Total pages in book: 19
Estimated words: 17835 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 89(@200wpm)___ 71(@250wpm)___ 59(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 17835 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 89(@200wpm)___ 71(@250wpm)___ 59(@300wpm)
He was so close now, his body almost pressed right against mine. I took a step back on instinct, the door stopping my retreat.
“Tex, the asshole was harmless. He was wearing a polo shirt and penny loafers in a sports bar, for hell’s sake. He was so out of his element he probably didn’t even realize the Jack and Coke he was drinking was watered the hell down, thanks to Bo,” I whispered, Tex so close to me now I couldn’t breathe.
He chuckled. “You’re tough as nails, I’ll give you that, but that won’t stop me from making sure you’re okay.”
“What are you really doing here?” My heart was thundering and my throat was tight. This moment right here, right now, was pretty damn intimate. We’d never been like this before, not unless you counted that one party Tex threw where I got a little too drunk and “accidentally” rubbed up on him.
“I came in for some wings and a beer, but that motherfucker ruined a perfectly good night for me.” He grinned but it seemed far from amused.
“You’ve been coming in here a lot lately.” I tried to sound like I had my shit together … I was failing.
He didn’t say anything, but the way he looked at me, his gaze continuously dipping down to my lips. I found myself licking them, my heart pounding, my palms sweating.
“Calissa, I need you out there waiting tables.” Bo’s voice came through the closed door and my pulse jackknifed even harder.
“Be right there,” I answered back but didn’t take my focus off of Tex.
“I need you now,” Bo said, more demanding and trying to open the door, but my body was pressed right against it. “What the hell, Calissa?”
Tex gently pulled me away, his touch like fire on my skin, making me wet, causing my nipples to bead up. He had me pulled behind him as he opened the door, blocking my view of Bo. For a long second everyone was silent, and I felt the tension in the room, thick, suffocating.
“She’ll get back to fucking work when she gets back to fucking work, Bo.”
I heard Bo clear his throat.
I cleared my throat, too, and moved out from behind Tex. “I’m coming now.” I glared at Tex. “I do have to get back to work.” I moved past Bo, his glare still on Tex. I wasn’t about to get in the middle of that pissing contest.
Before I got back on the floor I looked over my shoulder and could see Tex staring at me, his big body seeming tense, the serious expression on his face making me feel all kinds of emotions. Because the way he looked at me made me feel like he … wanted me.
3
Tex
I was hard just thinking about Calissa back-talking me the last time I’d seen her. It had been several days since I had been at the bar, putting my mark on her even if she didn’t know it yet.
Her sass was the fire I needed, but for a man who knew what he wanted in life and how to go about getting it, I felt so fucking lost in this moment. I had no clue how to go about telling Calissa she was mine without sounding like some alpha asshole.
I sat behind my desk, staring at the computer screen that showed me work that needed my attention, but my mind was elsewhere. I leaned back in the chair, the leather creaking from my weight. My security business was my top priority, or it should have been. It’s what I’d worked for my entire life. But ever sense I realized I wanted Calissa as mine, it seemed like nothing else mattered.
I couldn’t even focus, and as much as that should probably piss me off, I knew that making sure she was irrevocably mine was exactly what I was supposed to do. That was what I should have done when I first realized what I wanted, how I felt for her.
She was supposed to be my wife, the mother of my children. The very thought of her carrying my baby had every possessive and protective instinct in me rising up.
I pushed the thought of her out of my head, at least for the time being, and pulled up the new customer report. I had to install a security system on a property later today, and if I didn’t get my shit in order, I’d lose my mind. But with each passing day I couldn’t help but want Calissa even more. She consumed my thoughts. I thought about her as soon as I woke up, and she was the last thing on my mind before I went to bed. I wanted her by my side, wanted to know that she was safe. Maybe it was my line of work that made me feel so possessive and territorial of her, but the caveman instinct in me just wanted to demand that she was mine.