Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 71308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
It slipped out.
Smooth, jackass. Very smooth.
Her mouth dropped open for a few seconds before she snapped it shut. “No. I don’t. Not that it’s any of your business.”
I was about to fucking make it my business because this woman here was the total package. She wasn’t just gorgeous, she was smart, sharp-tongued, and was holding her own under circumstances that would test people who didn’t have claustrophobia. If I knew all that about her in the few minutes we’d been stuck here together, I couldn’t wait to learn more.
“No boyfriend. Excellent. How exactly does a guy go about getting a date with you?” I asked. Holding back had never been in my nature, and I wasn’t about to start now.
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she studied me carefully. “Guys like you don’t date girls like me.”
“On that, we can agree.”
“Seriously?” Her voice rose.
“Seriously. You’re way out of my league.” I leaned toward her slightly but didn’t invade her space.
Her lips parted and stayed that way as she stared at me in disbelief.
“I’m serious. How do I get you on a date?” My voice lowered.
“Well…asking is usually the first step,” she whispered, tilting her head up.
My chest clenched as I lowered—
A screeching, metal-on-metal sound made both our heads snap toward the door. The tip of a crowbar appeared, and the doors opened a few inches. “Are you guys okay?” a voice called in.
Silas.
“We’re okay,” I answered for us both.
“Hold tight for a second,” he instructed in that no-nonsense voice of his. “Get a good grip,” he said, but it didn’t sound like he was talking to us.
Multiple pairs of hands appeared at the edges of the elevator doors, and I helped London to her feet.
“One, two, three!” Silas counted out, and the doors opened to the sound of a collective grunt, giving us about three-and-a-half feet of daylight at my collarbone. It was just as I’d suspected—we weren’t quite at the fifth floor, but it was far better than I’d feared.
Silas crouched down, his shirtsleeves rolled to his elbows, but still wearing the vest of his three-piece suit. “Damn. Jansen, London, you guys ready to get out of there?”
“She goes first,” I stated, just in case anyone debated.
She shot me a thankful look, then gathered up her files and headed for the door only to look up at the opening that was well above her head and curse.
“Can I lift you out?” I asked, already moving behind her.
“Please.” There was a slight crack in her voice as she tossed her files up through the doorway.
Work apparently came first with this woman. Noted.
Silas reached in for her, and for the first time since I’d signed with the Reapers my rookie year, I noticed just how fit the guy was. Good, he’ll be able to lift her.
“Give me your hands, London,” Silas ordered.
She lifted her arms, and I gripped her hips, noticing everything except the way her motion lifted the hemline of her dress. Nope, I kept my eyes locked on Silas like the good guy I was trying desperately to be.
Then I lifted London straight up. She weighed next to nothing, and the heat of her skin blazed through that dress, warming my hands in the few seconds it took Silas to get a good grip on her.
“I’ve got you,” he promised, so I knew he did.
Silas didn’t break promises.
He pulled her out of the elevator, and then Axel helped me out and into the hallway of Silas’s private suite of offices.
I gained my feet as London leaned back against the wall, sucking in lungfuls of air as if the reality of it took this long to hit her in full.
“The others are on their way up,” I heard Silas say to some of the others who had helped pry open the doors.
“We didn’t all fit in the first load,” Cannon said, rolling his shoulders back. “Only your elevator was broken.”
“Thank you,” I replied.
Sawyer, the other Reaper goalie, clapped my shoulder as I nodded at him, walking straight toward London. I needed to make sure she was really okay.
The private elevator dinged, and three other Reapers walked into the hallway. The first two were rookies I barely recognized but the third—
My stomach dropped all five floors to the fucking basement.
“No fucking way,” Cannon muttered, coming to my side. He was the only one in this hallway who knew, and that was only because he’d been there that night.
“London?” The guy’s eyes frantically searched the hallway.
“Maxim!” she cried, wrapping her arms around herself and walking straight into his goddamn arms like she’d been there a thousand times.
He pulled her in and held her tight, his eyes closing in…relief? Yep, that was relief as he ushered her into one of the many conference rooms that looked out over Charleston, taking her out of my line of sight.