Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
If your ex finds out I was never your boyfriend to start with, do you think he's the type to blab it all over your hometown?
What about your best friend? Do you think she'd be the type to fuss over you for this and end up turning you into an object of pity?
And your parents? If our little deception reaches them, do you think they'd make a big deal out of it?
By the time he had finished outlining Kady's worst nightmare in vivid detail, her face had been ghostly pale, and she had been staring at him like he had just killed her (nonexistent) firstborn. And when her lips had started to tremble and her eyes had begun to fill with tears of distress, the sight had been enough to rouse his often-dormant conscience into an acute state of guilt. It had almost made him want to take the words back.
Almost.
Until, that was, a ghastly alternative scenario popped in his mind: of things going back to normal, just as Kady had suggested, and with every day that passed, she would drift further and further away from him while drawing closer and closer to another man's arms. Another man, who would then have the right to stake a claim on the body he had only the most fleeting taste of.
And that had been it.
So when he had the truck parked in front of the cafe, and Kady, instead of stepping out, had turned to face him and pleaded for advice...
'What do you suggest I do?"
Words had rolled smoothly off his tongue like the finest, deadliest trap—-
'Let me help you get back at Humbug, and I'll even toss in your former best friend's just desserts as a bonus.'
And when she had asked him why he was going to such lengths to help her...
'Don't you really know?'
He had taken her hand while speaking, guiding her fingers to his mouth, and as his lips parted, he saw her eyes widen, saw her swallow and tremble even harder...just before heeding his silent command. Her finger slipping into his mouth. Her gasp as he began to suck. Her moan as he sucked harder. And after one last nip that had her whispering his name -
'Is that answer enough for you?'
KADY WAS ALREADY FRESHLY showered and dressed by the time the first song of Farica's morning playlist kicked in, and Why Do Fools Fall In Love by Frankie Lymons & The Teenagers started playing. Was it just her, or was the older woman truly prescient when it came to her choice of music?
She had barely slept at all, but instead of feeling exhausted and sluggish, she felt insanely lightheaded, almost like she was about to fly and dance in the air any second. Sitting herself in front of the vanity, she shakily ran her brush through her hair, but instead of her reflection staring back at her, Kady's gaze was lost in memories of last night.
His mouth on her nipple...his mouth on her neck...her finger in his...
All those things, and possibly more, she thought dizzily, could continue to happen...
She just had to say yes.
And she wanted to. Oh God, how much she wanted to. It would be tantamount to having a fling or an affair even - something she would have never imagined herself doing. And maybe, if it had been anyone else, she still wouldn't have considered saying yes. It wasn't that far-fetched, considering how she hadn't been able to get rid of her inhibitions with Eric, never mind if they had been going out for years.
But because this was Slade...
Her thoughts continued to swing between yes and no even as she ran down the steps. Do I or do I not—-
A movement in the periphery of her eye caught her attention, and she stopped at the foot of the steps. She turned towards it, and her breath caught.
Slade.
Gorgeous and rugged, he stood by the doorway of his study, still every inch the Hartland Superman that had once terrified her to death. But now...
He crooked a finger towards her.
No, she automatically thought. Don't go. Pretend you didn't see that. Turn and walk away. Now!
But her feet refused to listen to the frantic pleas of her brain, and she found herself moving towards him. One trembling step at a time, until she was standing right in front of him, so painfully close that the scent of his cologne made her stomach clench with the most wanton of urges.
Oh God.
Blue eyes blazing blatantly with hunger raked her from head to toe, slowly and thoroughly, lingering on her breasts until they grew swollen and shamefully prominent against her apron.
"You seem to get sexier and more beautiful every time I see you," Slade said thickly.
"I'm not—-" A finger pressed against her lips, and she fell into startled, wide-eyed silence.
"Rule #1 to enslave guys like Humbug—-"