Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 133975 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 670(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 447(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133975 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 670(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 447(@300wpm)
“Wake up, baby.” He moved again so his face could be directly over hers. It was hot as hell in that box. He didn’t like that she’d been out so long.
He could feel the movement of the truck and knew they were on an unpaved road. It was extremely bumpy, throwing the damn wooden coffin all over the back of the truck. That hurt his head and likely would hurt Lyric’s if she ever woke the hell up. He was a man known for being calm in all situations. He could explode into action when needed, but he did so thinking clearly and sanely. If Lyric didn’t wake up soon and let him know she wasn’t in a coma, he wasn’t going to be so calm.
He bit at her chin. “Come on, baby, open your eyes.”
Why the hell had she come running out of her shop to save him? She didn’t show the least good sense. There were five of them, big mothers, armed and showing they were willing to kill him. Hell, they hit his head from behind with what felt like a baseball bat. Once he was on the ground, they kicked and punched him as viciously as he’d ever been attacked—and, sad to admit, it had happened often when he was younger.
The idiotic woman, not more than five feet nothing, had come to his rescue when she saw him being attacked. He remembered the determination on her face, the fire in her eyes. He hadn’t considered that she had all that passion stored in her, but he should have known with her fiery hair and the hobbies she chose to pursue. She might appear quiet, but after seeing her play the part of warrior woman, he was more intrigued than ever.
And she’d saved his life. He had no doubt in his mind that the five men attacking him planned to kill him. She’d left the safety of her shop and waded in like an avenging angel, hitting the nearest man with a blow-dryer. A fucking blow-dryer. They’d overpowered her, hit her in the head, and he’d seen her go down before one of them kicked him in the head, and it was lights-out. He had no idea how long he’d been out, but he couldn’t map out the road the way he normally would have. He wasn’t too worried. Once they made their escape, he would find the way home.
He needed to ascertain just how injured she was. He didn’t understand why they’d hit her so damned hard. She’d gone flying. They were going to pay for that. He was used to the members of Torpedo Ink having his back. They’d been doing so since they were all little kids raised in that hellhole in Russia, but other than those men and women, no one had ever stood up for him. It was unexpected. And puzzling. Worse, it fucked with his brain when he needed to be clearheaded and thinking about survival. His own survival, not some dinky woman whose fault it was he was there in the first place.
“Wake up, Lyric.” He poured command into his voice. He was good at that. Very few dared to defy him, men or women. Deliberately, he feathered his lips across hers in a whispering, light rub, catching her faint breath in his mouth. For some reason, his entire body tightened. Hardened. Demanded.
What the fuck was wrong with him? Now he was so hard up he was going after a woman who was half-dead? In a coffin? A flimsy one, but still, a coffin. And Lyric, of all women. He tried to remember when he’d been with a woman last. It couldn’t have been more than a few hours earlier, yet he was as hard as a rock at the first touch of her full, pouty mouth.
Pouty. He despised that kind of woman. Manipulative. Emotional. Whiny. Okay, he hadn’t heard Lyric ever be any of those things, but those full, pouty lips gave her away. He had fantasized far too often about those lips wrapped around his cock. Which was insane. He was far too experienced to think she’d know what she was doing. He’d have to give her instructions. Tedious. But if he was being truthful with himself, he’d dreamt of her until he’d left Caspar, his hometown, and taken the ride to her nowhere burg, all the while telling himself she wasn’t the kind of woman he would ever go for.
For one thing, it was obvious she was innocent. He wasn’t about to waste his time on some untutored pussy that he’d have to expend energy trying to teach. Worse, she’d fall apart after and expect him to stick around. Innocents were off the table. He didn’t have much of a code when it came to sex, but that was sacred. He’d never once broken that rule, nor was he ever tempted to—unless it was now. With her. And he had no idea why. She was worse than a pain in the ass.