Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 24466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 122(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 122(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
I’d never given a shit about whether women found me attractive, but I had to tamp down the desire to preen under this woman’s appreciative gaze. Like a fucking peacock.
She blinked up at me with wide, bright blue eyes, and I realized she looked even younger up close. Shit. I was easily ten to fifteen years older than her.
After a second, I mentally shrugged. It didn’t change the fact that she was mine.
A rush of possession swept over me again, and I barely stopped myself from shaking my head to clear it. I hadn’t even officially met the woman, but I already claimed her.
Maybe it was simply because I’d gone way too fucking long without touching a woman. Hell, I couldn’t even remember the last time. One-night stands had never been appealing to me, and after dating some gold diggers who were spectacular actresses, I’d written off relationships completely.
That had to be it. Except…why her? Why now?
Because she’s yours, asshole.
“Um, hi.” She sucked in a shaky breath, then sighed. “Sorry.”
“No apology necessary, sweetheart,” I replied with my most charming smile. “I’m the one who was blocking your sun.” Her eyes dropped to the two glasses I held, and her expression turned curious, probably because she noticed that one of them was the frozen cocktail she’d ordered. I moved closer and set them on the little table. “But I figured I could save the server a trip since I was already headed over here.”
“Oh.” Her lips formed a perfect circle as she stared up at me, and I pictured that pretty mouth full of my dick. Swallowing a groan, I gestured to the unoccupied lounger next to her.
“Planning to claim that chair?” she asked.
“I am,” I confirmed, removing my sunglasses to set them on the table next to my scotch.
As I dropped onto the chair, I couldn’t stop myself from running my heated gaze over every inch of her ample curves, and my body buzzed with desire as it drifted down her figure. Then I returned my attention to her gorgeous face. Something about it seemed familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on it as I sat facing her with my legs over the edge of my seat and my feet on the ground. Resting an elbow on my thigh while I stretched the other hand toward her, I curved my lips into a sexy smirk. “I’m Lennox.”
“I’m Brielle.” Her voice was soft as she slid her palm against mine, and my smile turned a little smug when I saw goose bumps popping up along her arm. “But my friends call me Brie.”
Instead of releasing her hand, I gripped it tightly. “Are you here for vacation, Brie? Or are you local to the Keys?” Either way, I’d be convincing her to move to New York City real fucking soon.
“Vacation,” she replied. Her smile had grown when I called her by her nickname, and I felt a small bit of triumph that she allowed me that intimacy right off the bat.
I glanced at her hand briefly and couldn’t help thinking how naked her ring finger looked. My thumb stroked over it, and I asked, “By yourself?”
She shook her head, and the sunlight danced over her curls, making them look like they shimmered. “With my best friend,” she answered.
I held back a growl as jealousy surged through me, but when I quirked a brow and spoke, my voice had dropped low. “A female friend?”
Brie’s startled laughter seemed to help her relax, and her blue eyes sparkled. “She’s definitely a girl. Our college wouldn’t have put us together in the same dorm room our freshman year if she wasn’t.”
“Good.” The tension in my body ebbed as the jealousy faded away with my relief. I’d never thought of myself as someone who would steal another man’s woman. But from my reaction to the thought of her with someone else, I knew that if it came down to it, I’d do whatever it took to have Brielle.
A popular song came on the radio at the poolside bar, and someone turned up the volume. I leaned closer so she could hear me. “How long is your trip?”
“I don’t leave for another week.”
I nearly grinned like the Cheshire Cat. I had a whole fucking week to convince her she was mine.
“How about you?”
I did smile then because I could hear the eagerness in her voice. “I just got in and will be here until Monday morning.”
She grinned at me. “Same as me. Perfect.”
“I already thought a weekend at the beach was pretty damn perfect.” I gave her fingers a gentle squeeze, making her glance down at them in surprise, as if she was just realizing that we’d been holding hands the entire time. “But now that I’ve met you, my trip has already gotten better.”
“That’s incredibly sweet of you to say.” A pretty pink blush bloomed on her cheeks, and I was tempted to run my fingers over the color to see if her skin was as silky as it looked.