Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 37270 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 186(@200wpm)___ 149(@250wpm)___ 124(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37270 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 186(@200wpm)___ 149(@250wpm)___ 124(@300wpm)
I sense he has more to say. “But?” I rasp, already feeling more butterflies in my stomach.
“You’re mine, Melissa,” he says firmly, jerking his head and flashing an intense look.
“Mine. So, don’t go wandering off. And don’t… well… Don’t mind me if I’m a little bossy. I’m not so bad once you get to know me,” he says, relaxing his expression but cocking his brow and smiling just for me again, drawing a little squeak from me.
I realize I’ve only known Mark for five minutes, but I’m already hopelessly falling for him in a way I know he could never return.
CHAPTER TWO
Mark
I did promise Steve. I promised him I’d make sure Melissa was safe in a foreign country until he flew in from the States. Just for a day, maybe two tops.
No, Australia isn’t dangerous, but my thinking is.
Until I set eyes on her, I was only thinking about my upcoming business with her dad—a property development I let him in on. He never said anything about his only daughter being a perfect ten—the kind of girl that needs full-time spoiling and protection. Seeing her for the first time, my only instinct is to make sure nobody else comes anywhere near her without my permission.
It’s an instant feeling that’s itching in my belly. Next, I’m stunned by her perfect beauty, which gives me an itch somewhere south of my stomach. I’m not one to stare, but I know it’s only because I’ve never seen anything I liked. Melissa isn’t just what I want. She’s exactly what I need.
Nothing compares to what I see in front of me, waiting for me to pick her up, and her dad isn’t due for days. It isn’t long before my mind is far from business and thinking about how I’d rather spend the next few days. I’ve already made a mental note to cancel all my appointments.
Not that I had much planned. Maybe some surfing, a little lazing around the beach afterward. My days aren’t exactly filled with work. Not anymore. I’m already kicking myself for not having made any plans for Melissa.
I know, I know. It’s Mel, but she’ll always be Melissa to me. It’s the one word I have for this feeling now, and it’s echoing in my mind with every pounding beat of my pulse the longer I’m anywhere near her.
I show up in my best couch potato outfit, not even knowing where she’s supposed to be staying. I hadn’t planned on falling head over heels for her as soon as I saw her. So, it’s a mixed bag of feelings I’m wrestling with internally by the time we’re leaving the airport.
One, I resent Steve for not warning me his daughter’s smoking hot, but it’s a more bitter feeling. Jealousy, I guess you could say. Somehow I resent him for having had Melissa all to himself for all these years, although my motives aren’t the same. Not by a long shot.
But she’s yours now. She’s sitting right next to you.
Two, I realize once I hear myself scolding her for just coming along without even asking me for some proof I’m safe for her to go with the fact that she’s half my age. Not exactly the type of girl who’s on the prowl for a man old enough to be her father, who tops it off by sounding like one.
I mean it, though. If she’s gonna go off with someone just because they know her name, she’s got no business being on her own traveling anywhere. I’m sure Steve gave her a pretty good description of me. I’m not exactly a “regular-sized” guy.
I apologize for sounding bossy, but only because it’s safer to tell her that than what I’m really thinking. After a long silence and knowing it’s a good half hour to the city center in this traffic, I decide to start over.
“Maybe we can try all this again,” I offer, trying to relax after I’ve made a compete idiot of myself in front of her. “I’m Mark Meyers, your dad’s friend and business associate. Welcome to Sydney,” I tell her, extending my hand to take hers.
She looks a little shocked but relieved when I have her hand. Instead of a friendly grip or formal shake, I can’t help myself. I lean down and tenderly kiss the back of her hand because it’s as close as I can get to kissing her mouth, which is all I can think about every time I focus on it. She doesn’t pull her hand away or tell me to stop or that I’m acting like a lunatic.
As soon as my lips touch her skin, I think we both know this isn’t an older man just looking out for his friend’s daughter while she’s alone overseas. I’m not marking her with anything near as potent as I’d like to right now, but the simple act draws a slight sound from her that tells me everything.