Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 30692 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 153(@200wpm)___ 123(@250wpm)___ 102(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30692 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 153(@200wpm)___ 123(@250wpm)___ 102(@300wpm)
“I like that you talk about your work with such enthusiasm.”
I glanced over to see her smiling at me. Her expression was almost…proud, and I tamped down a sudden desire to preen like a fucking peacock trying to attract a mate.
“We’re lucky to do something we love.”
We rode in silence for several minutes while I maneuvered the streets of Chicago, deftly handling the six-way intersections since I’d driven them from the time I first got my license.
“Where are you going?” Samantha leaned forward in her seat when I stopped at a red light and looked up, presumably at the street sign. “This isn’t the way to your office.”
“Since we already went over the paperwork, it wasn’t necessary to go to the office first,” I answered with a shrug.
“You’re coming to the inspection?”
I could understand why this surprised her. Normally, I would leave things like inspections to be handled by Landon or whomever he sent. Unless there was a problem that required my input, I rarely got involved.
However, that changed the moment I saw Samantha. I had to figure out a way to keep her from leaving, and until I did, I would spend as much time with her as possible.
“I started on the front lines. Sometimes, I like to get my hands dirty.” It wasn’t a lie, but the statement was more accurate when referring to the projects I personally wanted to flip.
She didn’t say anything, so I glanced at her as I pulled into a parking garage across the street from the construction site. JB Capital owned this building and the one next to it as well.
Samantha watched me with narrowed blue eyes, clearly suspicious about my motives.
Once I parked, she unsnapped her seat belt and hopped out of the car before I could open her door. I frowned and glared at her as I stalked over to stand in front of her. “Wait for me to open your door,” I growled.
Samantha’s face registered surprise, and I nodded for emphasis, then captured her hand and led her toward the garage exit.
I might have had a shitty mother, but my brothers and I had been schooled on manners by our older, widowed next-door neighbor, Mrs. Bernie. She’d have our hides if she found out we didn’t “act like gentlemen I raised you to be.”
When we were young, she’d checked in on us every time our parents disappeared. She’d been the reason we always had something to eat, even if it was just a can of soup. She also taught us how to cook, sew on a button, clean…and a lot of other life skills that many people were taught by a parent or guardian.
She’d married young, but her husband was a soldier and he’d been killed in action less than a year after their marriage. She never remarried and had no children. So as we grew up, we began to take care of her instead, doing chores around her house, driving her to appointments, and making sure she had everything she needed.
After making our first big payday, we convinced her to let us set her up in a house that wasn’t falling apart in a better neighborhood. She’d argued something fierce, but eventually we wore her down—mostly because we’d guilted her into it by telling her we wouldn't be distracted worrying about her so much. Jason checked on her frequently, and Jeremy and I visited her any time we were in town for more than a night.
“You don’t have to babysit me, you know.”
Samantha’s sudden comment surprised me, and I glanced down at her with a furrowed brow.
“I’m not babysitting you, Samantha.”
“I’m perfectly capable of doing my job,” she snapped. “And I already have one overbearing brother. I don’t need another.”
We were crossing the street, so I waited until we were safely on the other side and approaching the construction office to respond. I stopped and turned to face her, but my words caught in my throat when I was confronted by the beauty of my woman all riled up.
Fucking hell.
Her blue eyes sparked with fire, her porcelain skin flushed pink, and her pouty lips pursed. Blood rushed to my dick, and I was instantly as hard as a fucking rock.
My gaze darted around us until I spotted a little alcove that would shield us from most eyes. I wrapped my hand over her much smaller one and dragged her over the somewhat hidden spot. I slipped off my glasses and stuck them in my breast pocket as I crowded her until she pressed against the wall. Then I slapped my palms on the concrete on either side of her head.
“Baby, if you think I see you like a sister, you are out of your fucking mind. You must have forgotten what your hot little body does to me. Or how I made you burn for me. So how about I remind you?”