Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 116046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 580(@200wpm)___ 464(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 580(@200wpm)___ 464(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
Tossing his phone on the little blue table next to the bed, his nostrils flared as he took a deep breath. “Sorry, sweetheart, but I’m not leaving. I need to sleep with you tonight.”
Whatever tongue lashing I was about to give him was ripped from my lips as he clambered into bed with me then pulled me close, his body curving around mine as he spooned me.
“Listen,” he whispered in my ear as I tried to squirm away. “When I saw you at my mom’s house, hurt and unconscious, it fucked with me.”
I shoved at him. “What the hell does that have to do with the fact that you think it’s okay to be in my bed right now?”
“I need to protect you, can’t sleep without you at my side.”
“You’re insane.”
“I know you don’t know me, but I swear to you, I have nothing but the best intentions for you in mind.”
I no longer struggled to get away from him, but my voice was dry as I said, “You being half-naked in my bed is hardly in my best intentions.”
“It absolutely is.” Damn, his grin was even better up close. “You’ll see. You deserve nothing but the best, and I’m gonna make sure that you get whatever you need to make you happy from now on.”
I was so, so tired, and his body warmed mine as he continued to cuddle me like a champ. “I don’t understand why you’re saying that. You barely know me.”
“That’s not true. Hannah talks about you all the time. From what she says, you’re an amazing woman. Kind, smart, and funny. Fuck, you’re so smart. You have no idea how sexy that is. I’ve been wanting to meet you for a while.”
I made another halfhearted effort to put some distance between us, but it was more like rubbing myself against him and purring than an actual effort to leave the drugging warmth of his body. “Just because you hang out with Leo and Hannah doesn’t give you the right to invite yourself into my bed.”
Rubbing his nose along my neck, he took a deep inhalation and let it out with an extremely pleased sigh that burned my sensitive skin. “I’m not going to violate you, but I am going to sleep with you. I have to make sure you’re safe, and the best way to do that is to have you with me.”
“If you’re sleeping, how are you going to keep me safe?”
“Trust me, Joy. They’ll have to shoot through me to get to you.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re for real crazy?”
“All the time.” He chuckled, the vibration traveling from his body pressed tight and into mine. “Anyone ever tell you that you can argue about just about anything?”
“All the time.” My nipples pebbled, and I tried to ignore the fact that he was getting erect behind me. “For someone who said he wasn’t going to touch me, you’re touching me an awful lot.”
“Nah, this is just cuddles. Relax. You mind if I put on some background noise? This place is so fuckin’ quiet.”
“Uh-no, because you aren’t staying here.”
“Give it up, beautiful. I’m staying, and I’m too tired to argue anymore.”
I didn’t fight him as he leaned over to grab his phone, because deep down I was glad he was here, and happy that I was no longer alone in a strange place after what I’d been through. Even though he could be a class A asshole, Ramón Cordova was also disarmingly sweet when he wanted to be.
A second later, the soft sound of the sea with its crashing waves mixed with soft piano music filled the air. I turned my head to look at him as he reached over and turned off the light, the muscles of his thick biceps flexing in a most interesting manner. I didn’t want to admit it, but the soft roar did help my racing mind slow down. There was something about the rhythmic ebb and flow of the waves that settled me. It was one of my favorite settings on my white noise machine at home.
After listening to the sea for a minute I halfheartedly whispered, “I can’t sleep with you here.”
“Yes, you can.”
Jesus, how do you argue with an irrational person?
Wiggling into an even more comfortable position, my whole body relaxed after a big sigh. “Are you on medication?”
“Give me your hand.”
“What?”
Tucked up against my back once again, he took one of my hands in his massive paw and began to massage my palm with his thumb. I instantly slumped against him, the response automatic. I lo-o-o-oved being massaged. Anywhere, any time. I’d often beg, whine, and plead with Hannah to give me a hand massage after typing up long papers for work, or doing a ton of homework for school. But Hannah’s slender hands had never felt like this.