Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 134830 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134830 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
CHAPTER 18
KYLE
As soon as I kick the door closed behind me, I’m on Dani, snaking one arm around her waist and the other around her chest, pulling her into me from behind. “You can pretend all you want, but you want me.”
“You talk too much,” Dani says, gasping as I start kissing the side of her neck. “I don’t need your mouth making noise.”
“Then tell me where you need my mouth,” I growl, amused by her bravado.
When Nick opened the door, turning the interior light on his car, I saw the surprise in her eyes. I also watched it morph into relief before I turned my attention to him. She was glad I came, even though she said she was fine. And I saw her step between Nick and me when he tried to threaten me. I sure as shit didn’t need her to come to my defense, but she did, sending him away and me inside.
So yeah, I’m not being arrogant when I say she wants me. She does, maybe even half as much as I want her.
Especially today. I need the distraction she brings, the focus her mouth and her body give me because my mind is a clusterfuck of epic proportions. But this… Dani… here with her, I know what to do, what we both need.
“You want my mouth here?” I run my fingertip over her collarbone, hating that Nick even got to lay eyes on it in this shirt I’ve never seen before.
“No,” she spits out, still sounding mad.
“Or here?” I tease down over the slope of her breast.
“No.” She’s not less fiery, but a different type of fire is overtaking her.
I press my palm to her belly, sliding it down her body to between her legs, where I grip her pussy firmly. “Or here?”
She arches her hips back to give me better access, and I can’t help but grin ferally. “I can feel your heat through your jeans. Don’t try to tell me that’s for Nick because we both know it’s not. It’s for me, isn’t it?”
“You’re still talking.” It sounds like she’s aiming for sassy, but the breathiness in her words says I’m closer to the truth than she wants to admit.
“You want it here, in the living room?”
She shakes her head, pulling away long enough to take my hand and lead me down the short hallway to her bedroom. I don’t take the time to look around much, but I get the sense of a small bed covered in a brightly colored comforter, a dresser, and a blue chair in the corner of the white room.
She turns, wrapping her arms around my neck and finally… finally… I’m kissing her again.
Her mouth is exactly what I need, washing away the jumble of thoughts I’ve had while I sat on her porch—thoughts of my family, my life, and of why the fuck Dani was on a date after telling me that she doesn’t want that. Even with everything else, that stood out starkly, maybe because it’s so fresh, or maybe because I didn’t think Dani would do anything she didn’t want to do and it hurt that she was with another guy.
“You don’t need a guy like that,” I whisper hotly, pushing her chin up so I can kiss that spot beneath her ear and nibble down the tendon in her neck.
“Who?” she moans.
“Nick.”
I don’t know why I’m even reminding her of his name because she’s never going to see him again. Not if I have anything to do with it. Hell, she said as much when she told him to leave, but it still irritates me that she spent hours with him tonight after blowing me off.
She laughs. “I don’t need a nice guy who doesn’t fight first, ask questions later?” She needling me on purpose, winding me up tighter and tighter just to watch me spin out, but if I’m going, I’m taking her with me into the chaos.
“A guy who would either let you walk all over him because he doesn’t know what to do with your fire or who would break your spirit because he’s not strong enough to stand at your side when you’re at your best.”
I feel her stiffen in my arms as she pulls back to look at me. “You think you’re strong enough?”
I look deep into her eyes and tell her the truth. “I think I’m strong enough to put up with your bullshit and see it for what it is—fear.”
She frowns hard, jutting her chin out defiantly. “I’m not scared of anything.”
It’s my turn to laugh. “You’re scared shitless to let people get close to you because if they get through your tough exterior, then they’ll just be one more person to take advantage of you. I know, because I do the same damn thing.”
Her eyes scan my face, looking for any sign that I’m fucking with her. She won’t find it because one thing I’m coming to realize is that Dani and I are two peas in the same damn pod.