Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 84102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“Okay, maybe I’m going to have to read this book of yours.”
He wasn’t expecting it to be some crazy best seller. It would be an academic tome. What it might get him was tenure, and that was better than gold in his world. “He’s an interesting man. His son became a friend of mine when we were in São Paulo together. Eddie was a late in life kid for his dad. He was Montez’s only child, so he inherited the island, but you should know Eddie’s not a billionaire. Remember the part where Montez gave it all away? The only thing Eddie inherited was the island and the trust his dad set up to keep the island running. By the time he died, there were over two thousand inhabitants and a pretty decent scientific presence. So he set up a kind of government, and it’s been run that way ever since.”
“Wow, that must be interesting for the political historian.”
It was completely fascinating. “Obviously.”
“So your friend lives here?”
“No. He lives in Buenos Aires. He often visited his father on the island before he passed two years ago. The money left over kept up the big house Montez had built out here. It’s pretty much a mansion in the middle of the jungle. At one point in time, Ricardo Montez had these crazy week-long parties where famous people would come out and have these long dinners and discuss politics and metaphysics. And they did a lot of drugs, of course.”
“As one does.” Tessa’s lips curved up, and the wind blew her hair to the side, showing off the long line of her neck. She looked back out to sea. “How much longer do you think we have?”
“At least fifteen minutes. Maybe twenty. Then we’ll have a drive out to the estate.”
“I thought I read there weren’t many cars here.”
It was good to know she’d done some research. He happened to know what Kyle had left her was on the thin side, but then his brother hadn’t taken this all that seriously. He’d thought their mom was overreacting, too. “There aren’t, but there are a few buses and some all-terrain vehicles. There are several scientific teams studying the wildlife on the island, and they’re allowed to use Jeeps. We’ll hop on one of the buses and then we’ll have to walk about half a mile from the stop to the villa.”
It was a nice time of year to be out here. He’d intended to make that walk by himself, to take in everything Montez must have seen and heard on that first trip to the place that would eventually be his home.
Now he was pretty sure all he would be able to think about was Tessa. “Of course, I can also radio him from the boat and ask him to send a car out.”
She probably didn’t want to sit on a minibus and then walk through the jungle.
A single brow arched, and she stood up suddenly. Her shoulders squared as though she was about to perform a task she’d had to build herself up to. “I think I can handle it, Professor, but we should talk about something else. Something that might help us both, but you have to promise me if you choose to tell me no, you’ll still remember that I’m in charge when it comes to the business stuff.”
His gut tightened because she looked so serious. He thought they’d handled all of this. “What is it?”
“I’ve given this some thought and I’ve come to one conclusion,” she said evenly. “I think we should throw down.”
“Throw what down?” She couldn’t be talking about what he thought she was talking about. She wasn’t standing there looking totally professional and suggesting that they have sex.
“Throw down, as in get nasty, do the deed.” She nodded as though confirming to herself that this was the way to go. “I think we should fuck and probably soon because I need my mind on the job, and you need to concentrate on your work. I thought at first that you didn’t care about the whole I-never-called-you-back thing.”
“You weren’t the first woman to not call me back.” She wouldn’t be the last either. Probably.
Or he could be optimistic for once. He wasn’t some shrinking violet when it came to sex. It was often his stealth weapon. Women saw him as an intellectual, and he was. But there was another side to him, the side that had spent months studying in one of Dallas’s most exclusive BDSM clubs. Not the one his mom went to. Yep. Even thinking the words made the world a less sexy place.
“But I am the one who’s been on your mind all day.” Tessa brought sexy back real fast as she moved closer to him, and he wasn’t thinking about the fact that he’d trained at The Club instead of Sanctum. He would bet Tessa went to Sanctum. “I’m the one who’s got you closing those books you should have been studying. Tell me I’m wrong.”