Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 135300 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 677(@200wpm)___ 541(@250wpm)___ 451(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135300 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 677(@200wpm)___ 541(@250wpm)___ 451(@300wpm)
His animalistic focus on the puck, ready to plow his way through a solid line of huge men.
I’m not a big sports girl, but that I could watch.
Then I see a faceless woman in the stands, cheering him on.
Hot jealousy bolts through me.
She must’ve been something to hook herself a hockey beast, even if it didn’t last. Were they high school sweethearts?
Stupid, I know.
I have no clue what happened to the kids’ mom, but now it eats at me, almost as much as finishing Gramps’ little treasure hunt.
I’m guessing they’re not together anymore.
He hasn’t worn a ring this whole trip and there’s no sign of a woman in the picture, no mentions from the kids, no calls back home.
But once, she could’ve been his everything.
“Hockey,” I whisper again.
“Don’t tell me you just learned the word?” He smirks.
“No, I—I’m just surprised. And I wish I could’ve seen it.”
His smirk widens. “Why’s that?”
“Maybe it would’ve been nice to see you a little less buttoned-up and more spontaneous.”
“Maybe?”
“Orrr maybe I just want to picture you being good at something besides swinging a hammer when I beg you not to.”
His gaze drops to my mouth. “Woman, I’m good at a lot of things.”
Oh, no.
Another image crowds my senses now.
One with his smirking face between my legs and his green eyes on mine as he slides my panties off with his teeth.
My heart jackhammers.
There’s no ignoring the ache in my belly.
My hands find their way to his chest on their own, palms flattening against wall-to-wall Kane.
“You going to keep giving me shit for helping you or what?” he asks.
“Only because you’re fun to tease. But for real, I’m glad you’re here,” I admit, a little too breathlessly.
“Yeah?” His voice is just as quiet.
He must be single.
Surely.
There’s no other woman, and he certainly hasn’t been here long enough to date.
If he even does date.
Who knows.
Somehow, that feels more foreign than seeing him dominating the ice.
This human brick, walking into a classy bar to meet a girl from an app with butterflies in her eyes.
He’s too intense for something so mundane.
And there are so many mysteries, so many questions burning the tip of my tongue like a match.
But he hasn’t let me go since I stumbled.
There’s this fierce hunger on his face that sends lava to my fingers and toes.
No one looks at me like this.
Not in a long time.
Maybe never.
There’s a promise in his eyes that says total ruin.
He shifts his weight, fingers flexing. I get this awful feeling he’ll pull away then and make some flimsy excuse to stop touching me.
“Y’know, I might’ve twisted my ankle after all. Feels a little sore,” I tell him.
“Your foot went pretty deep,” he agrees.
“Yeah. I don’t think you should let go just yet.”
His lips curl up. I swear he’s suppressing a growl.
The hand in my hair drifts down to my neck, over soft skin, and his thumb traces my pulse.
We’re a human rubber band stretched to its limit, and it’s too much to bear.
Screw it!
I kiss him.
Hard.
For this crazy heart-splitting second, he doesn’t kiss me back.
His lips tighten, his rough mouth stone under mine, his grip on the back of my neck tightening.
Did I just fuck up?
Maybe he never wanted this.
Maybe he only wanted the fantasy, the flirting, to look without tasting.
Then he truly grabs me.
His kiss turns ravenous.
Possessive.
His hot growl pushes into my mouth until I’m vibrating.
His tongue sweeps the seam of my lips, not asking, and God, I let him in.
His kiss is a blazing red brand, claiming and soul deep.
If I thought I was on fire before, this—
This makes me Margot chocolate, helplessly melting.
All I can do is thread my fingers through his hair, tugging him closer, begging him to continue.
He retaliates by pushing me against a wooden beam.
The roughness tickles me through my t-shirt, and I whimper.
He replies by biting my bottom lip.
Holy shit!
Whatever this thing is between us, it’s explosive.
Desire burns just under my skin.
I want to get closer, to inhale him, to surrender myself to a mouth made for dark delights and saintly sins.
My mind spins.
Dizzy with want, right down to the heavy wetness between my legs.
From the way he’s kissing me back, I guess he feels it too.
Unrestrained lust.
Like a dormant volcano waking up.
And I was the tectonic call that made him erupt.
I’m the ground made to burn, ready to be reshaped by his passion.
That’s hot and satisfying and deliciously heady.
His hands linger on my hips, holding me steady as he grinds against me, making me feel his erection.
Absolute battering ram.
No surprise, but it is.
He makes a ragged noise in the back of his throat, so sharp it makes me gasp.
God.
I’ve never needed a man like I need him now.
Right here, right now, dust and darkness and worries be damned.
His hand slides up my shirt, grazing bare skin.
His hands are so hot, incandescent, and he inhales softly against my mouth.