Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 61746 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61746 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Marlo’s eyes narrowed as he put his free hand on my shoulder, drawing my gaze to his.
“Did he put his hands on you?” he asked.
I frowned, feeling my eyes burn slightly as memories flooded back into my mind. The sting of his hand against my face. The taste of blood on my lip. The ringing in my ears.
“During that fight… yes,” I replied. “But I didn’t see him for a long time after that until the other day. He came up to me and told me that he wanted custody of Chloe. I told him no, but I don’t know what he’s going to do next.”
“Do you think he’s the one who tried to get into your house last night?” Marlo asked, still looking angry as he glanced toward the front door.
“I don’t know. Maybe,” I said, unable to answer that question with certainty. Anything was possible. I didn’t want him to be upset, so I placed my hand on his cheek over the thick hair of his dark beard, wanting him to peer at me again. “But he’s not going to touch me again.”
“Damn right he’s not,” Marlo replied, his eyes seeming darker than before as his grip tightened. He was one not to be messed with, and it was because of me.
I forgot how to breathe for a few seconds as our eyes locked, every fiber of my being yearning to get closer to him, to fall into his comfort. I hadn’t been cared for like this before. Felt desire like this before. But no man so rugged and controlled had ever treated me like this before, and maybe part of my yearning was because of his starkly older age and the maturity he showed that put guys my age to shame.
Whenever Marlo walked in a room with his broad shoulders and steady, dark gaze, he controlled the energy. He demanded attention that he didn’t even have to verbally ask for, and I was a goner for that. It was like a warm, foggy haze rolled over me, and the next words left my mouth before I could even process them.
“But you can,” I said as I took his hand and placed it on my side.
Marlo seemed to search my eyes, trying to make sure I meant the desirous tone of my words. When my eyes slid down to his mouth, he finally let go and pulled my body flush against his, our lips colliding in a kiss that had been yearned for since the day we met.
I slid my hand around to the back of his neck, lifting up on my toes to keep our lips connected. His lips were warm and inviting, heat rolling through me and working its way farther downward as he caressed the small of my back. It felt so good having his lips against mine and his hands on my body.
Marlo’s fingertips teased the bare skin above the waist of my jeans as my shirt rode up slightly, nearly sending a shiver through me. His muscular body felt so firm against mine, allowing me to feel the strong plane of his chest and the strength of his arms. When his teeth teasingly grazed my bottom lip, I couldn’t stop the soft moan that broke from me, making him grin a little.
My fingers found the zipper of his jacket and worked it downward until I could push the material off his shoulders and down his arms. Every move I made felt so quick, so desperate, racing closer and closer to what I wanted. The heat and desire taking hold of me was nearly dizzying.
Marlo slid one hand up my back beneath my light blue shirt with Chloe’s school name written across the front. His other hand grabbed the bottom of my shirt, starting to work it up my body.
Just as the material reached my bra, a jolt of reality struck me like a punch to the stomach. What about the other guys? What about Chloe? What was I really doing kissing this man I just met? How did things go from here?
All of that pent up anxiety dragged me out of the kiss, making me take a step back from Marlo as I caught my breath. The warmth all over my body soon gathered in my face out of embarrassment as a worried look filled Marlo’s face.
“I’m sorry. I just… I should stop,” I said, unable to form a coherent sentence to explain my actions.
Marlo gave me a comforting smile and nodded.
“I’m going to check around the house,” he told me before leaving the kitchen.
I slumped back against the kitchen counter with a sigh just as the coffee machine shut off, leaving me with a full pot of coffee and more confusing thoughts than I could ever begin to sift through. But I already knew that I regretted stopping things with Marlo.