Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 41073 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 205(@200wpm)___ 164(@250wpm)___ 137(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41073 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 205(@200wpm)___ 164(@250wpm)___ 137(@300wpm)
No.
He was wrong.
Drawing her leg up, she slammed it down on his foot. He let her go and as she turned to leave, he tried to catch her, taking her off guard. Rather than make her escape, she tripped over her feet and landed in the pool.
As she took a breath, water filled her mouth, choking her.
She sank beneath the waves, trying to keep to the surface. Her mother had been afraid of water and rather than help her daughter learn to swim, she’d never taken her to the pool to learn.
Panic flooded her chest.
She tried kicking and screaming. The water was too much. Caleb was going to let her die.
She flailed in the pool, not getting anywhere. Her breath was gone. Putting her hands to her throat, she knew she was going to die.
Strong arms wrapped around her and Caleb pulled her to the surface. He didn’t stop there, he helped her onto the floor. She coughed, taking in as much air as possible.
“What the fuck?” Caleb turned her onto her back, pushing her hair back.
She kept her hand on her chest, trying to calm her nerves.
“Grace, can you hear me?”
She nodded her head, but Caleb continued to frown, his hands moving up and down her body.
“I’m fine. I … I can’t swim.”
“I expected you to break the surface and be angry at me. I didn’t mean to make you trip. You can’t swim?” he asked.
She got to her feet and shook her head. “My mom was afraid of the water. My dad never got around to taking me.” She winced at the pain that shot through her shoulder. Glancing down, she saw a little blood appearing on the bandage.
“Fuck. I’ll call the doctor. You’ve probably torn some stitches.”
She couldn’t help but shiver.
Caleb grabbed his jacket from the ground and wrapped it around her. He didn’t stop there as he suddenly lifted her into his arms and proceeded to carry her through to his bedroom. No one stopped him and she noticed men looked away as he passed.
His reputation really was a bad one, even with his men.
He took her to the shower and even as she wanted to protest, she kept her mouth shut. He began to peel away her clothes. She watched him as he put the shower on, helping her inside.
She made an attempt to cover her nakedness, not that she did a good job. Caleb followed suit, getting naked and joining her in the shower. Her teeth clattered, but one look at him, and well, the other night, she didn’t get a good enough look. His cock wasn’t hard, though. It lay between his thighs, still long and thick, but flaccid.
Caleb wrapped his arms around her. “We need to warm you up.”
She was already warming up.
Circling his waist with her arms, she pressed her head against his chest. “You’re right,” she said, speaking up after a few minutes of silence.
“I am about most things.”
“I don’t hate you.”
“I figured.”
Her mouth was dry, and licking her lips, she tilted her head back to look at him. “Do you … do you want me?”
“Always.” He pushed some of her hair back and smiled down at her. “You think I don’t want you?”
“You left last night.”
“Grace, it’s not lost on me how innocent you are. I don’t expect you to be ready for everything I want to do to you, but make no mistake, I want to fuck you. I want to dirty you up so damn bad. My cock is always hard around you.” He stroked her cheek. “But I don’t want to hurt you or overwhelm you.”
“I thought you were supposed to be a beast.”
“Betray me and you’ll meet him.”
She had no intention of betraying this man. Closing her eyes, she rested her head against him.
****
“No.”
“Come on, Caleb, don’t be a pain in the ass. It doesn’t suit you,” Grace said.
Caleb looked up from his paperwork at the woman who shouldn’t look cute. Not with her body, but here she was with James in front of her. They were both dressed for winter and for the snowfall that had occurred last night. Around her neck, she wore the camera he’d given her.
He’d found her taking pictures of James and when he’d let her, himself. He wondered if she took any of herself, but he hadn’t bothered to ask.
“I said no.”
“Please, Uncle Caleb. It’s snow and I want to play,” James said.
“It’s cold.”
“And that’s why we have sweaters, scarves, hats, and gloves.” She waved her hands at him. “Come on, why don’t you join us? I bet you’d love it.”
“I don’t do snow.”
“Maybe that’s your problem. Come on, please?” she asked.
He put his paperwork down and looked at her. “What do I get out of it?”
“You get to come and play.” She winked at him. “It’ll be fun. Come on. For half an hour, be someone fun. Not a spoilsport. You’ll love it.”