Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 26645 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 133(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26645 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 133(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
It’s been going on for a year, but he assured me a week ago that the house was ready to come down. I needed the permits and the court order signed, and my crew has been standing by wasting time and money waiting for his ass to get things settled.
When I called him, he said he was just finishing up a meeting with the old lady, and I guess he got his way, since Lauren said the paperwork was here.
Tearing down a single house is nothing to me. But with Buffalino, you gotta put on a show. I’m down with the money I’m going to make as a silent investor in the casino as well. That’s a money-printing machine, and a deal I would not have been dialed in on if my company hadn’t taken care of a few of the larger old buildings he needed demolished in short order to get the project started two years ago.
All I’ve wanted for six months is to get this last house torn down so we can move on with the casino, pad my bank account with a few more zeros, and dial up my client list with the connections I’ll make in the new venture. It’s not without its downside. These people are dirtier than some I’ve tap danced with before, but my plan is to stay out of the deepest trenches while reaping the benefits of the contacts.
So, while I was in New York, all I wanted to do was get home and start interrogating my brother and his new wife about the angel she invited to Thanksgiving dinner who has turned my world upside down. Only, they took off the day after Thanksgiving for some private island, and Magnus told me unless the world was coming to an end, they were on do not disturb for the next two weeks.
Andrea’s lavender dress gives her eyes an Elizabeth Taylor glow. She’s as stunning as any starlet, and she moves like a dream. And honestly, I can’t be sure that’s not where I am.
Caught in a dream.
Desperation claws its way up my chest, lancing my heart with its talons, making me vow that I will make her mine by any means necessary, lest my life end.
Her dress moves against her skin with each step, the opening of the coat showing off just enough of her to turn my libido feral. But it’s more than that. I want to pull her into my lap, I want to feel her head on my shoulder as she tells me all her secrets and all the things that hurt her, so I can take away her burdens and her pain.
It’s like I’ve been doused with freezing water. I’m paralyzed. Rendered completely immobile, except for the beating of my heart and the stiffening of my cock.
Lauren snorts on an eye roll as she exits, closing the door as she goes. Everything in the room seems to disappear like the blurry background of a photograph, with Andrea as the focus.
I knew about love as a concept. I saw it in action with my parents, and now with my brother and his new wife. I’d heard about the Leonard men curse, but never did I think it was real, or that it would apply to me.
In a single nuclear burst, every cell in my body heats and I know in this instant, I’m in love with this girl. I already know I’d kill for her and that I live for her.
“Hey,” she finally says as my power of speech fails me. “Sorry to just stop by like this unannounced.”
“You can stop by announced or unannounced. I’m open for you twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.” The words slip off my tongue in a rush, as blood pumps through my veins in throbbing heated bursts.
She’s all the light I’ve ever needed. Seeing her now, it’s like I’ve been in the dark for the last forty years, and I’m finally seeing the sun and the colors of the world.
“Well, that’s good to know.” The sweet sound of her voice is like a drug injected into my soul, making me addicted in an instant.
I knew at Thanksgiving there was something here. But having her walk through my door, seeking me out for whatever reason, has sealed her fate.
“I need to talk to you about something. Something that happened yesterday.”
She’s within arm’s reach now, and her scent grabs my balls and squeezes. It’s lilacs and dreams, with a sprinkle of cherries on top.
“I’m all ears,” I say, my thoughts turning dark as I imagine my body blanketing hers, pushing inside her, her supple flesh yielding to me as I plant myself deep, making sure she can never get away.
“Okay, well, I know we just met, but… I feel like I can trust you, and I need your help.”