Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 62362 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 312(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62362 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 312(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
Knox grimaced, remembering. Far be it for his brother to actually put in the work to make himself respectable. He looked up at the woman sitting beside him. Jade had obviously fallen for Theo, unaware of his true nature.
“It sucks that you had to deal with his behavior. Theo is a piece of work,” Knox admitted. “He thinks things come easily to me. And yes, I worked for the team out of business school, and when Dad died, I inherited it. But I inherited a team that hadn’t made the post-season in years. I’ve worked hard to build a championship organization.” He shook his head in disgust, thinking of his brother. “It’s always been a constant argument with him about how life is unfair. The less often I see Theo, the better.”
Her features grew soft with understanding. “And your wife? I mean ex-wife?”
He raised an eyebrow. Jade was digging deep, but then, he’d done the same. “Celia was different when we married. My dad had just passed away and I was in a bad way. She was there. But once she was exposed to having a lot of money, she changed. She wanted more. I tried to be available to her despite how busy I was between taking over the team and settling my father’s estate. No amount of time together ever satisfied her. She wanted to be my focus all the time.”
Jade twisted her lips. “It doesn’t seem like she went about getting your attention in the best way—not if she wanted to keep you as her husband.”
He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, that ship has sailed.”
If Celia hadn’t cheated, Knox would never have considered ending the marriage. He’d seen how his parents’ divorce had hurt his father, and his dad had raised him alone until Theo and Holly’s mother came along. Knox had been determined to make his marriage work, but infidelity was something he just couldn’t overlook. It helped that, by the end, his heart hadn’t been engaged for a long time.
He studied the woman beside him. She ran her finger over the rim of her water glass, deep in thought.
“What about you?” Knox asked. “Are you over Theo?”
She lifted her gaze, her eyes locking on his. “Are you kidding? I was over him the day I found out.”
He leveled her with a knowing stare.
“Okay, fine.” She held up both hands in submission. “It took a long time to get over the hurt, but I really believe it was the pain of being duped and cheated on that stayed with me. Not to mention, it reinforced the fact that I don’t trust my judgment when it comes to people. Especially men.”
He winced at her admission but she obviously believed it was the truth.
“Anyway, once again, my brother came to the rescue. Zach assured me that I’d dodged a bullet. And that, in short, is why I am on an official man fast.”
Knox jumped on her statement. “What’s a man fast?”
“I’ve decided that there’s no place for a man in my life. I’m done with relationships.”
“After what you’ve been through, I can understand that. And honestly, I can relate, too.” But he was attracted to her.
She had an outgoing personality, which was always a turn-on for him, a curvy body he longed to touch with his hands and his mouth, and full lips he was dying to kiss.
“Jade,” he said in a gruff voice meant to let her know things between them had taken a more sensual turn.
“Yes?” Her eyes were open wide.
“I’m not looking for a relationship, either.” He picked up her hand and settled his thumb on the rapidly beating pulse in her wrist. “But I do want you.”
Her lips parted and a small puff of air escaped. “But my man fast…” She said the words without any heat behind them.
He grinned. “Change the definition. You’re now purging relationships from your life. That leaves wiggle room for many, many other things.”
She widened her gaze, her eyes dancing with delight. “It does, doesn’t it?”
Yeah, he liked this woman. “It means you can come home with me tonight and we can have some fun.”
Her tempting tongue swept over her bottom lip again. “In your bed?”
He nodded, his fingers toying with her hand, his thumb pressing into her palm. “And out of it.”
Her eyes dilated, a haze of desire washing over them. “No strings.”
“None.”
“Just one night?” she asked for confirmation, her voice firm.
He grinned because he’d already won. These negotiations were just foreplay. Damn, he loved an easy win—not that he considered Jade at all easy. Just well worth his time.
“One night only,” he assured her. “Agreed?”
She leaned close, her lips inches from his. The scent of coconut aroused him more than any expensive perfume he’d ever smelled.
“Get the check, Mr. Sinclair. We have a deal.”
* * *
No second thoughts. Jade repeated the mantra as she accompanied Knox to the Uber he’d called to take them to his building. Her palms itched with the need to put her hands all over his muscular body, and the urge to kiss him and taste him for the first time was strong. So no apprehension, no changing her mind. She planned to enjoy tonight. Enjoy him.