Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 83676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 418(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 418(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
When we part, we’re both panting, our eyes dark and full of lust for each other. I feel her everywhere, and I can’t believe I thought I could walk away from this woman.
I need her, but then I remember, she hasn’t agreed.
I brush my nose against hers. “Lou.”
Her lips curve a bit as she leans into me, her breasts grazing my chest. “Ciaran.”
My cock is rock hard, but I will cross the ocean that I created between us. “Say yes.”
Her eyes dance with mine, her lips all swollen and puffy from our kiss. I want them to stay like that, evidence of our kisses on display for everyone to know she’s all mine. I’m so engrossed in her beauty, in her scent, in all of her. I know I’ll be devastated if she says no, but the gleam in her eyes tells me she won’t.
She can’t. She wants me just as wildly as I want her.
With a husky sigh and a grin just for me, she says, “Yes.”
CHAPTER 24
Louisa
I like Ciaran.
I like Ciaran a lot.
I mean, I knew I liked how he kissed, how he brought me pleasure, and how he made me laugh, but sitting across from him in a ritzy hotel restaurant with low lighting and a violin playing, I realize I like him more than I assumed I could in such a short time, if that even makes sense. I don’t know. I just know I haven’t stopped smiling or giggling since he picked me up. When he picked me up, still in his suit, he didn’t even take in my whole outfit before he murmured, “Beautiful.”
Just that one word, and I don’t think I’ve stopped swooning.
Dinner is exquisite. The food is incredible, but the company is even better. I have never been so captivated by a man as I am with him. Each story he tells is a production, and I find myself on the edge of my seat as I listen. He grew up in Michigan with his mom and grandma. All his siblings were out of the house by the time he turned ten. He never met his dad and hasn’t cared to find him or have a relationship. He told me about the fact that he has been playing hockey since he was four. His older brothers played, and they found he was a natural. He played for the US team for the Olympics, and his travel team was one of the best in the States. He considered going to the Russian leagues so he could play more, but he really wants to make it here, and I respect that.
I respect him.
Ciaran isn’t like some of the hockey players I’ve met. Maybe it’s because Austen’s fiancé is already in the NHL, but a lot of his friends seem like they’re full of themselves. Like they’re God’s gift to hockey. But I don’t get that vibe from Ciaran. He’s confident and loves the sport, but unlike some I’ve met, he’s humble.
“I’ve got a question,” he says as he tucks his credit card back in his wallet.
“Yes?”
He gets up, holding his hand out for me, and I take it. He tucks my hand in his arm, and we start for the front door. “Are you and your sisters named after Jane Austen characters?”
I grin, and I don’t know why it pleases me that he put that together. “We are. My mom read every Jane Austen novel she could get her hands on when she was younger. My peepaw said he wanted her to know what true love was—though, that backfired.”
He brings in his brows as we walk out to the car. “How so?”
“My mom never found that true love. She just found trash,” I say, shaking my head. “I don’t like talking about her.”
“I get it,” he says as he opens the door of his truck for me. He helps me in, but when I think he’ll shut the door, he reaches for me, gripping the back of my neck and pulling me to him. Our lips meet, and heat burns throughout my whole body. Chills run down my spine at his gentle touch, how his thumb moves below my jaw possessively. When we part, our eyes meet, and his lips curve up in a devastating smirk. “I wanted to do that all through dinner.”
My face breaks into a wide grin. “Why didn’t you?”
He shrugs. “I really don’t know, only that I couldn’t resist any longer.”
I kiss his top lip, cupping his face in my hands. “Don’t resist. Kiss me whenever you want.”
Pure heat fills his eyes, and a guttural groan leaves his lips before he takes my lips with more urgency. I gasp against his mouth, and that gives him the opening he needs. His tongue curves along mine, tasting me all over, and I’m lost in the kiss. It’s so deep, so thorough, and I can’t get enough. I thread my fingers through his hair, and he groans as he pulls back. “I will not take you in this truck with the whole city here to see us.”