Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 24323 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 122(@200wpm)___ 97(@250wpm)___ 81(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24323 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 122(@200wpm)___ 97(@250wpm)___ 81(@300wpm)
Keiran gave his men a week to finish the job. But what he didn't realize was how by the end of that same week...he would also end up rescuing Cadence from disaster two fucking times more.
There was that day she had her nose stuck between the pages of another cookbook, and she was so intent on what she was reading that she didn't even realize she was about to walk straight into a wall...if not for Keiran seeing her from across the hallway and saving her cute little nose from a bloody fate.
And then there was the other time when she didn't see a wet spot on the floor, and it was Keiran again losing his cool as he sprinted like the next fucking Usain Bolt, and all so he could keep her from cracking her skull wide open.
Thank fuck his men were about to finish the job today...or this girl would kill him far more easily than his enemies ever had a chance to.
But just as Keiran was about to leave and walk out of her life for good—-
Are you fucking kidding me?
He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a girl with shoulder-length caramel-colored hair balanced precariously on a flimsy-looking branch as she tried her best to reach for God knew what.
What the hell was wrong with this girl?
Keiran was tempted to just walk out then and there.
But then he saw the branch start to break—-
Ah, fuck.
Cadence could only gulp when she once again found herself in the arms of the only man she had ever crushed on.
Keiran.
And as always, he looked absolutely furious with her as he dumped her back on her feet.
"Why can't you just fucking ask for help when you need to?" Keiran snarled.
"I—-I'm s-sorry," Cadence stammered. "I didn't m-mean to—-"
"Then stop trying to give me a heart attack, dammit!"
"I wasn't—-"
"Then why do you keep getting into trouble whenever I'm around?" Keiran growled. "Or is that your way of trying to catch my attention?"
Cadence's face turned red when she realized what he was implying. "I...I..." She found herself taking a step back as her body started to shake. "I would n-never..."
Keiran realized two things as he watched her doe-like eyes slowly fill with tears.
The first truth that hit him? He had hurt her.
The second truth that hit him? He cared that he had hurt her because he wanted her.
FUCK, FUCK, FUCK.
All Cadence wanted to do was flee, but no sooner had she turned around when he spun her back around, and she found herself gazing up into Keiran's eyes.
"Damn you."
The words should've hurt her. Scared her. But instead it made Cadence catch her breath because of how his voice had suddenly turned rough, and even in her innocence, there was no mistaking the desire in his eyes.
"I d-didn't mean to fall," she heard herself say unevenly. "I'm n-not lying—-"
"I know."
Then why did he—-
"I wish I could convince myself you're lying," Keiran bit out, "but I know you're not, and that's what makes it hard for men like me to forget why we have to stay away."
Cadence swallowed hard. She knew she wasn't supposed to say this, but...
"What if I don't want you to stay away?"
One second, they were standing a few feet apart.
The next moment, she was pressed against a stone wall in the garden, hidden behind a curtain of hedges and flowering vines. Far from prying eyes. Far enough to hide what he was about to do to her.
His mouth crashed into hers.
It wasn’t gentle.
It wasn’t slow.
It was like a man on the edge of death, dragging her down with him.
Cadence moaned into his mouth, fingers clinging to his shirt even as he kissed her like he hated her for being so damn perfect.
Keiran's hand slid under her skirt, and a groan escaped him when he found her already wet for his touch.
Cadence bit her lip to keep from making a sound, but then his fingers stroked her again, deeper, slower, and her knees buckled.
“K-Keiran—”
He clamped his hand over her mouth, his voice like gravel against her skin. “Don’t. Say. My name.”
Her body trembled as his fingers found the sensitive nub at the center of her, circling, pressing, teasing.
She whimpered behind his hand, and Keiran could only clench his jaw as the sound had him throbbing more painfully behind his pants.
“You have no idea what you do to me,” he growled. “No idea how close I am to ruining everything."
He slid two fingers inside her, and she gasped against his palm.
“Shh,” he whispered, his mouth brushing her temple. “It's okay. I'm just giving you what we both want. And you want this, don't you?”
His Cadence nodded frantically, her breathing coming out in cute little gasps, her sweet hips already starting to move with his rhythm.
“That’s it,” Keiran urged. “Just like that. Take what I give you.”