Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55271 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55271 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
“In the kitchen!” I’m just finishing my task, putting the canvas bags beneath the kitchen sink for the next time I head into town.
“This never gets old, butterfly, walking in the house, seeing you making it a home. Fuck, I’m a lucky damn man.” He wraps his arms around my waist, lips gliding along my neck, whispering kisses along the skin as he moves up toward my ear.
“I’d say we’re both lucky, wouldn’t you think?” I turn around. My hands slide up the outside of his muscular arms. They flex with every touch, straining his gray cotton shirt. I’m on the tips of my toes, kissing the underside of his whiskered jaw.
“Fuck yeah, we are, which makes this ten times harder. You’re all soft and sweet, in a good mood. I’m about to deliver news that’s going to have you seeing red.” He holds my lower back with one hand while the other cups the back of my head, dipping his knees to make it so we’re at eye level.
“Well, if it’s bad news, the least you can do is kiss me first.” My stomach is in all kinds of knots, along with an unwelcome tremble that hits my nervous system.
“That I can do.” He wedges a thick thigh of his between my own, backing me up against the kitchen counter. His teeth nip at my lower lip, tongue lapping at it to soothe the pain. My hands move to the back his head, nails digging in, as my mouth opens on a whimper. His tongue gains entrance and wraps around mine, and the worry I had disappears. When I’m with Ledger, it always does. It doesn’t matter the place—the couch, the porch swing, in the truck, getting ready for work beside him—I know he’ll always be my safe place to land.
“Christ, butterfly, the way you melt against me, it makes me lose my mind every damn time.” His big work-roughened hands move to my hips, gripping them, making me wish I had the forethought to change out of my work clothes and into something that has fewer layers. He lifts me up and places me on top of the counter. “Beer?” he asks. I nod in response.
“Okay, time to fess up. It can’t be that bad if beer is okay and you’re not reaching for the liquor bottle,” I tell his back. The fridge light illuminates his body, the bottles clank, and he’s popping off the tops, all before he responds.
“It’s already taken care of. Or it will be, come this evening. Judd paid me a visit, breaking all kinds of protocol, but he knew not to approach you by yourself after the last time. It seems Ella is rearing her ugly-ass head, attempting to pin an assault charge.” Ledger hands me my bottle and wedges himself between my now spread thighs, a hand on top of it, to hold me back when all I really want to do is get down, stomp my butt out of this house to kick ass and take names.
“Assault on you, I assume?” I ask, then take a healthy sip—okay, a gulp or two—from my bottle. Ledger does the same, emptying more than half. Maybe it’s worse than what he led on.
“You’d think. She’s trying to say you gave her a black eye on Saturday while you were at Hank’s.” The only thing I can do is laugh. Ella is reaching, far and wide. The sad thing is, I’m glad she’s attacking me instead of Ledger. A claim like that against him could be career ending if it stuck. Which it won’t. I’d have busted knuckles, while she’d try to attempt to pull my hair. Obviously, Ella plays dirty. “You’re taking this better than I thought you would.”
“There are three sides to every story—her side, my side, and the truth.” I shrug my shoulders, not really worrying too much about it. “Besides, Judd went to you. I doubt it’s serious, or I’d be making a statement.” Nelle and Heather are going to get a massive kick out of this conversation, that’s for sure.
“Hank took care of it, gave Judd the videos from the cameras in the bar. You’re in the clear. Still pissed as fuck she’d pull this shit on you, when we all know she is pissed at me.” Men are so dense, so I’m going to spell it out for him.
“Ledger, the more I look at the situation, the more certain I am she never wanted Montgomery. Or maybe she did, but when he dropped her, the stars in her eyes went to you. I mean, look at you. All you’ve accomplished, all her time and energy, it was all spent on you. In some warped way, Ella was hoping I’d never come back. I’m sure someone told her we were at Hank’s. That grand display you made told everyone in town that Ledger Sinclair is officially off the market. Anyways, do I need to talk to Judd?” I finish my beer, no longer worried about the Ella situation.