Total pages in book: 151
Estimated words: 138334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 692(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 692(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
“And her husband? Esteban?”
“Esteban adored her. He was brilliant and he was going to provide whatever Bridget needed. If she wanted a farm that would produce enough food to feed all their neighbors, he would find a way to get that done. He developed this automatic watering system that used the minimum amount of water each type of plant needed and provided only that much. Some of the plants had cages over them. He used old wire from boxes to weave covers over plants birds and other wildlife would attempt to eat. He didn’t start out with tons of money, so he got inventive with how he put things together. He’d gather old parts from junkyards or wherever they could get them and build whatever they needed.”
“Now they have money?” he prompted.
“I don’t honestly know,” Meiling admitted. “I just assumed so because each time I saw them, they had so much more equipment, expensive equipment, like tractors. I didn’t ask, that would have been rude, and frankly, I didn’t care.”
The tears had stopped. Meiling seemed steadier. He turned on the bench and pressed his forehead tight against hers, staring directly into her liquid-chocolate eyes. “Meiling, listen to me. I can handle this on my own. It might be better that I do it alone anyway. We’ll walk on back to the house and you can go nap for the afternoon. I’ll take care of McGregor and come right back to you. When we finish this, we’ll go after the ones who murdered your friends.”
She gave a little shake of her head. To his shock, her eyes brightened, and she lifted her hand to cup his jaw. “I can’t help but fall harder and deeper every day for you, Gedeon. It doesn’t matter if you’re being sweet like this or bossy and arrogant to the point that I want to kick you into the river. You’re always going to be the one.”
“You say that shit to me and we’re alone in the swamp, things are going to get intense between us,” he whispered. Because they were.
“What does that mean?” There was a trace of amusement in her voice.
His thumb swept over the curve of her lower lip, and in between their bodies his other thumb swept over her left nipple. “That means you might be riding through the swamp naked or on your knees between my thighs. It means I’m going to be inspecting those bruises and bite marks you haven’t shown me this morning. All of them.”
“Let’s go, Gedeon. Prepare for inspections and whatever else you have in mind because I’m going to keep saying those kinds of things to you for the rest of your life.”
That was his woman, squaring her shoulders and getting on with it. They had a job, and she was going to see it through. More, if he turned things sexual between them, she was ready for him. She was always ready for him, no matter what.
* * *
* * *
WHAT are you doing?” Meiling asked, backing away from Gedeon as he stalked her across the very short distance between the cabin walls.
The island Gedeon had chosen to lure McGregor Handler to was small and covered in trees, so much so that it looked like a small jungle. This wasn’t a good thing because spiders built incredible webs in those trees and all sorts of birds made their nests in the canopies. The ground was spongy, which meant there wasn’t a tremendous amount of soil to support them as they walked across it. Gedeon cautioned her several times to step where he stepped.
The hunting cabin was built on stilts, as many of the cabins were, to keep the floodwaters from washing them away or, at the least, ruining them. This cabin was very small, no more than six hundred square feet. It was one room. There was a counter and a woodstove that served the dual purpose of heating the cabin and cooking. The crude cupboards held flattened plates and a few spices in jars. The drawers revealed old silverware, a roll of paper towels and a bar of soap.
Meiling held up her hand to Gedeon. “Seriously, stop right now. You look like Slayer when he’s stalking Whisper.”
“That’s because I feel like Slayer right now. I’ve been too long without you.”
“We’re working. That crazy man might come anytime. He’s likely to have a sniper rifle and shoot us right through the window.”
“We’d go out so happy. In the throes of a climax. Take your clothes off if you don’t want to ride home naked in the boat.”
“Be serious, Leopard Boy,” Meiling entreated, but her hands had gone to the buttons of her blouse because she was afraid he was serious. He looked serious. He sounded serious. He stole her breath. Already, despite her determination not to fall into his trap of temptation, her body had caught fire. Every nerve ending was on alert, aware of him, too sensitive to abide having material touching her.