Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 106041 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106041 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
“I just don’t feel well.” She still won’t look at me. “Is it okay if I go? I've finished everything you asked me to do.”
I hesitate, not sure if she genuinely doesn’t feel well or if she’s upset and running. Either way, I’m not letting her leave here alone. If she’s sick, she shouldn’t be taking care of herself. And if she’s upset, well, she shouldn’t be alone.
I have a feeling she’s upset and running, though.
Call it instinct or intuition or something else, but she gave me her list and it made her feel vulnerable. She’s trying to escape the way that feels. I don’t think vulnerable is something she does willingly. But it’s time she learns that she’s safe with me. She will always be safe with me.
“Get your stuff,” I rasp, my heart in my throat at the thought of teaching her. Fucking her isn’t the only fantasy I’ve had. God no. When it comes to her, I’ve fantasized about every goddamn thing under the sun—holding her while she sleeps, cooking for her, watching stupid movies with her…teaching her to let herself be loved. Every single thing makes my cock ache and my heart pound. It all sounds like heaven to me.
If I have a Christmas wish, it’s this woman. She’s what I want. Her in my arms, in my bed, in my life.
Make it happen, Santa, I pray silently. If you listen to old motherfuckers like me, do me a solid and don’t let me fuck this up.
I grab my shit and then follow Caitlin out of my office into hers, watching from the doorway while she grabs her stuff. When she turns around and sees me standing there, her eyes grow wide.
“Are those your keys?” I nod at the keyring in her hand.
She nods, her brows furrowed.
I stride forward and pluck them from her hand before sliding them into my pocket. She won’t be needing them, at least not today.
“W-what are you doing? I need those.”
“Not today, you don’t. I’m taking you home.”
“That’s…really not necessary, Lachlan. I can drive myself,” she protests.
“I’m driving you, pretty baby.”
She stares at me for a long, silent moment, her green eyes narrowed, and then she mumbles something under her breath and tries to squeeze past me. I let her get almost all the way around me before I wedge my body into her path, trapping her between me and the doorframe.
The heat of her body sears me everywhere we touch, sending electricity racing through me. Goddamn, she’s so soft and warm.
“Are you pissed about me taking you home because you’re trying to run from me, Caitlin?”
“Why would I be running from you?” she whispers, her voice shaking.
My lips brush her crown. “Good question.”
“I’m n-not running from anything, Lachlan.”
I hook a finger under her chin, forcing her to look up at me. When her eyes land on mine, I see the lie in them. That’s precisely what she’s doing. She gave me her list and it scared the hell out of her. Because of the way I reacted? Fuck, I hope not.
“Just so we’re clear, I fucking love your list," I murmur anyway, clearing that up right now. "And I don’t care how far or fast you run from me, I intend to give you every damn thing on it for Christmas, pretty baby.”
Chapter Three
Caitlin
Igape at Lachlan, convinced I heard him wrong. But when he leans down, pressing his lips to mine, I realize I didn’t mishear anything. He said exactly what I thought he did.
His tongue dances along the seam of my lips in a silent demand for entry. I part them on a gasp, and he surges forward, claiming my mouth in a way that steals my breath. His lips are soft and demanding at the same time, his tongue stroking and teasing along mine as his hands tangle in my hair, angling my head.
“Fucking delicious,” he groans, nipping my bottom lip before he breaks away to grin at me.
My head spins, confusion swirling through me as I stare up at him, one hand pressed to my lips as if to seal in his minty taste.
What is happening right now?
“Come on, baby. Let’s go.” He gently pries me away from the doorframe, wrapping an arm around my waist. I stumble along at his side as he leads me out of the building to his truck. I don’t think I breathe the entire time.
I definitely don’t breathe when he wraps his hands around my waist and lifts me into his truck, practically nuzzling the side of my neck. I do whimper though. Yes, that definitely happens.
I know because he hears it and chuckles as he buckles my seatbelt.
A second later, he pulls back, leaving me in the cab of his truck with his spicy scent clouding my head and my thoughts running a million miles a minute. I can’t even keep up with them.