Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 108709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
The siren turns on, the slightest whoop, whoop echoing through the street before the patrol car comes to a dead stop outside the neighbor’s home.
Aria stares up at me, wide-eyed, neither of us moving a damn inch as my body pins her to the wall. I feel her heart racing through her chest.
The Sheriff gets out of the car, barely having a moment to slam his door before the neighbor’s screen door whips open, followed by the subtle sound of baby footsteps on the porch.
“Da-da,” a child’s voice cuts through the tension-filled silence.
Ahh fuck. I chose the Sheriff’s neighbor’s place to break into. Just my fucking luck.
“Hey, baby,” the Sheriff says, scooping up the child and walking back toward the door. “Being good for Momma?”
“Uh-huh.”
A woman scoffs, joining the two at the door. “Now you know she’s lying,” the mother laughs. “She’s not happy unless she’s giving me a hard time.”
The Sheriff laughs and hands the baby back to her mom. “Just dropped in to grab my wallet. Left it on the table.”
“No, you didn’t,” she tells him. “I’ve cleaned that table six times already this morning. There’s no wallet there.”
“Crap,” he sighs, moving into the house and letting the screen door fall closed behind him. Their voices fade away, but I don’t move, my hand still braced against Aria’s mouth, her terrified stare locked on mine.
She breathes hard, her chest heaving just as much as mine, and as the silence drags on, that same tension I felt in the lake comes rearing back, growing like never before.
Our hearts race in sync, only I’m not so sure it’s from the fear of being caught, not anymore. It’s something much more. Her stare shifts. The terror in her eyes morphs into an odd curiosity before shifting again into something a little more familiar. Her brows crease as though something has just occurred to her, and I can’t tear my gaze away.
Realizing she’s not about to scream and run for the hills, I lower my hand from her mouth, and she shifts under my hold, her hand lifting to my chest before reaching up to my face. She brushes her fingers over the top of my brow before trailing them down over my cheekbone and further to my jaw.
“I think . . .” She pauses, her voice the most subtle whisper. “I think I’m remembering you.”
My brow arches, my heart suddenly racing for a whole new reason. “Yeah?”
She nods. “I think so. It’s your eyes. I remember them. Only they were younger. Not plagued by so much . . . hurt.”
Fuck.
My hands shift to her waist, gripping her tight as she continues to consider me, those fierce green eyes seeing straight through me like nobody ever has before, and as her hand lowers back to my chest, hovering right over my heart, her gaze fills with the deepest understanding. “You were in love with me.”
I swallow hard, feeling as though my whole fucking world has just turned to ash. How could she possibly know that? Not even as kids did she know, yet staring at me now, years down the track, she can somehow figure it out.
I clench my jaw as the tension tightens between us, and my hands involuntarily lower down her body, grabbing hold of her perfect ass. Then in one swift motion, I lift her against the wall, her toned legs wrapping around my waist as I bear down against her, feeling her heat through the thin tights.
We’re eye to eye, her lips barely a breath away. All I’d need to do is close the gap and take everything that’s always been mine, but I can’t do it. I can’t allow myself to get lost in her, not like I always was as a kid. I can’t risk it. Keeping five steps ahead of law enforcement needs to be my only priority. No matter how damn tempting these lips might be.
“Sweet, Menace,” I rumble, shifting her weight and freeing my hand before closing it around her soft, delicate throat. The rapid thrum of her pulse beats against my palm.
Aria reaches up, her fingers hooking into mine around her throat, not daring to pull me away, and her heavy, panting breaths continue. Then just as she decides to throw caution to the wind and close the gap between us, the neighbor’s screen door whips open again, quickly rebounding against the brick wall, pulling me right out of Aria’s orbit like a bucket of ice water was tipped over both our heads.
Her eyes go wide again, that longing I saw briefly shifting right back to fear. “I’ll be late again tonight,” the Sheriff says as I move my hand back over her mouth and shake my head, warning her to keep quiet. “They want to brief us on that escaped prisoner from Hartley Creek.”