Total pages in book: 15
Estimated words: 13826 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 69(@200wpm)___ 55(@250wpm)___ 46(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 13826 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 69(@200wpm)___ 55(@250wpm)___ 46(@300wpm)
Her breathing increased with every word, and the tension pulsed silently around them as he waited for her reply.
“Be careful what you ask for,” she finally warned him.
“Trust me, I’ve thought this through, and I’m here. Whatever is bothering you, whatever’s keeping you from giving in to me, you can tell me.”
She sighed, frustration etching her expression and the barest hint of tears shimmering in her gaze.
Those tears got to him. Fuck. He reached out and cupped her jaw in his hand. “Talk to me, Kate. Why haven’t you given in to this? To us?”
“How many long-term relationships have you had?” she asked, surprising him with a question, not an answer.
He blinked. Thought about it. There was Faith, of course, and she was his longest relationship. Afterward? There’d been women here and there, sex definitely, but long-term relationships?
None.
He’d guarded his heart carefully, not even considering anything serious because no one struck him that way—until one day, with the sun shining through the window while helping Faith in her new store, he’d looked up and seen Kate in a whole new light. Suddenly, he’d realized the one thing he hadn’t known he wanted had been in front of him the entire time. And he’d been too blind to see it.
“Cat got your tongue?” Kate asked. Her nose had grown red from the cold.
“One long-term relationship,” he finally replied. “When I was just a kid. Your point?”
Her jaw worked back and forth before she spoke. “You just made it. Faith was it for you. There was nobody serious for ten years after her, and when she came back, you tried to pick up where you left off, but she wasn’t interested. She wanted Ethan. So you turned to your buddy, your friend, who’s been in front of you forever. Well, I have news for you. I won’t be anyone’s next-best thing ever again.”
On that stunning statement, Kate turned to go, but Nick’s reflexes were good, and he was faster. He reached out and grabbed her arm, turning her back to face him. Her cheeks were pink, and her eyes large in her pale face, as if clearly aware she’d revealed everything in that one statement.
And what a statement it was.
He had a bigger hill to climb than he’d thought. It was more like a fucking mountain. Her view of him couldn’t be further from the truth, but she believed it, and that was what mattered.
“Second best? Is that what you think?” Without hesitation, he yanked her against him and sealed his lips over hers.
She stiffened in shock, and her hands came up to brace his shoulders as if she were ready to push him away. He didn’t give her the chance. Instead, he swept his tongue over her lips once, twice, and on the third lick, she moaned, then parted her mouth and let him inside.
She tasted like heaven. Like mint and Kate, or what he’d imagined she would taste like, and he’d done plenty of that along with, jerking off to thoughts of her. Reality was even better and he couldn’t get enough. Neither could she. Her fingers curled into his shirt, her nails digging into his skin through the fabric. She didn’t pull away, and he continued the sensual assault a while longer, breathing her in and reveling in having her in his arms.
Finally, he broke the kiss, keeping a hand against her back, pressing her against him. “You are not, nor have you ever been second best. Now come inside, and let me prove it to you.”
She narrowed her gaze, which, to his satisfaction, was still hazy with desire. “I can’t.”
“You can.”
“Then I shouldn’t.” She bit down on her lower lip, proof of her insecurity.
He understood why she thought he had feelings for Faith, but he needed to convince her otherwise, and he didn’t want to do it outside in the cold.
“It’s freezing. We’re going in,” Nick said in the firm voice he used with his crew. “You can walk with me, or I’ll carry you. Your choice.”
She gasped in outrage.
He ignored her reaction. “Well? What will it be?”
* * *
If Kate walked into that house, it was all over. She’d give in, succumb to Nick’s sex appeal and the desire she’d been fighting for too long. Then she’d be risking heartbreak. But she couldn’t stand out here in the cold, either. Her lips still tingled from that explosive kiss, and other body parts begged her to let him continue what he’d started.
They had chemistry for sure. He still could be settling. What was it her ex had said? Guys can get it up even for an ugly chick. What an ass he’d been. But she’d been college-age young, and so stupid. But his point had been valid.
Still, Nick wanted her. So just maybe, she should consider giving in. If she went in aware of the end, she wouldn’t have second thoughts or regrets.