Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 55599 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 278(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55599 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 278(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
“Only because you want me to.”
“Have you seen pictures of her? You may end up liking her.”
Aggravation flares in my chest. Why can’t she just acknowledge there’s something between us? I don’t totally understand what it is, but I know I want to fuck her and get the hell away from her as quickly as possible at the same time.
“I already like someone else. And you should see her. She’s got this hot, curvy body that makes me insane.”
I put my hand on her hip, my thumb brushing over the skin exposed by her shirt riding up slightly. Her lips part and her brows pinch together with concern.
“What’s there to be worried about right now, Nosy?”
She moves my hand away and tugs her shirt down. “You’re used to playing with people. Women are expendable to you. You don’t get it. If you and I got involved, you’d be tired of me in what, three weeks? If that? I’d just be one of many notches in your bedpost, and I’d be fired from my job over it.”
I hate that she thinks so little of me. I haven’t even looked at other women since meeting her, and still she doesn’t believe my interest in her is sincere.
“What have I done to make you feel like you’d be a notch on a bedpost?”
She sighs softly. “The whole reason I’m here is because you can’t control yourself. Whether it’s alcohol or women, you just...go overboard.”
“It’s not that I can’t control myself; it’s that I’ve chosen not to. I work hard and don’t see why I shouldn’t get to play hard, too.”
I can tell she’s suppressing an eye roll. “Your playing is what landed you a full-time babysitter, Dane.”
“A hot babysitter. I’m not mad about it.”
She laughs lightly. “You don’t know when to quit, do you?”
“Never. When I want something, I never quit.”
I run the backs of my fingers over her jawline, the only touch she seems comfortable with. Even though I’ve spent more time with her than I’ve ever spent with a woman, I never get tired of her.
“We should go back downstairs,” she says softly.
“We should stay here.”
She sits up in bed. My disappointment is strong and immediate. I know she’s attracted to me, but she won’t give in to it.
“So you won’t sleep with me,” I say, a wave of dizziness hitting when I sit up.
“Accurate. I haven’t changed my mind in the last two and a half minutes.”
“But you’re okay being in bed with me for several hours? What’s the difference?”
She stands up, walks over to switch on the light, and puts her shoes on. “I think you know the difference between being side by side in bed fully clothed and full sex, Dane. And if not, I don’t get paid enough to explain it to you.”
I smile at her as I get out of bed, my headache duller than it was when I woke up but still there. Her sense of humor is one of my favorite things about her.
“I guess what I’m saying is, what’s the difference between everyone thinking we’re sleeping together and actually doing it?”
Her gaze locks onto mine. “The difference is here.” She puts a hand on her heart. “I can’t just sleep with someone and not have feelings for them. I couldn’t do my job anymore if we were involved. It would be too complicated. Not for you, for me.”
I nod, her admission sobering me all the way up. I want her so badly I can hardly stand it, but I don’t want to hurt her. She’s right—I’m not a relationship guy. She deserves much better than me.
She puts a hand on the doorknob, ready to leave. I walk over, putting a palm on the door to hold it closed. Her hair is rumpled from lying down and it looks sexy as hell. I realize it’s not any one quality about her that drives me crazy with desire; it’s everything.
“I’m still not letting Lucas lay a hand on you,” I say.
A smile plays on her lips. “Maybe I should decide who puts their hands on me.”
I shake my head, my jaw flexing with annoyance. “Not if it’s him.”
“Why not?”
I sigh heavily, aggravated. “Why are you pushing this? If it would be unprofessional to sleep with me, wouldn’t it be unprofessional to sleep with one of my teammates?”
She shrugs. “I’m only doing this job for a couple more months at the most.”
I scoff, narrowing my eyes. “Lucas will have to walk over my cold, rotting corpse to get to you, no matter when it is.”
I’ve had nightmares about walking in on the two of them going at it, Josie screaming his name. Every time I wake up covered in sweat, my heart racing.
“Why do you hate him so much?”
I lean in so close I can smell the light floral perfume she wears on her neck. It’s all I can do not to grab her and kiss her. I know I don’t deserve her, but my body doesn’t care.