Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 47165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
It’s pretty crowded, with most folks just wanting to get where they have to and out of the weather.
It feels like this is meant to be because every time I nearly lose him at a crosswalk or when someone slams into me, I notice he’s stopping at ATMs.
Loading up with cash.
He’s either not from around here or just too rich as fuck to care and be walking around downtown anywhere with that much money, but that’s not what I really notice about him or his massive stature.
Okay, so maybe it is the way he fills that huge coat, with what the world can see is pure muscle straining against every inch of thick, tailored fabric.
But there’s that something else not many people in this world have.
Presence.
Like a celebrity or something, I’ve only seen it up close a few times. That kind of magic that really makes someone stand out from any crowd.
Makes me give an involuntary sound once I feel warmth brewing in certain parts of my body despite the freezing weather.
That’s the man ahead of me, but it looks like he has company that won’t include me anytime soon.
When I finally get close enough to get a better look, the group I think might be following him slows up too.
I figure the three guys must know him at first somehow until it’s clear from their fist bumps that once he starts pulling cash from ATMs like he’s won the lottery, they have something else in mind.
Just keep walking, Holls. You’ve got enough problems without….
Shit. Too late.
It’s like once I see them surrounding him, my heart freezes in my chest.
It’s my whole life today in one picture. Everything I want and feel like I should have is suddenly ripped away by a bunch of assholes.
And it looks like I’m not the only one having a bad day, so I say enough.
I can hear someone screaming, shouting profanity with the icy breeze whipping at my face.
Holy shit, I’m actually running.
The screaming voice turns out to be my own, and once I’m nearly hit by a cab that honks loudly, a dozen people or more turn to see the commotion and I realize I may have just saved my man from harm but not from losing his wallet.
The three thugs disappear in different directions, masters of their sleazy and streetwise craft.
All eyes are on me once I make it across the street, but all my attention is on the huge man propping himself up on one elbow, gingerly rubbing the back of his head with his other hand before he slumps backward again.
The closer I get, the more I realize just how big he actually is.
Like wild animals when you see them up close in real life.
I swallow hard, breathless, and not just from running.
That presence I mentioned?
This guy doesn’t just have it. He freaking oozes it.
And right now, even though he’s flat out, he is it. And in no time, I can feel him, his whole presence, and his natural manly scent, everything as it works its way through my senses and straight down to my happy place.
It feels like there’s a giant bubble around us as the sidewalk traffic moves silently like an old movie, nobody even bothering to stop and help.
Nobody cares. Too busy. Too cold.
It’s Christmas.
But I care, and although I was cold earlier, now I’m almost too hot as I kneel beside him, just quick enough to catch his head before it falls backward again, in and out of consciousness.
I’m no first aid expert, but this guy’s head got hit badly, and he probably needs a hospital, even just as a precaution.
The weight of his head pulls me forward, and with my large chest, I accidentally start to suffocate him with it as I try to hold him up. But it seems to revive him more than anything.
His hands reach for my arms, and his piercing dark eyes flutter open.
I shiver a gasp as his sleeve brushes my crazy stiff nipples. I’m wearing three layers, and I swear to god, it feels like he’s touching my naked body.
“I… ugh…,” he stammers, barely audible over the street noise, but the depth of the sound from him goes right into me.
“You’re gonna be okay,” I hear someone assuring him. Shocked when I realize it’s my own voice again. My hands steady as I hold his head from the sidewalk, but once he opens those eyes and grips me harder, I’m shaking like a leaf.
And in the best possible way.
“Ange… Angel!” he gasps, looking up at me, his huge hand shifting my hair from my face.
Oh boy. If he only knew the day I’ve had so far. The thoughts I had about my boss?
I’m no angel, buddy.
“I’m Holly,” I tell him, jumping with a gasp when his huge fingers shift from my hair to my face, cupping my cheek that feels white-hot under his touch.