Total pages in book: 168
Estimated words: 159420 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 797(@200wpm)___ 638(@250wpm)___ 531(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 159420 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 797(@200wpm)___ 638(@250wpm)___ 531(@300wpm)
My breaths are quick and noisy, and my belly flutters as I ask, “You have my father, don’t you?”
His jaw pulses in response and I know.
“That A-Anderson guy too?”
Another pulse and I get my answer.
My brother wouldn’t tell me what happened to them. Every time I brought it up, he told me not to worry about it. But I had a feeling I already knew the answers to my questions. “In one of your cabins at Rawhide?”
“Yeah,” he says, his voice low and rough.
I bite my lip. “Are you going to kill them?”
“Eventually.”
My heart races and I fist his shirt harder. “What if… You won’t get c-caught, will you?”
From what I understand, Joshua Anderson is a big businessman from California. If he dies, someone will come looking for him, maybe even people from the media he was talking about. Not to mention my own father. I’m sure Breck will help the Graysons cover up his murder, but still. Everyone will know, or at least people who are in the know will know it was Radisson who did it, and I don’t like that. What if it comes back to haunt him later? My plan would’ve been better.
“By the time I get done with ’em, there won’t be any bodies to find,” he rumbles, his voice deadly and threatening. “Or a crime to investigate.”
Chills race down my spine and goose bumps erupt on my skin. It shouldn’t make me feel safe, his words that sounded more like a promise. It also shouldn’t make me feel as excited as I am, or as relieved and happy that the man I love will finally have his closure. That my father will finally get what he deserves, and my Radisson will make sure of that. But I do. I also shouldn’t feel this other—bigger—dose of excitement thrumming through my bones, but it’s there and it’s undeniable. It could all go horribly wrong, this thing between us; I’m still not completely convinced that we could build a life together, not after everything that’s come to light. But what if we can? What if there’s some hope?
I study his face then, his beautiful features, his wicked scar, as I whisper, “You really think we’re fate?”
His features change, somehow both soften and become determined at my question. “Yeah.”
I swallow, my eyes going back and forth between his. “And I’m really that girl.”
His arms flex around me as he replies, “You are.”
My heart races in my chest and I let a moment pass before I ask, “What does that mean?”
He takes his own moment where his eyes melt, and he brings his hands up to my face. He wipes the trails my tears have left on my cheeks with his thumbs as he rasps, “It means I get to take you away.”
“Where?”
“To my ranch.”
“And?”
“And keep you.”
My heart’s beating so fast that I’m almost dizzy with it. I’m almost dizzy with my love for him as I ask, “And what if I run?”
He shakes his head, his hands still framing my face, cradling my cheeks so tenderly I could weep. “You won’t be able to.”
“Why not?”
“’Cause every turn you take and every road you run on will lead back to me.”
I go up on my tiptoes, fisting his shirt. “So maybe to save us both time, you should tie me to your bed.”
His chest shudders with a large breath. “And to myself.”
“With hemp?”
“With hemp.”
My mouth trembles and every inch of my body feels alive in this moment. “If I let you do that, if I let you take me away and tie me to you, what would I get in return?”
His eyes roam my features as if he’s memorizing this moment. As if this is the moment his life is going to change, and he wants to remember it for eternity. The moment he binds us together, not with a rope but with words that again sound like vows.
“My air,” he says, inching closer.
And I bite my lip.
“My blood,” he goes on as he rests his forehead against mine. “My body, my heart. My soul.” I smile, tears shining anew in my eyes as he continues, “But first, I’ll do somethin’ else.”
I frown. “Like what?”
“Pay my dues.”
“I don’t—”
“For breakin’ your heart that night.”
My eyes go wide and I shake my head. “You don’t—”
Cutting me off, he says, “I did that, didn’t I? Broke your heart when I walked out.”
My chest tightens, and reluctantly, I nod.
His jaw clenches as he rubs his thumbs over my skin, the sides of my lips, muttering, “My sweet Princess. I was an asshole, wasn’t I? Such a dumb fuckin’ asshole. Instead of fallin’ down on my knees and crackin’ my chest open to offer her my heart, I left her alone. I walked out instead of walkin’ over and takin’ her in my arms, tellin’ her I felt the same way.”