Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Daisy was the sun in the sky for him, and it didn’t matter that everyone would tell him he hadn’t known her long enough. He knew this deep in his bones. He’d spent the night with her and known he wanted all the nights with her.
He stepped out of the security office and jogged up the steps leading to the lounge and beyond, the dungeon floor.
Daisy sat in the lounge, her head down, staring at her phone.
This was what he’d dealt with all afternoon. After the confrontation with her father, she’d shut down. Oh, she would smile when she needed to, and she’d been polite when her father had walked in and told her to be careful, but when he’d hugged her, she’d barely hugged him back.
She’d done everything she’d been asked to do, including make a list of things for Devi to pick up for her and drop off at Sanctum. Devi had gone with her mom, and they’d even stopped at the grocery and stocked the kitchen for them.
“We’re locked in for the night,” he said, studying her. She was simply stunning. All the awkwardness of her girlhood was gone, and nothing but a glorious sun of a woman was left in her place. Which was precisely why he hated the fact that her glow had dimmed.
He had to find a way to wipe the afternoon out of her head for a little while.
She looked up. “Oh, good. I’ll go see what Mom sent for dinner.”
“I think we should talk first.”
She sighed. “What is there to talk about, Nate? I’ve done everything that’s been asked of me. I’m putting my life on hold so no one has to worry. If you’ve changed your mind, I can handle that. My family was a lot today.”
She didn’t understand him at all, but maybe he hadn’t made himself clear. “I don’t want to talk, Daisy. I want to chase you through this club. I want to rip your clothes off and fuck you on every possible surface.”
Her eyes flared. “So we’re going to do that thing where we’re together in the club?”
“The club is simply where we are right now. If I’d thought for a second you would have been up for it, I would have hauled you into a closet at the office and fucked you there, but you were going through some things,” he admitted. “And I don’t have an actual office. It’s a cubicle, and I’m too big to hide behind those walls. Besides, I want to hear you when you come.”
“Nate,” she began. “Maybe you should think about this. There’s a reason my brother warned his friends off me, and no matter what he said, I have to think it was at least partially about protecting them.”
“From how gorgeous you are? From how you could rock their whole fucking worlds?”
She stood, her hands going to her hips. Her fighting stance. “From how much trouble I can be.”
He needed her to understand he could handle a fight. But he was also open to negotiations. “How about we make a deal, love? You get into trouble and you call me. When I get shot for you, you owe me some submission time.”
Her expression softened, and she moved into his space. “I forgot. Nate, I should look at your arm.”
He shook his head. “I don’t need a nurse. It’s fine. I don’t even feel it. It was more like a graze. Now what happened to my truck is another story entirely. I’m going to need quite a bit of time for that. We were lucky to have Alex drive us here. Tomorrow they’re going to give me a rental, and it won’t be big enough.”
She stepped back, putting space between them. “I’m sorry. I certainly didn’t intend to wreck your truck. You know I didn’t plan any of this. I didn’t exactly go into the week thinking Hey, I’d like to witness a bunch of crimes and lose another job and get shot at.”
At least the hollow look was out of her eyes. How often had she felt weary and no one else saw through her pretty mask? All he’d heard was about how crazy Daisy’s life could be. Did anyone think about the toll it might take on her? How it affected her view of herself? “And yet it happened, and in the middle of a firefight, you wanted to make sure your da had breakfast.”
“I told you, he’s cranky when he doesn’t eat.” Daisy’s arms crossed over those gorgeous breasts. “See, I’m trouble. I also don’t behave the way people think I should. And you know what, it wasn’t much of a firefight. I could have helped if you’d given me a gun.”
The thought damn near gave him a heart attack, so why did the idea of an armed Daisy also get him a little hot? Not that he wasn’t hot enough for her already. “If you don’t like how I protect you, we can discuss it.”