Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 92474 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92474 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
His lips twitched. “I do like your sticky buns.”
She groaned. “It’s become a really, really bad joke. I just have to stop speaking for the next ten years, and then maybe I’ll forget about this whole thing.”
“You want to forget about me?”
“What? No! Of course not.” She felt herself growing red. “I meant that I want to forget all the stupid things I’ve managed to say.”
“Why? I think they’re cute.”
“Yes, well, maybe I wasn’t going for cute. I mean, cute is what you say about puppies and kittens and baby elephants. It’s not really sexy or anything.”
“Hmm. Well, I like puppies and kittens and baby elephants. And I happen to think that cute can be sexy.”
“You think baby elephants are sexy? That’s kind of odd. You might want to get that looked at.” She grinned to let him know she was joking.
His gaze moved to her mouth and his eyes darkened. Maybe with lust? Or perhaps he had a sore tummy.
Oh, she’d never been good at this sort of stuff.
He grasped her chin, holding her face still.
Yikes. Was this it? Was he going to kiss her?
“Gracen.”
“Yes?” Her breathing quickened. She licked her lips. She was ready. So ready. It had been so long. Did her breath smell all right? Would he postpone the kiss for like thirty seconds while she tried to find a breath mint?
Stop thinking, Gracen.
“I want a name.”
Huh?
“What’s that got to do with kissing me?” she whispered.
Argh. Shit. Crap.
Dumb. So dumb.
She tried to step back, her face flaming with embarrassment. What an idiot. He hadn’t grasped her chin to kiss her. He wanted her to answer his question about who’d hurt her. And like the fool she was, she’d just blurted her thoughts out loud.
This was the sort of humiliation that she couldn’t come back from. When she tried to move away, though, he grabbed hold of her waist, lifting her onto the counter.
As she attempted to wriggle off, he moved between her legs, spreading them wide. She bit her lip to stave off the gasp of shock and need.
He hasn’t lifted you up here because he wants to touch you, idiot. He just doesn’t want you getting away before you answer his questions.
“Gracen,” he said in that deep raspy voice.
Nope. She wasn’t going to let it affect her.
“Gracen, look at me.”
His hands went to her thighs. And it really wasn’t fair because his touch scrambled her brain and made it hard for her to think. And she was already struggling to get her brain to work properly around him.
“Look at me, baby.”
Damn it. Damn him. Calling her baby was like her kryptonite. Jacob had never given her an endearment other than the occasional babe when he wanted her to get something for him.
Babe, bring me a beer. Babe, get some dip, will you?
But this . . . this was different. He said baby with a note of cajoling. And that tone, the endearment, they spoke to that lonely person inside her. The one that wanted to give this man whatever he wanted.
And that was dangerous.
She raised her eyes to meet his dark ones. She studied him, taking in the long eyelashes. His thick beard. The small wrinkles around his eyes. A faded scar near the corner of one eye that she’d never noticed before.
“Who hurt you? Please tell me.”
“Nobody.”
His eyes narrowed. “Gracen.”
Oh, wow. The command in his voice rocked her, dragging out the submissive in her.
When did she start to think of herself as having different personalities? That was disturbing.
“It was my friend.”
“What friend? Give me his name. I’ll take care of everything else. Just a name.”
She opened her mouth, then shut it with a frown. Well, as much of a frown as she could manage with one side of her face swollen and bruised.
“Take care of what?”
“Of him. I’ll make certain he never hurts you again.”
Even though she knew there was no one to take care of and that his promise shouldn’t turn her on . . . there was something about a man going all protective over her that made her go weak at the knees.
Maybe it was because it was something she’d rarely had. Her brother had been protective when they were younger. But then he’d moved away, and she’d lost that feeling of having someone who was always on her side.
And she wanted it back so desperately.
“That’s a really nice sentiment—”
“It’s no sentiment. It’s a promise.”
“Why would you care?” she asked hoarsely. She knew she should tell him the truth. Poor guy was going to give himself indigestion worrying over her. But at the same time, she was fishing for information. For something to tell her that this attraction wasn’t one-sided. She thought she’d caught glimpses of his interest.
But maybe she’d been mistaken.
“Because no one hurts my . . .” he trailed off with a grimace, moving back away from her.