Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 128801 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 644(@200wpm)___ 515(@250wpm)___ 429(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128801 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 644(@200wpm)___ 515(@250wpm)___ 429(@300wpm)
“There’s not a lot to spill. He picked me up, we went to dinner, and he dropped me back at Ryder’s place. That was it.”
“Boring,” she drawled. “When is my big sister going to have herself a little fun? If I’d been out with that delicious hunk of a man, I would have climbed him like—”
Cody making a retching noise cut her off.
Glee filled her giggle. No question, she was fully egging him on.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “I guess I should have climbed him, too. Just for the pleasure of making Cody squirm.”
Under the table, a hand clamped down on my upper thigh, fingers digging into my flesh, possession dripping from the tips.
A haggard breath left me, and I was shaking when I looked at him from over Kayden’s head, the air growing so thin that the only thing I was breathing was him.
It didn’t seem to matter to Ryder that everyone was staring at us when he growled under his breath, “Not gonna happen, Cookie. Not unless poor Brad wants to lose his hands.”
“That was delicious.” Ryder wiped his mouth with a napkin after he’d just demolished three cinnamon rolls once he’d finished his main meal.
The man liked his sweets.
“Second that,” Cody agreed.
“I need to watch out…Mom opens her own restaurant and she’s going to run me out of business,” I said as I stood to unbuckle Kayden from his highchair.
“Pssh.” She waved her hand in the air. “Charmers. The lot of you.”
I carried Kayden to the kitchen sink so I could wash his face and hands. He howled and fought me the whole time like I was putting him through the worst kind of torture, then he took off running out the sliding back door the second I set him on his feet.
“I’ll go out with him so he can play a bit,” Cody offered, pushing up from his chair and tossing his napkin to his plate.
“I just brewed some fresh iced tea. Why don’t we all go out for a while and enjoy the fresh air? It’s a gorgeous day,” Mom offered.
“Sounds good to me.” Kayla stood, too, gathering plates and plunking them into the sink.
“I need to use the restroom then I’ll meet you all out there,” I said.
I did my best to ignore the energy that pounded through the room when Ryder pushed to standing.
The man a shockwave.
I could feel those eyes tracking me the whole way as I turned and made a beeline for the hall. I rushed down it, quick to lock myself in the bathroom.
How was I supposed to manage this? That severity that crashed into me every time he looked my direction? The way it felt like I couldn’t fully move when I was in his space? The way he kept watching me like he wanted to rip me out of this dress?
He made me feel like I was the only person he could see, all while knowing he would deny me if anyone asked.
But this denying thing felt impossible.
This connection.
This bond that seared and flamed.
I used the restroom then washed my hands, and I glanced at myself in the mirror. My cheeks were flushed, and I swore there was something different in my eyes. Something that shined bright, arising from the depths, something that could no longer be contained.
Blowing out a sigh, I dried my hands, unlocked the door, and turned the knob. I gasped when it suddenly swung open from the other side. Ryder was there, pushing through, so tall that he loomed over me.
A force of nature that made my knees knock.
Caught off guard, I stumbled back two steps.
Ryder shut and locked the door behind him.
“What in the world do you think you’re doing?” I finally managed through the surprise.
A breath later, he was in front of me, and he set both his palms on the sides of my face. He tilted it up as he angled down. “I can’t go one more second without touching you.”
“Someone’s going to know you followed me in here. I thought we needed to keep this thing quiet?”
“We do,” he grated.
“Then you’re being reckless.” The words were hushed.
I thought they only tugged him closer because he leaned down and barely brushed his lips over mine before he angled back, that severity covering me like a shroud. “This whole thing is reckless, Dakota. But how am I supposed to resist when you’re wearing this dress?”
Playfulness edged into the seriousness, and his hands tightened on my jaw.
So sweetly possessive my heart careened in my chest.
“If you keep looking at me like that while I’m wearing it, then I’m never going to take it off.”
“Oh, you’re going to be taking it off, Dakota.” He backed me deeper into the tiny room, and my back hit the wall.
Desire poured, flooding the confined space.
“Especially after you put that fucking deplorable image of you with Brad into my mind. Was bad enough the night you were out with him.”