Total pages in book: 152
Estimated words: 155037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 775(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 517(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 155037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 775(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 517(@300wpm)
But even that bordered on being a jerk. It wasn’t about him controlling her, though.
Nope. It was entirely about jealousy. Possession.
Okay. Wait. That didn’t sound any better. But the idea of some stranger seeing her in that sexy as fuck nightgown made his blood boil.
This was an odd experience for him. He’d taken his ex, Julie, to the BDSM club they’d belonged to a lot. And she’d worn a fuck load less clothing in front of people they’d known as well as strangers.
And he hadn’t cared this much.
So what the fuck did that say?
He wasn’t sure. What he did know was that when he was being an ass about what she was wearing, she’d grown smaller. She’d hunched in on herself, acting ashamed. And he didn’t like that. At all.
No one had the right to make her feel that way. Least of all him. He should be raising her up and making her feel good about herself.
So yeah . . . he felt like a complete shithead.
Was he this out of touch with dealing with other people? Well, since he hadn’t cared about anyone’s opinions of him for years, he guessed that, yeah, he was.
Watching her shrink in on herself was the last thing he’d expected. He’d thought that she would stick up for herself. Tell him to go fuck himself.
At least now she was acting more like herself.
“Brat,” he grumbled. “I know how to say please.”
“No, you don’t.” Her hand went to her hip, and then she winced, rubbing at her chest.
“You’re sore. You shouldn’t be running around like that when you were just in a car accident.” His gaze moved over her. Those gorgeous, tanned legs were killing him. He forced himself to raise his gaze. “And you shouldn’t be walking around on gravel with bare feet.”
“I’m just going to go get ready then,” she said in a soft, sad voice. “You, um, I guess you want to get going. Thanks for all your help and stuff.”
“Isabelle,” he said in a strained voice. “I’m not . . . I didn’t handle things out there right.”
Her eyes met his, surprise filling them. “What do you mean?”
“I think I made a mistake. I wasn’t thinking before I spoke . . . and I was a dick.”
Her eyes widened. “Whoa. Am I dead? Oh no! I died in that car accident, didn’t I? Loki is going to be so upset.”
She thought she’d died, and her first thought was for Loki? Fuck. She really was sweet.
“You didn’t die, baby. Why would you think that?”
“Because you said please, and then you admitted that you were a dick. That never happens.”
“How do you know? I might say please and that I’m a dick quite often.”
“Really? Hmm. Say it again. I think I need to hear it one more time.”
He had to stifle his grin at her sassiness. He crossed his arms over his chest and gave her a mock scowl. “Are you teasing me?”
She gave him a wide-eyed look and pressed her hand to her chest. “Me? I wouldn’t dare. I’m a good girl.”
He snorted. “No lying.”
“How rude.”
“I’m trying to apologize here and you’re giving me attitude.”
She chewed her lip, shifting her weight from foot to foot. “You don’t need to apologize. I mean . . . I should be the one doing that. I, uh, I’m really sorry I showed you my nipple.” She smacked her hand against her forehead. “Such an idiot. Now, all you’re going to see when you look at me is ‘nipple’! I’ll be known as the nipple girl. And it’s obviously not even a nice-looking nipple. So I’ll be Ugly nipple girl. And nobody wants to be Ugly nipple girl.”
He just stared at her. What the hell was he meant to take from that? He had to unravel her words and think about them for a moment.
“So I’m just going to go shower and get dressed because I have to make, like, five hundred cupcakes. I’ll say goodbye now and, um, I hope to never see you again.”
Oh hell no. That wasn’t happening.
“That’s not happening.”
“Dude, I have to shower. I do not want to be Smelly ugly nipple girl.”
He strode over to her, ignoring her look of alarm. Then he grasped hold of her chin, tilting her head back. “Do not call yourself that.”
“What?” She gave him a shocked look. As though she couldn’t understand why he was upset. “Which part?”
“All of it. You’re not smelly or ugly or a nipple girl, and I won’t allow you to speak about yourself like that.”
Her eyes widened.
“There is nothing that could ever be ugly about you. Because you are sweet and kind. And that shines out of you.”
“Dude, where did all these words come from?”
He just gave her a stern look. “You seem to think that I find your body . . .”