Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 60497 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 302(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60497 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 302(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
Once we’re clean and dry, I walk naked into the bedroom and collect a pair of boxer briefs for me and an old T-shirt of mine for Rainey. I leave her to get the dampness out of her hair with the small blow-dryer I have, and a few minutes later, she walks into my room. She’s petite in height and blessed with gorgeous curves, and my shirt hangs to her knees.
At the sight of her in my clothing, a possessive growl rises from my throat. “Get in here.” I flip over the comforter on her side of the bed.
She presses a knee to the mattress and climbs in beside me. Unable to help myself, I hook an arm around her and pull her to me for a long kiss. “No funny stuff,” I say against her lips. “I just needed to taste you again.”
She sighs and curls into me, her still slightly damp hair on my shoulder. The silence is peaceful and I close my eyes, too aware of how right Rainey feels here, in my apartment, snuggled against me in my bed. What we have isn’t just sex. It’s a connection I’ve never experienced before. One I don’t want to lose.
I tangle my hands in her hair and she lets out a soft little moan. As I play with the long strands, I wonder if I have to… lose her. She doesn’t want us to be a public couple now and I can respect that. I have respected that. But she thinks things will end after we’re finished with her Miami Thunder anniversary project. Again, why does it have to end? Jack is the biggest obstacle, but would he really begrudge me finding love even if it is with his sister?
Love.
I love Rainey and I can’t tell her. It’s the last thing she would want to hear right now. But later? Once Jack comes home? I want to take the risk and tell him I have feelings for his sister.
As she lies in my arms, I decide that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I fought my way to being a good guy.
I’m going to fight for her.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Rainey
I wake up surrounded by heat. My body is a furnace, and I open my eyes to find I’m pressed against Lucas’s hard chest, his arms wrapped around me. I breathe in his spicy masculine scent and suddenly, I don’t mind the heat.
“Morning,” he says.
I break our connection and push myself off him so I can meet his gaze. “Morning.”
“Sleep well?” he asks me.
Better than I normally do alone. But I don’t say that. “Very. How about you?”
“Amazingly well.”
He stretches and I take in his bare chest, the stretch of his muscles, and the morning scruff on his face. He’s so handsome, especially this relaxed and with his guard down.
“And the gala? Did you have fun?” he asks.
I don’t need to think. “Kaylee did an amazing job. It will set her up as someone to be respected in the business.”
“Like the Thunder will do for you.”
I smile. “That’s the hope. I had a nice time but…”
“What?”
“I wished we weren’t forced to pretend we’re just friends or acquaintances,” I admit, placing a hand on his warm chest.
He nods. “I felt the same way.”
I wonder if he’ll say anything more about us, but he remains silent. “Umm… it was good seeing your parents again after all these years. I like your mom.”
“She’s great and I definitely got the feeling she likes you.”
I think back to her comment about us and my curiosity grows. “Can I ask you something?”
Reaching out, he curls a strand of my hair around one finger, something I’m learning he likes to do. “Anything.”
I bite down on the inside of my cheek, then ask, “What did your mother mean by saying we make a beautiful couple? Does she know we’re together?”
“She has mom instincts and a need to meddle. I think that was her way of telling me you’re good for me.” He tugs on the lock of hair he’s twirled. “And she’s right.”
“I have another question.” This one he might not want to answer, but since talking to his mom last night, it’s been niggling at me.
“Go ahead.”
I pick up the hand that’s not in my hair, and thread my fingers through his. “Will you tell me what happened to your parents?”
He lets out a low groan, then is quiet for so long I think he’s not going to tell me.
He meets my gaze. “Well, I already mentioned my mother was a drug addict and my father was a drunk, frequenting the neighborhood bar. And he never tried to stop her using.”
“You did tell me that.” I squeeze his hand in mine, wanting him to know I’m here for him.
He unwraps my hair, and rolls to his back, placing one arm beneath his head, staring up at the ceiling. “One night, my father came home from work and Mom had been beaten up by her dealer. He wanted the money she owed him and… she didn’t have it. The guy tried to get it from my father, but he’d spent all his cash on alcohol. Her dealer shot them both.”