Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 36221 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 181(@200wpm)___ 145(@250wpm)___ 121(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36221 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 181(@200wpm)___ 145(@250wpm)___ 121(@300wpm)
When I press her back against the bed, a sad meow breaks out.
“Oh, Bentley!” She reaches for him, and he crawls between us, laying claim to her right in front of me. “Did we squish you?” She scoops him closer.
“He’s fine.” I sit up, my hands still itching to pull away the covers and see if I’m right to hope for no panties.
He starts to purr. The little shit.
“Sorry, baby.” She hugs him again.
It isn’t normal to be jealous of a cat, but here I am, shooting daggers at him with my eyes. He shoots them right back.
“So did you find anything at the trailer?” she asks.
“Yes.” I give Bentley one more glare and pull the picture from my pocket. “Do you remember where this photo was taken?”
She sits up, and Bentley scampers away to the end of the bed. “That was last year at the fair close to the waterfront. You know the one with the big yellow and purple tent they put up?”
“Barnaby’s.”
“That’s the one.” She nods. “We had so much fun! Oh my God, I thought I was going to throw up when we were at the top of the Ferris wheel. I didn’t know I hated heights until it stopped with us at the tippy-top.” She grimaces. “But Xanny talked me through it. She was always–” She chokes up. “I mean is, she is always there for me.”
I don’t waste a second pulling her into my arms and holding her in my lap. “Hey, we’re going to find her, all right? That was the deal, and I don’t break my promises.”
“Never?”
“You’ll see, little one. I’m a man of my word.”
“I believe you.” She sniffles. “You’ve been nothing but kind to me. You saved my life and gave Bentley and me a place to stay … at least for a little while.”
I tilt her chin up. “You’re going to stay here for as long as you like.”
She blinks several times, her tears wetting her lashes. “What?”
“You heard me. I promise you and”—I cast him a sideways glance—“even Bentley can both stay here for as long as you like.” In fact, forever sounds good to me.
“Really?” She bites her bottom lip.
I press my forehead to hers. “I don’t break my promises, little one. Remember that.”
She breathes out, her breath soft against my skin. “I remember.” When she leans in, I take her kiss, take all of her I can get.
14
ZOEY
I slip my hands up Leone’s chest, wrapping them around his neck as he deepens our kiss. I’m starting to think that this isn’t all about money anymore. Leone doesn’t have to really do any of the things he does for me, but he continues to do them. At every turn, he gives me more and more. I don’t only mean material things either. Little by little, he reveals himself to me. I love that way more than any of the materialistic stuff.
He groans against my mouth, standing from the bed with me in his arms. I wrap my legs around him, never breaking our kiss as he carries me out of my bedroom, making sure to close the door behind us. I’m guessing he’s taking me to his room. I have an idea of where this is going, and it’s somewhere Bentley’s innocent little eyes don’t need to witness.
Once we enter his room, he carries me over to his bed, laying me down on it. I release my arms and legs from around him but still grip the front of his buttoned-up shirt with one hand.
“Are we going to…” I trail off, not sure what to call it. Sure, I might not have done anything when it comes to the whole sex thing, but is this making love or like a one-night stand?
“I’m going to love every inch of your body if you’ll let me.”
Oh, I love what he calls it. I’ll take that.
“I want that, but what about our deal? I’ll have nothing left to offer you once we do this.”
“You have so much more to offer, Zoey. You really have no idea, but sex isn’t what I want from our deal.”
What else could he want? He grips the bottom of the oversized shirt I’m wearing, pulling it up over my head and tossing it away. His hands roam over my body, slipping between my thighs to cup my sex. “You’ll give me this because you want to, not because of some deal.” His words only heighten my desire for him. He’s right. I want this more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life.
My hips lift of their own accord as I try to grind my clit against his palm to relieve the ache that has formed there. A sexy grin forms on his lips.
“It’s yours to have.” I’m desperate for him at this point.
“I’ll be the only one to ever have it,” he says before he takes my mouth in a kiss that is all consuming. His hand between my thighs slips a bit lower, and he thrusts one of his thick fingers into me. I’m already so wet it easily slides in. He quickly adds a second, thrusting them in and out of me as he kisses me. All I can think about is his cock being there soon.