalker coming after you, let alone anyone caught in the crossfire.”
He picks up my hand, brings my wrist to his lips, and kisses it.
“That’s sweet, kitten, but I’m not sure there’s much we can do beyond what we just did. Fend off her bullshit. We have to wait until she slips up, and that could take years. Her moves are hard to predict. She’s cunning and meticulous.” He locks his arms around me and plants a kiss on top of my head. “I think this might be our last chance for this—” He motions at our intertwined bodies with his hand. “At least for a while. Not because I want it to stop, but because the project wrapped up early. There’s no reason for you to stick around Seattle.”
I smile.
“There’s no good reason for you to stay here either.” Unless he’s changed his mind again.
I hold my breath until his mouth crushes mine.
He kisses me so hard, his tongue searching, chasing mine until we both ripple.
“Fuck, you’re hard to argue with. I suppose I could go back to the Pointe once I’m sure morale has improved at home.”
“Yes, please. Come back with me.” I lean up and kiss him again.
Smiling, he pulls away.
“If I do, there’s no escape then.” He stops and turns us so I’m flat against his bed and he’s climbing over me, eclipsing me with his delicious weight.
“This will—” He comes in for a kiss. “Keep happening.” Kiss. “Again.”
I close my eyes, relishing his warmth, his taste, and his pine scent that reaches down inside me and strokes me like the kitten I’ve resisted being until I couldn’t.
Miles Cromwell transforms me.
“I’d like that, Miles,” I whisper, barely audible. “Just don’t make me say it twice,” I add.
He exhales sharply, his massive length pressed against my opening. I release a slow breath at the way it makes me tingle.
“Goddammit, you’re so warm. You know I can’t say no to this sweet little pussy.”
I push my hips up, tempting him, daring him not to.
“Kitten.” He sighs as he sinks into me, anchoring himself deep. “Shit! You already know I’m going to come inside you again. Hell, every time I’m in you. I can’t go back to rubber.”
“Don’t you dare,” I whimper back.
His eyes hold mine.
I can tell he’s barely holding back, aching to tear me to pieces again.
My lips attack his, begging for a beautiful ruin.
The second he drives deep and his teeth catch my bottom lip, I’m on my way to paradise.
“The inn is a flagship. Anyone who lives in Pinnacle Pointe or even passes through knows Bee Harbor. With the amount of business she sends your way, you should be paying her for using your paint,” Miles says.
The man behind the counter laughs. “If only business worked that way.”