Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55271 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55271 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
“This is Ledger,” I answer the phone, annoyed because it’s another instance where Tulsa has to wait on me. I hit the speakerphone button.
“Hi, Ledger, this is Ella. You usually stop by the office by now. I’ve sent you a few emails that need a response by this afternoon.” The woman in front of me is staring me down, daggers in her eyes with every word Ella says over the phone line.
“I’ll look at them now. If you need anything else, call Chase. I’m busy.” The reason I’m about to slam my phone against the counter? Well, it seems Ella has hit a nerve with Tulsa. She’s power walking out of the kitchen. I figure she’s going upstairs to get away from Ella. I get it, really. No one is a fan of Ella, least of all Chase and I, but for Tulsa to stomp off? That’s different.
“Oh, okay. Again?” she asks. I hear the side door slam shut.
“Yep. If you’d like to keep your job, I’d suggest you learn to cope without me at the office or answering you twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.” I hit the end button and throw my phone down on the counter. It seems I’ve got a wild butterfly on the loose.
I’m out the door, wearing nothing but my jeans, the top button undone. I still need a shower. Talking to Tulsa was the first thing on my mind. I follow her path, open the door, and walk around the side of the house to look for her. If it weren’t for the fact that her wild hair is flying behind her, I may have missed her taking off down the trail that leads from my place to hers.
“Tulsa Rose, get your pretty ass back here! We can’t talk if you run away from me,” I tell her, picking up the pace. She has shorter legs than I do. For one of my strides, she needs to take two.
“Go away, Ledger! That cum-guzzling gutter slut can have your phone number, work for you, yet you couldn’t fit it in your time to respond. Shit, the Return to sender on the letter I sent should have been an answer enough. No answer is an answer. Damn, you could have at least said, Lick it, put a stamp on it, and mail it to someone who gives a shit!” She doesn’t stop run-walking until I make it to her, hands going to her hips, my front against her back. I’m stunned speechless. I have no idea what the hell she’s talking about.
“I give a damn. I’m not sure what happened, where our lines were crossed, but I’m going to give this to you straight. I was protecting you, in a weird fucked-up way, giving you time to spread your wings, not to keep you at arm’s length. I gave Flay my number. If you had called him, he’d have given it to you without hesitating. As for Ella, we’ll discuss that, and soon, but right now, we’ve got our own issues before adding others into the mix.” My hands that were gripping her hips wrap around her lower waist, my lips at her ear, but that still doesn’t calm her down.
“Well, Ledger, I should have done a lot of things. We both should have.” I can feel how tense her body is. The emotion swirling through her body are not grief; its hurt with a tinge of anger.
“You’re right. Will you come back inside? My work knows I’m off for the day. Now,”—my nose nudges her hair away from her neck, my mouth salivating at that thought of grazing my tongue along her skin, finally getting a taste of her—“it’s hot out today. Our feet are liable to catch on fire, and I’d rather not get sunburnt.” Unable to control myself, not that I ever could around the woman in my arms, I graze my lips along her neck. A sweep of my tongue glides along her pulse point. Her body melts, the tension is gone, and in its place is the Tulsa I know and love.
“Fine, but I can’t be held responsible if you keep touching me like you are. You’ve kept my body on a slow sizzle, and I’m damn tired of holding out,” she admits.
“Tulsa, we’re going to happen. I’m telling you right here and now, soon the whole fucking town will know that you’re mine. You want to know why your brother put that stipulation in his will? It’s because he knew. He saw the hunger in my eyes, saw the way you twitched your ass around me. And the shirt he stole? It was all on purpose. I don’t fault him for it. You shouldn’t either. He was protecting you. We’re the ones who screwed up along the way.” I back away from her. My hand reaches for hers, and I lock our fingers together.