Total pages in book: 157
Estimated words: 155900 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 780(@200wpm)___ 624(@250wpm)___ 520(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 155900 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 780(@200wpm)___ 624(@250wpm)___ 520(@300wpm)
The elevator sped toward the bottom floor.
Every bone in my body felt brittle when the door dinged open, and I was barely able to move as he shifted to set his palm on the small of my back and he ushered me out.
A shudder ripped through.
I had to get myself together.
My reaction to him was not okay.
Unacceptable.
A security guard was standing near the elevator, on his phone and obviously calling for help.
Kane lifted a casual hand. “Sorry about that. I accidentally bumped into the emergency button. All is well.”
The lie fell out of him as if it were nothing.
He was clearly a pro.
He didn’t slow as he hurried me through the lobby and out onto the sidewalk in front.
Warm air instantly engulfed me, my skin slicked in sweat, though I doubted it had much to do with the summer heat.
It was the boiling that convulsed from within.
“Where are we going?” I finally managed.
“Someplace private.”
He snatched my hand with his that was tattooed with the Ss, and I nearly toppled at the severity that blistered through my being.
Without speaking, he guided me around the valet parking area and to the side of the hotel where there were a row of parking spots.
He hauled me in the direction of a motorcycle that was every bit as menacing as him. It was in an area that wasn’t really even a spot where white lines cut across the pavement to keep people from parking there.
Obviously, he wasn’t one for rules.
Alarm blared when I realized his intentions, and I dug my heels into the concrete. “Oh, no. That is not going to happen.”
Was he insane?
I didn’t even know him, and he wanted me to get on the back of that death trap?
“Not sure what you’re referring to,” he rumbled.
“I’m not getting on that thing.” I flailed a flustered hand at it.
It was almost completely black, the metal smoked and shadowed. The only parts that had color were the gas tank, which was a muted hue of brown, plus a couple of lines that matched it on the fenders.
It sat low to the ground, the body and tires wide and squatty.
Everything about it was fierce and foreboding.
As foreboding as the man was right then.
All ferocious steps and desperate measures.
He turned around, big body towering over me as he dipped down close to my face.
“If you want to ride me, gorgeous, then you’re also going to have to get used to riding on the back of my bike.”
The words were low.
Wicked, impure temptation.
My jaw had to have dropped to my feet.
Was he serious?
Was he seriously going to talk to me like that?
After…
Except he didn’t know why I was there. No question, those types of insinuations would be extinguished the second he found out who I was.
Who I was related to.
What this meant.
And he needed to know.
He had to know.
I owed it to Emmalee.
So, I sucked the reservations down, swallowing hard as I lifted my chin. “Fine.”
A smug grin grew on his impetuously handsome face. “That’s what I thought.”
Only he had no idea I wasn’t conceding to his suggestion.
I was conceding to my sister.
He remained facing me, walking backward as he led me the rest of the way to the motorcycle, then he turned and swung his leg over the seat and sank down onto the leather.
Tattooed arms stretched out, those big, big hands wrapping around the handlebars.
Innocently vicious and effortlessly brutal.
I thought I saw it right then.
That he could steal my heart if I let him.
And that was what terrified me most.
NINE
KANE
“Climb on,” I said, voice rough.
Emery looked around like she might be searching for a place to hide.
“You ever ride on a bike before?”
“Once,” she whispered in that sultry voice. One I doubted she had the first clue went straight to my dick.
“And you mean to tell me it wasn’t your favorite thing you’ve ever done?” I tried to instill as much lightness into it as I could find. But it was difficult when I was looking at her like this.
The way I felt all fucked up at the sight of her.
This clashing toil of wanting to glut and devour, get lost in that tight little body, all while I had the overwhelming urge to wrap her up to protect it.
Shield her from whatever haunted those gorgeous eyes.
Had never had a reaction like this to a woman before. Not once. Hadn’t even known it was possible.
Sure, the woman was stunning.
This riot of staggering, rare beauty.
I’d be a liar if I said it didn’t take everything I had not to reach out and run my fingers through that lush fall of blonde hair. Soft, wavy locks, a shimmery gold woven with streaks of bronze.
It skimmed over her bare shoulders and arms that were exposed by the dressy pink tank top she wore. The neckline V’d and ridged in scalloped lace, the straps thin and accentuating her delicate angles.