Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 110360 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 552(@200wpm)___ 441(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110360 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 552(@200wpm)___ 441(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
“No,” I said flatly. “You didn’t.” I tilted my head, studying him like something I might scrape off my boot. “But it doesn’t sound like putting Lofton first has ever been a high priority for you.”
“Jesus.” He dragged a hand through his hair, pacing a step before turning back, frustration bleeding into his expression. “That’s not—I didn’t—” He stopped, exhaling hard as he planted his hands on his hips. Then his gaze shifted, trying to find her behind me. “I didn’t come here to make things worse. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
I felt her shift before I saw her, her body sliding along mine as she stepped out from behind me. However, instead of her going around me, she ducked under my arm, forcing it across her shoulders as she pressed into my side, her front flush against me.
My lungs seized.
Her breasts pillowed between us, her fingertips grazing the skin at my lower back, sending a sharp, electric pulse straight to my cock.
There was nothing professional about this.
Not even a little.
But dear God, it felt incredible.
Sebastian’s eyes darkened, his gaze dragging over the way she fit against me.
Good.
Maybe that was the point.
Maybe she wanted him to see it.
To feel it.
To give him a taste of his own medicine.
I didn’t love the idea. It felt a little too much like a childish game for my liking, but I wasn’t about to be the one to stop it. Not when she felt so damn right.
My hand slid down her side, fingers tracing the curve of her waist before settling firmly on her hip.
Sebastian’s jaw tightened. “Are you two—”
She didn’t let him finish.
“I’m not okay,” Lofton’s stated, steady but stripped of anything soft. She curled tighter into my side, as if she were bracing herself. “But I will be after you leave.”
It wasn’t loud or emotional.
But it was final.
Something in his expression faltered. Not enough to make him look apologetic, but enough to make him hesitate on whatever bullshit retort dangled from the tip of his tongue. His gaze flicked between us again, lingering on my hand at her hip.
I hope he fucking choked on it.
He forced out a breath, trying to gather what was left of his pride. “Then I guess I’m leaving. You’ll call if you need anything?”
“I won’t,” she said without hesitation or apology. “But I appreciate the offer.”
A ghost of a smile tugged at his mouth, like he wanted to pretend that didn’t sting.
It didn’t work.
He turned, shoving his hands into his pockets as he started toward the gate. His shoulders tight and his stride just a little too stiff to be natural.
There was no fucking way he had given up that easy. A man like that wasn’t used to rejection, especially from a woman. A woman he so clearly thought he could win back just by showing up unannounced and pretending to be the hero.
And yet he never looked back. Not even once.
We stood there side-by-side, watching him go.
Chris must have hit the button, because the gate groaned to life, metal grinding as it slowly pulled open just enough for him to walk through.
The second the gate slammed shut behind him, the world shifted back into place.
Silence dropped over us like a heavy curtain. My hand was still on her hip. Her body was still flush against mine.
And for one suspended second, neither of us let go.
My grip tightened enough that I felt her heat through the denim.
Then she moved. It was just a small shift, allowing a fraction of space between us.
But it hit like a damn wrecking ball.
Her fingers loosened from my waistband, dragging lightly across my skin before falling away completely.
And just like that—
Lofton stepped out of my hold.
In her absence, it all came rushing back like the roar of a tornado—loud, violent, and impossible to ignore. A not-so-subtle kick in the dick to remind me exactly why I was there.
It didn’t matter that I was drawn to her in ways I still refused to acknowledge.
It didn’t matter that I missed her every damn day that I was forced to sit out in that barn alone.
It didn’t matter that she felt so damn right in my arms.
This was a temporary assignment with a woman who was in grave danger.
Nothing more.
As I silently berated myself, Lofton walked back to the SUV, utterly unfazed.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, drawing my attention away. It was a text from Apollo.
No message. Just a single image.
My stomach dropped when I pulled it up.
It was a zoomed-in still from the gate camera. Me with Lofton tucked against my side, her body pressed flush to mine, soft curves fitting against hard lines like we’d been carved specifically to fit together.
Sebastian stood in front of us, his mouth set in a hard line, his focus locked on her.
But it wasn’t him who set me on edge.