Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 58988 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58988 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Not going there tonight.
A wave of exhaustion and dizziness swamps me and I turn off the tap. Definitely not going there. I don’t think I could if I wanted to.
“Damn,” I swear softly and hobble out of the shower, wrapping the towel around my waist before leaning against the cool counter.
“JD?” the words come with a knock and the door opens before I can respond. “I brought you food and something for the pain.”
It would be easier to fight this attraction if he’d quit being so nice. “Thanks, but anything stronger than aspirin and I’ll have to pass. Trust me, you don’t want to see me on pain killers.”
His eyebrows go up. “They don’t knock you out?”
“There are nurses in a certain Seattle hospital that wish they did.”
He covers his smile by scratching his beard and I’m struck again by how attractive he is. Too attractive. There is such a thing, and he’s a prime example of the breed. I know my limits, and he is too much for me to handle.
I’d still love to give it a try.
“Good thing I brought whiskey,” he says easily, stepping closer and eyeing my naked torso with concern.
It makes me self-conscious. “Do I look that bad?”
Dark eyes flash with something that disappears too fast for me to identify. “The bruises look painful. Are you sure you don’t want to get them checked out?”
“I’m tougher than I look.” Truer words. “At least I can still move all my fingers and toes. And I feel better now that I’m clean. Great water pressure, by the way.”
Great water pressure?
A grunt is the only acknowledgment I get as he bends down beside me to rifle through the cabinets beneath the sink. His head is too close to my—towel. And what’s under it. I need to think of something else before he gets a show he might not appreciate.
“After tonight I’d say security is the right choice for your second career.” I look toward the door so I won’t think about him being on his knees. “I was out of it at the time, but I could tell by the sound of the high-pitched screaming that you were impressive.”
“I barely touched him.” He sounds disgusted. “Man took one look at me and had a fit.”
Who could blame him? “Whatever you did, it worked. All I had up my sleeve was a good tongue lashing, and that only ticked them off.”
“I heard some of it.” I can feel the heat of him against my bare legs. “Ballsy. Stupid, when you’re cornered like that. But still ballsy.”
I shake my head wearily. “Stick with stupid. I don’t know where it came from. I was mad at myself.”
“At yourself? Why? You didn’t attack anyone.”
“Exactly.” I scowl at the memory. “I tried to fight back, but I had no idea what I was doing.”
“It was late. You’d been drinking and you were outnumbered.”
“You managed.”
He pauses at that. “I’ve had years of training.”
“So you’re saying I have to join the military.”
“No. I’m saying I can teach you.”
Those words send my already simmering arousal into the danger zone. Down, boy. “Tempting, but I think it’s obvious I’m not fighter material.”
“Not that obvious, but you don’t need to be a fighter, JD.”
“Then what are you planning to teach me?” I smirk. “Or do you just want the chance to call me grasshopper?”
“You caught me.” Carter’s eyes sparkle as he stands and sets down his supplies. “You could fight, don’t get me wrong. But I can show you how to protect yourself. Escape holds, disarm attackers, things like that.”
“Still not convinced since I’m also not big on crying.” He frowns and I find myself staring at his Adam’s apple so I don’t have to meet his gaze. No one has an attractive Adam’s apple. Was he made in a lab?
“What do you mean?”
“Your friend Brady? You made him cry.” I hold up two fingers. “Twice.”
When he bites his lip I want to lick it better. “I won’t make you cry, Green. I promise.”
I think you will.
His gaze captures mine and I can’t look away. I’ve never been this into anyone. It’s like I’m teetering on the edge of a cliff, my stomach dropping to the floor while the room spins.
“Easy now.” He catches me before I drop and walks me over to the bed. “I shouldn’t have kept you on your feet this long. Tanaka won’t forgive me if I lose his favorite advice columnist before my first day on the job.”
My body leans against his without my permission. He’s so warm. “I’m tired, Zeus. That’s all.”
“Mildly concussed is more like it,” he says in a rumbling rasp, sitting us both down on the bed. “Maybe more than mild, if you can’t remember my name.”
“I remember everything. That’s what I thought the first time I saw you. That you looked like Zeus.” Big Daddy Zeus.