Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 146666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 733(@200wpm)___ 587(@250wpm)___ 489(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 733(@200wpm)___ 587(@250wpm)___ 489(@300wpm)
Unless someone he cared about was harmed. Then all bets were off.
And no one stared at her butt like that.
Well, except him.
Shit. Possessive much?
He cupped her face between his hands. “You never have anything to fear from me, Ladybug.”
Surprise filled her face. “I know that.”
Relief filled him. “Good. I just want to take care of you.”
“I know.”
“And that means I can’t allow you to drive this car. It’s not safe.”
“I’m not . . . it’s all I have. I can’t afford a new one yet. And I can’t leave it here.”
“I could help you with money—”
“No,” she said fiercely. “No. This is very different from buying me dinner or a jacket. Although I still object to that. And you are not making it part of my punishment.”
Damn it. Why could she read his mind?
“Fine,” he grumbled. “How far back does the driver’s seat go?”
She gave him a puzzled look.
“I’ll be driving your car while you drive my truck.”
“You’re going to let me drive your truck?” Amazement filled her face.
“I’m sure as shit not going to drive around safely in it while you drive this.”
Fuck no.
Not happening. He didn’t care if the heater now worked and that the car had snow tires on. It looked like one good hit and the whole thing would collapse around her.
“That’s my condition. You let me drive your car or we junk it.”
“Are you forgetting I’m not that good at driving a stick?”
Shit. He had forgotten that. “Do you think you can drive it?”
How bad could she be?
“Where are the keys to your truck?”
He eyed her suspiciously. She was taking this far too well. He handed over the keys.
“We’ll stop at the mall first before we head out. There we’ll get some breakfast and your new clothes.”
She took the keys with a gleeful look. “Race you!”
“What? No!”
She’d turned and taken off.
Oh, that brat. He was buying her some new jeans and sweaters as punishment.
21
Hack looked a bit pale as he got out of her car at the mall parking lot. He walked over to her. “Did you see that car?”
“What car?” What was he talking about?
“You . . . it . . . you pulled right out in front of it. It could have hit you.”
“Ohh. Was that what all that beeping was about?” She winced. “Sorry. I’ll be very cautious from now on. Promise.” She batted her eyelashes at him pleadingly.
“You better. I see any driving like that, and my spanking hand is going to get a workout.”
She pouted. “I don’t need a spanking.”
“You do if you put yourself in danger like that again. Drive more carefully or I will bench you.”
She huffed out a breath. He was ruining all her fun.
“Come on, let’s go shopping. I wonder if they serve alcohol this early in the morning.”
“You can’t drink and drive!”
“I might need to in order to save myself from a heart attack watching you drive!”
Jeez. He was so dramatic.
Still . . . she made a mental note to be more careful when she was driving around him. He seemed like he was an anxious driver. He probably drove the speed limit and obeyed all the driving rules.
Boring.
Especially when in a vehicle like his. It was so fast. And big.
She loved it.
When they went to the first store, she tried to look at the price tags, but everything was written so small. She picked out a couple of coats that didn’t look too expensive and marched into the dressing room.
“I want to see them,” he demanded. “Come out and show me.”
Good. Lord.
The first one was enormous. She walked out to find him lounging back on a velvet chair. He didn’t seem impatient or out of place. Didn’t most men get impatient waiting for their wives or girlfriends to get changed?
Not that she was his girlfriend.
He’d only told the cop that yesterday to make things simpler.
Although she’d liked the sound of that coming from his mouth just a bit too much.
“Did you get the right size?” he asked her.
“I think so.”
She went back and tried on the next one. Also, too big.
“I need to go get smaller sizes.”
“I’ll get them. What size do you want?” he asked.
She told him her size. When he returned, he wasn’t just carrying the jackets, but also some jeans, sweaters, and an adorable T-shirt with a daisy on the front.
“What’s all this?” She bit her lip. She couldn’t afford to buy all this stuff.
“Your punishment for deciding to race me here,” he told her sternly. “I’m buying you some more clothes.”
“You can’t!”
“Oh, you’d rather get some swats on your ass? I could take care of that right now.”
Her eyes widened. He wasn’t serious, right?
He eyed her. “No spanking. Even though you deserve it and this would be an ideal place to deliver a few swats to a naughty bottom.”
This would be a terrible place. Anyone could hear. Sure, at least this place didn’t use curtains as separators but still . . . she wasn’t ready for a spanking.