Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 141556 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 708(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141556 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 708(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
“What if the rodeo doesn’t go as planned? What if your father doesn’t believe us?”
Her questions make me anxious, even more since I know there’s a chance this entire thing could blow up in my face. I’ll have to accept part of the fallout since I lied to my father, and there will be punishment for that, but Saint should be safe.
“There won’t be any reason for him not to believe us. You play your part, and I play mine, and everyone walks away with their limbs attached.”
“I don’t like lying. Pretending. It feels wrong.”
“That’s only because you’ve been raised to believe that lying is a sin. This is deeper than that. Bigger than that. It’s life and death. There’s no room for moral obligation.”
“I still don’t like it.”
“Me either, but it has to be done. Now stop fucking questioning it.”
Her shoulders go rigid, and she huffs. “Why are you pissed off at me now?”
I stalk back and get into her face, then haul her up to stare down into her wide eyes. “Because I’m trying to keep you alive, and it feels like all you have is a death wish.”
She opens her mouth to respond, but I cup the back of her head, clench my fist in her hair, and pull her mouth to mine. She can’t fucking argue with my tongue down her throat. She jolts and then melts into my grasp, molding to my chest, and the sound that whispers out of her shoots straight to my dick.
I don’t kiss her gently.
There’s nothing soft about this. My mouth claims hers with bruising force, teeth scraping her bottom lip until she gasps. I use that opening to deepen the kiss, my tongue sliding against hers, tasting the defiance she was about to throw at me.
Her hands fist in my shirt, pulling me closer even as her body trembles.
The contradiction drives me insane. She fights me with words but surrenders with her body, and I can’t get enough of it.
I walk her backward until her spine hits the wall. The impact forces another gasp from her throat, and I swallow the sound. My hand stays tangled in her honey-blond hair, controlling the angle of her head, keeping her exactly where I want her. My other hand grips her hip hard enough to bruise, pinning her between the wall and my body.
She’s so small against me. Delicate. Breakable. The thought makes something dark and possessive twist in my gut. Mine. This reckless, stubborn woman who doesn’t know when to quit is mine. Her tongue slides against mine, tentative at first, then bolder. Learning. Matching my aggression with something that feels like surrender but tastes like want.
I tear my mouth from hers, trailing rough kisses down her jaw to her throat. Her pulse hammers beneath my lips. Fast. Wild. I bite down on the sensitive skin there, not hard enough to break skin but enough to mark, and she whimpers.
“You drive me out of my fucking mind,” I growl against her neck, my breath hot on her flushed skin. “Every stupid risk you take. Every time you push back when you should just fucking give in.”
“Maybe I don’t want to just give in.” Her voice comes out breathless, shaky. “What if you have to work for it?”
I pull back to look at her. Her lips are swollen from my mouth, her eyes dark and hazy. Her chest rises and falls rapidly, breasts pressing against my chest with each breath. She looks thoroughly kissed. Thoroughly claimed.
And she’s staring at me like I’m not the monster who kidnapped her. Like I’m worth wanting, and being the man who married her. It makes me want to kiss her again. Makes me want to throw her on the bed and show her exactly how dangerous I am. Makes me want to keep her so completely that she forgets there was ever a life before this.
Instead, I force myself to step back, putting distance between us. She’s not ready for the things I want to do to her. My hands shake with the effort of letting her go.
“Stop being difficult,” I demand. “Stop pushing my buttons. Stop questioning every single thing. Just… fuck, just listen to me. Please.”
She touches her lips, her fingers trembling.
I’m in over my head here, so I need to step outside to put some distance between us so I don’t risk losing control. Right now, I want Saint so badly my body burns with the need, and I can’t be gentle. Can’t be what she needs right now.
Saint
Morning light filters through the cabin windows, painting everything in shades of gold and amber. Calder’s already awake, standing by the stove making coffee. He’s been different since Kade’s visit yesterday. More tense. Watching me like I might bolt again even though we both know I learned that lesson in the snow.