Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 117201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
She was already dropping straight down.
In a flash, Burgess crowded in behind Tallulah, using his body to interrupt her descent toward the pavement, slinging an arm around the front of her hips and drawing her back against his chest, catching Tallulah before her feet could make contact with the ground. There was no way to stifle the gruff sound that came out of his mouth when her ass dragged downward over his fly and pressed, her curves locking into place against him, her scent wrestling his senses to the mat.
Holy shit.
Had anyone ever been this soft and strong at the same time?
There was power to her, but she was pliant now, her breath catching from the shock of falling, her head dropping back to rest on his shoulder. It had been a long time since he’d touched a woman, yeah, but even longer since he’d held one like this—and he couldn’t remember it feeling this way. Like his nerve endings were on the verge of explosion, his pulse cranking at a thousand miles an hour.
The effort it took not to kiss the side of her neck was absorbing all of Burgess’s willpower when voices reached them from the front of the club and Tallulah’s head turned in that direction, obvious tension building in her spine. She wiggled against him in a clear request to get down and he reluctantly complied, adjusting his growing erection with a wince before she could face him fully.
“Burgess?”
“Yeah.”
“I know I already asked you for a huge favor tonight, but I’m about to ask one more. No questions asked, okay? I’ll explain after?”
It was a struggle to follow her whispered speech, because he was still processing the experience of holding her, mainly the way the backs of her thighs felt against the fronts of his, the sexy shape of her backside. Now . . . wait, what was she asking him for? Another favor?
Did she realize he’d say yes to anything right now?
Gator wrestling. Base jumping. Dying his hair neon pink. Let’s go.
Now that his brain was coming back online—somewhat—he couldn’t ignore the way her eyes continued to stray toward the small group of men and women that had just emerged from the club. The man in glasses broke from the group, moving in the direction of where Burgess was parked. And the closer he came, the jumpier Tallulah seemed to get.
Heat flooded his bloodstream, muscles hardening. “Did this guy bother you?”
“The thing is, I don’t know.” Hastily, she tucked some loose hair behind her ear. “I don’t know if he was just being nice. Or flirting. Or if he came on too strong. Because I assume the worst now. I just assume the worst in every man. But I know I’m not interested. That I know.” The guy was about fifteen yards away now. “But I’m going to see him at school on a daily basis and I didn’t want to make things awkward, so I impulsively told him my boyfriend was coming to pick me up. He’s going to think that’s you. Could you maybe . . . be convincing?”
Burgess’s whole body was beginning to thrum. “Convincing how?”
“Could you kiss me? One time. I’ll never ask again—”
He went into the kiss like a bear being handed a pot of honey after a winter in hibernation. Stiffness, sweat, lust—these things all drilled him at once, like a reverberating blow. And his body, his hands, his mouth, just moved. Found and took. He gathered Tallulah against him with a forearm, drawing her up onto her tiptoes, and he growled into his first taste of her mouth. It was a kiss born of the hunger he’d been harboring since meeting her, hell yes it was, but her explanation had added two hugely potent ingredients to the mix—protectiveness and jealousy. In other words, he was a fucking powder keg.
Calm down.
You’re going to scare her.
Easier said than done.
A peck on the mouth would have been enough to accomplish what she needed, and the footsteps were already moving past them on the sidewalk, hesitating slightly, but continuing down the road until Burgess couldn’t hear them anymore. Couldn’t hear anything but the raw pump of his heart, the gasps of air she dragged in between his slick invasions of her mouth. And maybe he shouldn’t have, but the fact that she kept opening her mouth for his tongue, her hands twisting in the front of his shirt and pulling him closer, closer, caused Burgess to take it a few steps too far. In one swift action, he lifted Tallulah off the ground, took a lunge, and settled her ass on the passenger seat, reclining her back with his chest, leaning over her to keep tongue fucking that pretty mouth, panting brokenly into her neck when she allowed it, her inner thighs brushing his hips. Squeezing. Motherfucker, his cock was hard.