Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 29800 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 149(@200wpm)___ 119(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29800 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 149(@200wpm)___ 119(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
Her breathing breaks apart against my throat.
“God, Rhett, he was there the whole time.”
I hold her tighter.
Behind us, the stalker groans somewhere in the snow.
I don’t even look at him.
Right now all I care about is the woman shaking in my arms.
“You’re okay,” I say firmly.
“I thought—” Her voice cracks. “I thought maybe you wouldn’t find me.”
That nearly destroys me.
I pull back just enough to grip her face between my hands. “Nora.” My voice drops lower. Rougher. “There’s nowhere on this mountain I wouldn’t go for you.”
Her eyes flood instantly.
And fuck, that does me in completely.
I cut the zip ties from her wrists with my hunting knife before shrugging out of my coat and wrapping it around her shoulders. She’s freezing.
“You hurt anywhere?”
“My shoulder,” she admits quietly. “He shoved me into the wall.”
My jaw tightens again.
“Don’t,” she says immediately, reading my expression too easily now.
“I’m gonna kill him.”
“No, you’re not.”
“He deserves it.”
“Maybe,” she whispers. “But I don’t want that on you.”
That stops me.
Because even now, bruised and terrified and standing in the middle of a blizzard after being kidnapped, she’s worried about me.
Jesus Christ.
I brush snow from her hair carefully, my thumb dragging across her cold cheek.
“You scared the hell out of me.”
Her lips tremble slightly. “You’re still really hot when you’re furious.”
A startled laugh breaks out of me before I can stop it.
“There she is.”
Her eyes soften.
Then she steps closer and presses herself fully against me like she needs reassurance I’m real.
I understand that feeling too well.
By the time we get back to the cabin, the storm’s nearly whiteout conditions. I lock every door immediately while Nora stands near the fire rubbing warmth back into her hands.
“You gonna stare at the windows all night?” she asks softly.
“Probably.”
She watches me for a second before crossing the room slowly.
Then her fingers curl around the hem of my thermal shirt.
“Come here.”
The words hit harder than they should.
I step toward her automatically.
Her hands slide up my chest slowly, deliberate, her gaze searching mine with something deeper than attraction now.
Trust.
That wrecks me worse than anything else tonight.
“You came for me,” she whispers.
“Always.”
Something shifts in her expression at that.
Then she kisses me.
Hard.
Desperate.
All fear and relief and adrenaline colliding at once as she drags me down against her mouth like she needs to feel I’m alive.
I grip her waist instantly, hauling her closer until there’s no space left between us.
“Nora,” I murmur against her lips.
“Don’t talk.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She laughs softly against my mouth before kissing me again, slower this time, deeper, her fingers tangling into my shirt while heat replaces the cold still clinging to her skin.
And when I carry her toward my bedroom a few minutes later, she doesn’t fight me.
Not even a little.
At the bed’s edge, I hook my thumbs into the waistband of my jeans; she pivots toward me and tugs, denim peeling past my hips.
“You desperate for my cock, city girl?” I tease, catching her fumbling fingers on the zipper.
Her breath catches as she looks up at me, eyes wide, lips parted. “Yes, please.”
I smirk. “Maybe I should make you dance for me.” But I barely give her time—my hands take over, dragging jeans and boxer briefs down in one smooth motion.
I watch her face light up when she finally sees me properly. Tall, hard, arching slightly to the side. Her mouth waters. I can feel the swell of pride and need rolling through me. Just as she’s about to drop to her knees, I tip her chin back with a gentle grip.
“Eyes up,” I murmur. Then I slip my fingers into her hair and crush my mouth to hers in a kiss that sets my blood on fire. My tongue presses past her lips, plunging into hers with everything I’ve held in since she arrived— a mere appetizer for what’s to come.
She sighs into me. “Sweet Nora,” I whisper against her mouth as I ease her backward onto the fluffy white duvet. My body presses firmly into hers; she melts into the sheets. My hands roam her curves, kneading the soft flesh of her hips as I trail hot kisses up her ribcage. When our mouths meet again, it’s slow and deliberate, tasting every inch of her.
She trembles beneath me. My heart clenches. “You’re the only one for me, I need you to know that.” The words tumble out, raw and honest. I’ve thought them a thousand times, but they feel brand-new.
She freezes. Her heartbeat thumps against my chest.
“Me?” she breathes.
I nod. “Boys are always stupid—we don’t know what we want until we become men, and even then, we fuck it up. All I knew was something was missing until I saw you at the auction that day. I never realized what it was… until now. I was missing you, Nora. I need you.”
Her breath hitches; I feel her whole body soften under me. I lean down to kiss her forehead. “Shh… Tonight, I just want you. Whatever tomorrow brings, we’ll face it together. But tonight… it’s just you and me.”