Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 68431 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68431 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
“I admit it—and I’d do it again. Show me a downside to this—you can’t because there isn’t one. If I’d known about you sooner, we’d be past all this shit and you’d be completely happy by now. But we’ll get there. I’ve screwed up a lot of things in my life—but trust me—taking you as mine wasn’t one of them.”
Not knowing how to respond, she pursed her lips in silence and his expression hardened, his look intensifying. His head lowered over hers; the kiss he gave her was hot, forceful, scorching her all the way through within seconds. She lost her breath; his tongue invaded her mouth as he held her captive. He began kissing her as if it were his last kiss—as if he were on death row and she was his last request.
He shifted, his hips moving between her thighs to press against her mound with threatening, tempting force. A tumult of heady desire blasted her nerve endings. As she moaned in her throat, he reacted to it, growling low as the kiss took off to a new level—away from anything that resembled a mere kiss. His lips clung, his teeth nipped as he seemed to swallow her whole, all the while holding her pinned.
She felt a corresponding need to rock against him but she was too firmly caught in his hold. She couldn’t move even an inch, she could barely breathe. Lacking the ability to do anything more, she kissed him back, her tongue tangling with his, her treacherous body screaming for relief, remembering exactly the force of relief this man could give her—the satisfaction he could give her—the devastation he could wreak on her body and senses. She wanted it all and more, again . . . and again.
As if by magic, as if he could read her mind and knew exactly what she wanted, he released her face as his hand drifted to her breast. He pinched her nipple and caressed her entire breast, weighing it in his hand. Unable to hold it in, she let out another small sound, and his hand dropped between her thighs.
Pushing her skirt up, he found her clit through her panties and began a purposeful assault on her senses. Her thought process split in two, and in desperation, she twisted her mouth from his in a bid for oxygen.
As she breathed in deeply, his head dropped to her neck and he began sipping, then sucking at the curve of her collarbone, nudging the heavy gemstones out of his way. She trembled in his arms, transported to a place where she had little will. She felt his breath as he rasped deeply, “Make your phone call. And while you’re talking, think about how badly I want you. How badly you know you want me. You’re completely mine, Erin, and soon you won’t want it any other way, I promise you that.” Her eyes opened and through a roaring in her head, she abruptly realized that her manipulation of him would be a double-edged sword. Shock bled down her spine. Shock that she might be the one who would be easy to manipulate—even if it would be a sweet, sweet manipulation.
Refusing to give in to him completely, she began pushing against his shoulders, and after a low growl of warning, he finally released the place between her thighs and then grasped her chin until they were staring at each other with glazed eyes. They were both dragging in oxygen as if their bodies had been pushed beyond comfort. A new understanding of his sexual power over her was only now beginning to resonate in her brain—why else would she be about to make a phone call that would irrevocably change her life when instead, she should be demanding to be sent back to the U.S.?
Without a doubt, this plan of hers could blow up in her face. But, she needed him crazy about her. It was the only possible way she could get him to call off his vendetta against her brothers. But what if his will was stronger than hers?
As she stared into his desire-laden eyes, his erection was powerful between them, a bold testament of his passion for her. It eased her somewhat to know that she wasn’t the only one enthralled, but his next words brought her crashing back to reality. “I suggest you call your mother now. Please assure her that she is always welcome here.” Holding her gaze captive, he lifted her hand that clutched her cell phone, his thumb running back and forth over her skin in a subtle, yet demanding caress.
When she remained frozen, he urged, “Now, sweetness.”
As if following his directions by rote, she glanced down and pressed the single button that would ring her mother, and brought the phone to her ear. As the phone rang, his hips stayed pressed against her stomach, and the very second that her mother answered, his hand strayed to her breast where he palmed it entirely.