Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 110(@200wpm)___ 88(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 110(@200wpm)___ 88(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
“You look real pretty,” I whisper.
She licks her plump bottom lip. “Then maybe you should kiss me again.”
7
MAISY
“You look real pretty,” Striker tells me as I sit on his couch. It’s sagging and terribly uncomfortable. But I don’t care about any of that because his gaze is on me. Hearing about his growing up years made me want to cry for him and his brother. No wonder he’s gotten such a reputation as a fighter. That’s what he’s had to be to survive.
While I was in the bathroom, my phone buzzed. A number I didn’t recognize sent me a message. No captions, just photos of Tristan out at a restaurant with his arm around another woman. They looked pretty cozy. Worse, there were multiple pictures of him with different women.
Though I don’t have feelings for him, it still angered me. He’s been telling me how much he’s looking forward to this marriage. He even said that I’ll grow to love him. All this time, the snake has been lying to me. He hasn’t been faithful. He doesn’t even know what the word means.
But the crazy part is that I’m still going to marry him. I won’t let my brothers go homeless because I find the man revolting. But we won’t share more than a chaste kiss at the wedding. I’ll never be intimate with the man.
I lick my suddenly dry lips, thinking of my future husband who isn’t faithful at all. He’s a liar at best. A cheat at worst. “Then maybe you should kiss me again.”
Something flickers in Striker’s gaze, a primal hunger that creates an answering ache in my body. “I’m not gonna stop at just kissing you this time, my pearl.”
Between the warning and the nickname, I melt deeper into his arms. I was right. He isn’t anything like he lets people think. He’s an amazing man, a savage warrior for his brother, and so protective over me.
An image of him holding our little baby pops into my mind. I can imagine his big hands cupping the child’s head as he coos down at him. He’ll be an incredible dad. The kind that will always lead gently and love fiercely.
“I don’t want you to stop,” I admit. Every decision I’ve made in the past four months has been about other people. Honoring my parents, protecting my brothers, preserving our family’s legacy. Tonight, I’ll make a decision for me. One night that I can look back on years later and remember with fondness when I’m sad and lonely.
He cups the back of my neck, the gesture strangely possessive and I realize how much I love this. I love the feeling of being owned by Striker. Even if it’s only for tonight, I want to feel what it would be like to be his woman. To have his lips all over me, his tongue on my clit, to feel his big cock ram into my aching body.
“Need you to be sure.” His deep voice sends a shiver down my spine. What’s happening between us is primal and untamed. It’s going to be wild and messy and so damn hot.
“I’m sure.” There will be no morning-after regrets here. I’ll take this one night with him and treasure it for the rest of my life.
He doesn’t waste time. The moment that Striker knows I’m sure, his mouth is slanting over mine in an explosive kiss. His tongue is stroking me as he groans, the sound vibrating down my throat.
I clutch at his shoulders as he tugs me onto his lap. His big hands slip under my skirt, finding my ass cheeks and squeezing. He pulls away from me, a deep scowl on his face. “You’d better be wearing panties under here or I will tan your hide.”
His words cause moisture to gush between my legs. I don’t doubt for a second that Striker would make good on his threat and for some reason, I love the thought of being across his lap while he smacks my ass. I have a dozen fantasies of this man and the thought that we won’t get to play out even half of them makes me sad.
“It’s a thong,” I explain.
He grunts and squeezes me tighter. I’m pretty sure I’ll have his fingerprints on my skin tomorrow and I love the thought. “Your skirts make me work my cock twice a day as it is, woman. Now you’re telling me your bare ass cheeks are against that thin little material?”
I roll my eyes. “You can’t wear granny panties with a short skirt.”
As I’d hoped, the eye roll earns me a swat on the bottom. Stinging pain blooms for a moment quickly replaced by pleasure as he kneads my cheeks again. I never expected to enjoy having my ass rubbed but with him, I love it. “You don’t sass me. Ever.”