Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 56653 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56653 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Why, the—-
Without hesitation, Bobby kicked him in the shin. Hard.
The sudden pain on his shin almost had Leandro cursing. His gaze snapped back to the girl, incredulity and rage lining his voice as he growled, “What was that for?”
“You have to ask?” she snapped back. He suddenly shot to his feet and Bobby almost took a step back. He really was tall. And lethal. There was an air of danger about him that she was only beginning to realize and the words I take it back hovered on her lips.
If this guy went berserk and Hulk-smashed everything in his sight, she was pretty sure she would be his first victim.
So say sorry, her conscience urged. You know you were rude first.
Bobby stubbornly pushed the thought away. Rude or not, she just couldn’t make herself say sorry. She was too proud to do it.
When the girl didn’t even say sorry and simply glared up at him mutinously, Leandro found himself experiencing a strong urge to pull her across his lap and put a stinging slap to her backside. Girls in his homeland were not like this. They knew their place, and it was to respect and serve the men in their life.
His gaze swiftly scanned their surroundings and saw that everyone inside the cafeteria was looking at them. He knew he had to leave the table. It galled him to admit that she had indeed “claimed” the table first, but Leandro knew it was true.
However, he did not intend to let her have the last word.
He gestured to the table. “It’s all yours.”
“It really is—-”
Leandro stepped forward, held her by the nape, and closed his lips over hers.
She froze, shock rendering her immobile. When her lips instinctively parted in surprise, Leandro did not hesitate to deepen the kiss, his tongue moving in to brand her with his taste, making sure that she would never forget him and his kiss.
Leandro meant to seduce her, but what he didn’t count on was being seduced in return. Her mouth was a unique blend of sweet and spice, their sexual chemistry combustible in its explosive heat. This close, he was suddenly and explicitly aware of her softness, her womanly scent, and when his cock rose, balls aching with need, Leandro tore himself away abruptly.
Even as his body protested the sudden absence of contact, Leandro managed to look into the red-headed virago’s eyes with a cold glare. “I’m on to you, mégaira. All that noise was for me to notice you, wasn’t it?”
As the words sank in, she let out a loud gasp, and Leandro added silkily, “Next time, you only need to ask.”
Chapter Two
After clapping each other’s backs in greeting, Derek said dryly, “You don’t waste time, do you? I heard about what happened yesterday.” They started walking down the red carpet, both of them pausing once in a while when a particular photographer was persistent in asking for a photo.
Tonight, Derek’s parents were hosting a prestigious event awarding the country’s youngest and most prolific philanthropists. It was not the kind of event Leandro normally graced back home, but he was a changed man now. This event should point him in the right direction and hopefully to the most boringly perfect woman to make his temporary girlfriend.
“It was an unfortunate incident,” Leandro answered Derek with a grimace. He was not particularly proud of letting his temper get the better of him during yesterday’s incident. But he had been in a foul mood to start with, and the girl’s shrewish temperament simply made him feel like lashing out.
When Derek had left him yesterday at the cafeteria, Leandro had received a call from home, and the news had not been good. His father remained in the hospital as there was a strong possibility he could suffer from another heart attack.
The first of which he had caused.
“I was in a bad mood. I received news about my father’s condition and it had not been...good. It’s no excuse, but I was not myself yesterday.”
Derek said gravely, “I’m sorry about Tio Orion, Leandro. But he is a fighter. He will pull through.”
Leandro simply nodded, not wanting Derek to know that a part of him believed God would take his father away as Leandro’s punishment.
“By the way, who was the girl?” Derek wanted to distract his younger cousin, the dark look on Leandro’s face making it easy for him to guess what the other man’s thoughts were. He didn’t bother telling Leandro that he was not to blame for what had happened. That was something Leandro had to learn on his own.
“You know what happened. There was no way I could ask for her name.”
Derek couldn’t help grinning at that. “She really did piss you off, didn’t she?”
“She was a shrew.”
“Ah.” Leandro’s mother, Elena, was the sweetest woman in the world, docile and biddable – a perfect wife for a traditional Greek. She had inadvertently caused Leandro to have somewhat unrealistic expectations of women today.