Tangled Desires (Undercover Lovers #4) Read Online Tory Baker

Categories Genre: Alpha Male, Erotic Tags Authors: Series: Undercover Lovers Series by Tory Baker
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Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 55395 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 277(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
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“Small town. People talk,” I say a bit more abrasively than necessary. I clear my throat, realization hitting that I’m coming off like an arrogant little prick. “I didn’t get a chance to see what shape it’s in. I know the neighbors did what they could with the resources they had. I’m sure they’ll be happy to see it’s getting worked on.”

“It’s in some kind of shape, alright.” Lyric overlooks me being an asshole, and I know it. I clear my throat, trying to calm the need to ask more questions than I need answered.

“That’s true. Okay, here it is. Welcome to my humble abode.” The door opens, and she steps inside. I watch as she loses her footing on a piece of ripped-up carpet, and my arm reaches around her waist to steady her.

“Easy now,” I mutter. Her body meets my front, and I can smell her. The same scent she wore when we were teenagers. Honeysuckle with a touch of raspberry.

“Thank you.” She starts wiggling, and I release her from my hold.

“Not a problem.” My cock is none too happy with me, but what’s new? Shit has run dry for weeks on end, and I refuse to get myself off thinking about Lyric. After this morning, I might not have a choice. There’s only so much a man can take until he’s about to break. It’s either I use my hand or Lyric. I shake my head, clearing the thoughts of having her naked and spread out on my bed. This isn’t the time or the place.

“Well, still.” She turns around, head tipping up, looking at me while her hands slide into her pockets.

“Don’t mention it. How about you tell me what all you’d like done.” She goes back out the front door, does a squat this time, holding the skirt of her dress down, and while I should have started looking through the house, I don’t, too busy getting my fill of her.

“Okay, I don’t want anything fancy. No ripping walls out and making it an open concept. I’d like to restore it to mimic how it looked when I used to live here. I’m sure you’ve heard from your mom about what happened to my folks, and I understand if you don’t want to take this project on. With, well, our past. I just want a sense of home, and this place has always felt that way.” She’s no longer looking at me. She’s giving me her back and hugging herself. Fuck me. I hang back for a minute, allowing her to collect herself before wading in, but when I see that’s not happening, I move, cussing myself up and down. There’s a reason shit hit me so hard as a seventeen-year-old young man. I’d had her beneath me in every sense of the way. When she ghosted me, the pact she made me promise her, and the future we planned, well, it all went up in smoke.

“Come ‘ere, Lyric.” I drop my tablet on a leftover side table. Damn thing is missing two legs, and I’m lucky it’s still standing instead of sitting in a pile of rubble. It, along with a lot of other shit in Lyric’s house, will end up in the roll-off dumpster when everything is said and done. I’ve seen the aftermath from what happened. How the Mott family survived with that abusive piece of shit, I have no idea, and how Lyric had no idea what happened makes me scratch my head further.

“I’m sorry. I thought my tears were all dried up. Apparently, they aren’t.” I cup the back of her head, turn her into my chest, and hold on while she cries or does whatever it is she needs. Her arms wrap around my waist, forehead pressed against my sternum, and the cup of coffee she has in her hand is more than likely dangling from the tips of her fingers. I wish I’d had the forethought to grab it and set it on the table with my tablet. “God, I’m so sorry about everything. Maybe coming back here was a mistake. When your mom gave me the company name, never in my life did I think you’d be the owner. When I talked to Joss, she mentioned Randy would be meeting me, and when you called this morning, I didn’t even remember to ask your name because I’d finally fallen asleep at four this morning, and I’ve been an absolute mess. Jesus, I need to go. I’m sorry for wasting your time.” She tries to pull out of my arms, still not showing me her face, and judging by the wetness seeping through my white cotton shirt, she’s got a lot to work through.

“Hey, hey, hey,” I say in a soothing tone that I’d use for Briar or Sebastian when they’re having a moment, whether it’s because they didn’t get their way or one of them skinned their knee while riding their bikes. “Mom called me last night and told me she gave you my company’s name. Figured we’d get this squared away so you don’t have to live in a bed and breakfast for months on end. We might be able to swing it to where we get the bedroom and bathroom done first, so you can at least stay here while we finish the rest. As for the tears, you take what you need. I’ve got time.” I’m tempted to ship her off to my parents’ house, let her sleep for the rest of the day, and wait on her to wake up before we finish the tour of the house. Except Mom would badger me to death on why Lyric’s crying, and she’d no doubt blame me.


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