Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 91288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
What did that mean? What did he know? Ford said there weren’t any cameras in the playrooms. Was that false and some were hidden? Had Dylan watched them? And if he did, why didn’t it bother her?
He skimmed the back of his knuckles down her cheek. “Your nipples are hard.”
There was no denying that fact. They ached and it was no longer from Ford twisting them less than a half hour ago.
This wasn’t good. Her attraction to Dylan was fighting its way back from where she buried it so long ago. After he left, she tried to forget him.
Clearly, she failed.
She shouldn’t desire two different men, should she? Did that make her a bad person?
Why was society so determined to shove people into boxes? And if someone didn’t fit neatly into their perceived box, they were judged. Sometimes harshly.
That fear was why she and Ford weren’t open about their relationship. They pretended to be friends, not lovers. If anyone in town knew their true relationship, they’d be constantly pressured to get engaged, married and have children.
Because that was what was expected in Fisher Falls.
She tried to force herself into a box when she married Kyle. The universe had different ideas.
Chapter Eight
“Why, Erin?”
Why? Why what? She shook herself mentally, pulling herself back to the present.
Oh, that’s right… Her nipples decided to make a bold statement.
“It’s far from cold in here,” he continued.
He wanted her to admit she still wanted him. Even seventeen years later. Practically a lifetime ago. “What do you want me to say, Dylan?”
“Are you afraid of me?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Then, why is there a tremble in your voice? If it’s not fear, what is it?”
She pulled in a breath, trying to stop her body from going haywire. “You know what it is.”
He leaned in even closer and whispered, “Tell me.”
She didn’t want to admit it out loud. If she did, it would feel more real. She shouldn’t have agreed for him to give her a tour.
She tried to convince herself that she wanted to avoid running into him today. However, if that was true, she shouldn’t have showed up for the open house at all.
But she had.
If she searched deep down, he was the reason why. She hadn’t stopped thinking about him since running into him in town, even though she tried her damnedest to do so.
“Erin…”
The way he whispered her name shot a shiver down her spine. Again, not from fear. Not even close.
Wanting him so soon after having sex with Ford couldn’t be normal, could it?
“Do you feel what I feel?”
“Wh—” She cleared her throat when the words got caught. “What do you feel?”
“The chemistry we always had.”
“Is that what that is?” she asked. Again, ignoring the truth.
“What would you call it?”
Foolishness. He’d blamed Kyle for stealing her away when that wasn’t close to being true. It was only sour grapes, plain and simple.
But they had both grown up a lot since then.
Looking at Dylan, she couldn’t ignore the fact that he had definitely grown up. He looked so damn good, it gave him an unfair advantage.
Keep your wits about you, Erin. Don’t fall for him all over again. You might not survive if he rips out your heart a second time.
When she was sixteen, she thought the world was about to end when he left. At thirty-three she knew better, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t capable of causing emotional damage.
If he could leave his family, his friends and his girlfriend so easily the first time, what would stop him a second time?
She glanced around.
The ranch resort.
He was planting roots so deeply in this place, only a tornado could rip him free.
But, she reminded herself, tornadoes did exist. She didn’t want to be the victim of one.
“Erin.”
When she glanced up, their eyes locked. “Hmm?”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“I don’t have an answer. This was all so unexpected.”
“What was? Me coming home to stay, building the resort, or our attraction reigniting?”
“All of it,” she admitted.
His mouth turned slightly up at the corners at the same time he closed the small gap between them and said softly, “So, you do admit you’re still attracted to me.”
“Why are you doing this, Dylan?”
“Because I saw you with Ford and, honestly, it bothered me.”
“It shouldn’t.”
“You were supposed to be mine, Erin.”
Ditto. “You made a choice that changed that.”
“And now I’m making another choice.”
“To cause issues between me and Ford?”
“The way you two explained earlier, it sounded as if he has no claim to you.”
God, why did his deep, rumbling voice make her insides clench? And not in a bad way. In a way that made her very aware of him and how close he was. It wouldn’t take much to…
She forced herself to swallow. “I’m not looking to be claimed, Dylan. I’m my own woman. I don’t need a man to survive.”
“But you need a man for other things.”