Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 49416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 247(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 247(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
“Watching them miss their families and the people they love had me dreaming about putting down roots too. I would dream about getting out and running a small bar, maybe offering a few menu items. But when I got home, this place went up for sale not two days later, and my dream shifted into something I never could’ve imagined. And here I am, five years later and somehow, we haven't gone under.”
“Of course, you haven't,” she says. “You're really amazing at what you do. This place is one of the most in-demand clubs in Charleston. My friends talked enough about it that night months ago. The night you brought me to this roof.” She bites down on her smile, and that quickly, I want her. “Have you ever thought of doing this full time?” she asks, tilting her head slightly.
I nod. “I have actually,” I say, but don't mention that I've been thinking about it more and more since I met her. “It's a tough decision though,” I continue. “Because I’m really good at my other job. It’s hard to turn that part of me off sometimes.” The mission mindset, the satisfaction at using my protective instincts that I honed in my time in the military to help someone in need.
“I definitely can vouch for that,” she says, sighing softly as she gazes out over the balcony again.
“I could see myself only working this job though,” I say. “Now more than ever. But I'm happy I didn't before this. If I hadn't taken this case, who knows how long it would’ve been before we met officially.”
“I was getting close to breaking,” she says. “I wasn't going to last much longer. But I’m glad it was you who walked through my door that morning.”
I step closer to her, interlacing our fingers. “I'm glad it was you who walked into this club, Kitten.” My grin deepens. “Yelling in my ear and getting sassy about the AC.”
Zoe chuckles. “It was really hot that night.”
“Oh, I remember,” I say, and a delightful little flush brushes across her cheeks.
She steps closer to me, sliding her free hand along my chest before curling her fingers around my neck, urging me toward her mouth.
“What are you doing to me, Silver?” she whispers, her lips a breath away from mine.
My pulse thrums hot and hard in my veins as I draw her body flush against mine. “Exactly what you’re doing to me, Kitten.”
We share a look, a silent one that screams all the serious things we’re not saying. I won’t be the one to push her into making a decision about me, not when I’m the one with the job that could separate us and hinder a serious relationship. A job I’m coming closer and closer to letting go of.
She spans the distance between our mouths, kissing me in a slow, languid kiss that has every muscle in my body tightening. Fuck me, kissing her on this rooftop takes me straight back to our first night together up here. The night she brought me to my knees with just a look.
I haven’t stopping wanting or needing her since.
“Kitten,” I growl between her lips as her hand roams over my abdomen, her kiss growing more intense. “Tell me what you need.”
Zoe nips at my bottom lip, drawing back just enough to catch my gaze. “You,” she says. “I just need you.”
“You have me,” I say, reclaiming her mouth, my hands flying to her hips as I tug her against me. “You want to play up here again?”
Her flush deepens as she nods.
Fuck me, I about drop to my knees at that admission alone.
Instead, I somehow remain standing, easily hefting her up until her ankles lock behind my back. I walk us toward the patio table, perching her sweet ass on the edge.
“Then let’s play,” I say, spreading her thighs to step between them, losing myself in her kiss, her body, and the desperate way she says my name when I make her come.
CHAPTER 14
Zoe
“Owen,” I say, my voice cracking the second I look down at the pavement. I’m standing with Gregory’s dishes in my hand, frozen.
“Shit.” He gently pushes me back into the building, glacial eyes scanning the parking lot and woods beyond before he crouches to pick up the letter laying at his feet.
I hurry to set down the dishes, rushing back to Owen’s side as he unfolds the letter. I read it, even though I know I really shouldn’t.
You take better care of this stupid cat than you do your patients. Now you get to feel what it’s like to have something you love taken away from you. If you hurry, he might still be in the woods where I left him.
“No,” I gasp, pushing past Owen and hurrying toward the woods.
A strong arm hooks around my waist. “You can’t,” Owen says, shifting me to look up at him. “He could be out there waiting. This could be a lie, a ploy to get you out there.”