Total pages in book: 17
Estimated words: 16066 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 80(@200wpm)___ 64(@250wpm)___ 54(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 16066 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 80(@200wpm)___ 64(@250wpm)___ 54(@300wpm)
I’m not sure who is more shocked by my words. Her or me.
“I don’t think that’s really necessary,” she huffs and scoots farther away from me. I don’t like the growing distance between us. Needing to get closer to her and hopefully gain control of this crazy situation, I press against her side, trapping her sweet curves between my body and the car door. Her delicate floral scent wraps around me, causing even more pain below.
“Why don’t we start again?” Her eyebrows shoot up to her hairline as she stares at me, but she doesn’t resist when I bring her hand to my mouth. After placing a light kiss on her soft skin, I smile. “I’m Marco Dean.”
The sudden paleness to her stunning olive complexion and pounding vein on the side of her neck tell me she’s heard of me. Fuck. I was hoping to let her get to know me a little before I dropped any bombshells on her.
“Tabitha Sheldon.” She shocks the hell out of me by lifting her pointed chin and smiling at me. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Dean.”
“You as well.” At least she isn’t trying to jump out of the car.
We make small talk the rest of the twenty-minute ride to my home on the outskirts of town. I have plenty to say to my girl, but I refuse to do it with Tony and Martin, my chauffeur, listening in.
Her expressive eyes widen as we pull up at the gates surrounding my property. “You live here?” she asks.
“I do,” I tell her. “My niece and her husband have a place right up the road.”
“Are you close?” she asks, and I jump on the safe topic.
“Very.” I explain to her how I took Hunter in when my sister and brother-in-law died. “They live less than a mile away.” I bring her soft hand to my lips before placing it on my thigh.
“That’s nice.” Her smoky voice cracks as she stares into my eyes. “To be close to your family.” She shrugs. “My mom lives on the East Coast with my stepdad, and I don’t see them very much.” I can tell by the sad hunch to her shoulders that there’s more to the story. One day, I’ll know all her secrets, and I’ll make sure nothing in the world can ever hurt her again.
Martin pulls up to the front steps, and I realize we need to finish this conversation inside the house. “Come on.” I step out of the car and lean down to hold out my hand to Tabitha. “We can finish getting to know each other in privacy.”
“I’m going to check with security then head over to my place,” Tony calls to me as I lead Tabitha to the front door.
“Goodnight,” I call back without turning around.
“Is there a problem with security?” Tabitha asks me as I lead her into my large family room.
“Not at all.” I won’t ever let her worry about her safety. “He checks things out every night before turning in.” She seems to relax as I explain. “Tony has a house on the back of my compound.” That’s an understatement. He has a goddamn mansion nearly as big as the main house.
“Have a seat and I’ll get us something to drink,” I tell her, pointing at the big black leather sectional in the middle of the room.
“Thank you.” Tabitha swallows and watches as I walk across the room to the bar. “Why did you bring me here? You could’ve just dropped me off at my hotel?”
“I want to get to know you. If you want to leave after our talk, I’ll have someone drive you back to your hotel.” Even as the words leave my mouth, I know they’re a lie. There’s no way I’ll ever let my girl out of my sight. Now, I just need to convince her to want to stay with me. If not, I might have to resort to kidnapping.
“Okay.” My offer seems to relax Tabitha. “What do you want to talk about?”
“How you ended up in Ralphie’s Place half-naked in front of a room full of men.”
“I already told you.” Tabitha rolls her eyes, and my hands twitch to smack her perfect ass for her insolence. “It was our Valentine’s Day pact.” I down half of my scotch and listen to her explain this hair-brained idea one more time.
“So, let me get this straight.” I rub the back of my neck, wondering if I’ve got this right. “You belong to a book club?” She nods her head as I’m asking so I continue. “And one of the other girls decided you all should do something outrageous on Valentine’s Day?”
“Not outrageous,” she argues. “Something we’ve never considered doing before.”
None of this is making sense right now. I’m not sure if it’s the fact that my cock is so hard I could nail railroad spikes through wood with it, or if this is really just crazy.