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)
“I didn’t nearly hurt myself.”
“You could have. You could have sliced up your feet. And that is unacceptable. You won’t do anything like that again. Or else.”
12
Okay.
She couldn’t help it. He’d basically dared her. And Isabelle Ashley didn’t back down from a dare. She’d gotten into so much trouble as a kid, a lot of it due to dares.
Jump off the rock into the river, Isa. I dare you.
Run through the cemetery at midnight, Isa. I dare you.
Stick a snake in Teddy’s bed, Isa. I dare you.
Well, that last one she’d come up with herself. And it wasn’t a live snake. No way would she have subjected a poor snake to being in Teddy’s bed.
Still, he’d screamed like a little boy when he’d found it in his bed. She knew because she’d hid in his closet to watch.
Ahh. Good times.
So, there was no way she was backing down from this dare.
“Or else what? Whatcha gonna do if I do?” she asked sassily, crossing her arms over her chest.
The guy sure did like to overreact. Nothing bad had happened. And she’d only been trying to make him feel better for breaking the other plate.
Well, that had been her intention to begin with.
And then it had become more therapeutic. Throwing that plate had felt invigorating. As though she really was releasing some anger and tension.
She wanted to do it again.
There was just one problem in her way.
A big, hulking problem.
One who was staring sternly down at her. “Or I’m going to have to punish you.”
She waggled a finger at him. “That’s not very nice.”
“And that wasn’t no or your safeword.”
Well, heck.
Had an answer for everything, didn’t he?
“No one likes that guy,” she muttered.
“What guy?”
“The guy with all the answers.”
“You don’t want to be punished, baby? To be put over my knee and have your little bottom spanked? You don’t like the idea of that? Of being mine?”
Shit. How had she fallen down this rabbit hole?
This is what you get when you put your sassy britches on.
“I, well, I . . . um.”
Lie. Tell him you don’t want him. That he needs to leave.
Fuck it. She couldn’t.
She liked being around him. He made her feel safe and sexy.
Wanted.
That’s all Isa had ever desired.
To be wanted. To have someone choose her.
You barely know him.
He’s demanding as heck. Bossy. Thinks he’s always right.
He was also sexy and protective and caring.
No. Nope. You are on the ‘why you shouldn’t belong to Remy’ train. And you are not getting off.
“I really, really want to get off.”
His eyes widened. “What?”
Her mouth opened. “What?”
“Did you just say you want to get off?”
“I most certainly did not!” Holy. Crap. Had she said that out loud? Why had she said that out loud? And out of context it was . . . it sounded . . .
Like she wanted to get off. Sexually.
“Yeah? Then what did you say, Princess?” He placed his hands on the counter on either side of her as he leaned into her.
“I said that I want to get a cough.”
“You want to get a cough?” he repeated.
Damn it. Why was he so freaking sexy? He had a short, well-trimmed dark beard. He was tanned from working outside, with lines around his eyes and along his forehead. But those lines only added to the character of his face.
Remy wasn’t classically handsome. Not like Loki was. But his looks were more the sort that grew on you as you discovered the man he was.
“Why would you want a cough?” he asked.
It was a good question. One she didn’t have an answer to.
He lightly pressed a finger under her chin, tilting her face back. “Rule number three is no lying. I don’t like lies. They’re like a pack of worms in your belly. Slithering and sliding around. Eating you from the inside out.”
“Well, that’s gross. Also, I don’t believe that worms come in packs or that they eat people. However, I don’t wish to test my belief by eating any.”
“Stop trying to distract me by being cute.”
What?
“You think I’m cute?”
For some reason, he scowled. “Of course you’re fucking cute. You’re the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Now, tell me the truth.”
The fact that he spoke in a grumbly tone did nothing to detract from the sweetness of his words. She was basking in the glow and forgot to watch her words.
“I was saying that I wanted to get off the train.”
“What train?”
“Oh, um.” Her brain put on the brakes. “I don’t want to say.”
Would he push her? Of course he would. This was Remy. He was demanding.
“All right.” He eased back.
Wait. What was happening right now?
“That’s it?” she asked.
“What’s it?”
“You’re not going to demand I tell you?”
He eyed her for a long moment. “Want you to tell me the truth, but I don’t have the right to demand all of your thoughts. I’d likely wreck something between us if I did. I want you to trust me enough to share with me.”