Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 23115 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 116(@200wpm)___ 92(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23115 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 116(@200wpm)___ 92(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
“There was a home invasion at my mother’s house,” I say slowly. “She’s ill, and a man came in, grabbed her, and threatened her with a knife. The other officers told me to back off and talk him down.”
I shake my head, replaying the incident in my mind.
“This is my mom we’re talking about. And I wasn’t taking any chances.” I see recognition in Briar’s eyes. Understanding. Acceptance. “I broke the guy’s jaw. Shattered a few ribs. His lawyers are claiming excessive force, and I was busted down from detective while they investigate.”
“Gareth…” Her voice is like a bell on the wind. So soft, yet so strong, anchoring me to the here and now.
“And I know now that Captain Felch is the one behind it.” I swallow hard, lift Briar into my arms, and carry her to the couch. I sit, holding her in my lap. “I’m a threat to his job, and he wants to ruin me.”
She doesn’t speak for a long time. Just runs her fingers up and down my left arm, tracing the lines of my muscles. Then she looks up at me. “Well, why don’t you just kill him?”
I’m so shocked by her response that my body stiffens. I frown down at her, and she just looks back up at me, her face as flat as freshly paved concrete. Then the crack appears. Her lip twists up, and her eyes begin to glitter.
“Oh, you…” I smirk, twisting my thumb into her side, causing her to giggle.
“Just kill him, Mr. Big, Bad Corrupt Cop!” she laughs, twisting in my arms as I pin her down beneath me.
Her body’s warmth radiates up, filling me with something more than physical. Something that goes straight through me, right into my soul.
I pin her arms over her head and lean in, enveloping her lips in mine. My kiss is passionate, loving, possessive. And she knows it. She kisses me back, locking lips with me in an embrace that goes beyond what we’ve done before.
When I pull back, I see honesty in her eyes. A trust I haven’t seen yet.
“You did the right thing, Gareth,” she says. “And no matter what anyone else says, you’re a good man.”
It’s right then, at that moment, that a realization hits me like a mainline of pure electricity.
I love this woman. With all my heart, I love her. And I will give my life to protect her. Even if it means going up against my entire department.
6
GARETH
It feels like I’ve been waiting my entire life for this moment.
I’m hard as freshly milled steel as I nearly tear Briar’s T-shirt off and toss it aside. Her perfect tits jiggle beneath me. Mouth-watering. The beast within me is raging, urging me to strip her and take her. Mark her. Make her officially mine.
But I’ve waited, and I can wait just a little longer.
This is Briar’s first time, and I will make it memorable. She deserves that.
Despite the primal hunger howling within me, I lean in slowly and plant a line of kisses on her neck—like a necklace—twisting and moving down to her breasts.
She gasps as I take her left nipple between my lips, circling it with my tongue. At the same time, I run my hands up her flat stomach, cataloging every inch of her perfection.
I move my lips to her right breast, again taking her nipple in my mouth. My stomach rumbles with hunger. I want to eat her. Devour her. Lock her in a prison of passion until she’s experienced so much she can’t take anymore.
Then give her more.
Sweet little girl. How did she get dragged into this mess of my life? The darkness of my profession. The backstabbing. The politics.
I’ll protect her from all of that. For the first time as an adult, I know I’ve met someone I can fully trust. The way she stood by me when Felch came in, trying to intimidate me. The way she talks back, knowing I love it.
This girl is the peak of the mountain. The top. And she’s MINE.
I keep kissing down. Down her smooth belly, and an unexpected image flashes through my mind. Briar pregnant. Carrying my baby.
Christ, where’d that come from?
I’ve never even thought about having a family before. When you do what I do for a job and see the terrible things I see, bringing a child into the world seems almost cruel. But it’s like Briar is calling out to me to breed her. To mate with her, shoot my seed into her womb, and make her my wife.
My heart kicks heavily in my chest. My lips twist as I unbutton her pants and tug them down, taking her panties with them.
There it is. The sweet little pink pussy that I’m constantly craving. I’m an addict. I need to be between her legs at all times, lapping at her sweetness. I want the juices to run down my cheeks, my chin. I want her scent permanently embedded in my lungs.