Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
I huff out a breath and take a step back. “Get in,” I tell her gruffly.
She turns in her seat, and when she reaches for the seatbelt, I grab it and pull it across her chest and insert it into the slot next to her hip. She’s holding her breath the whole time, and I swear the air between us is electric.
Without saying another word, I shut the door and walk around to the driver’s side.
She sits quietly beside me the whole way, and I know I’ve fucked up. We’re almost to her ranch before she starts to talk. “Do you regret kissing me, Rhett?”
I can’t look at her because if I do, I’ll confess all the times I’ve thought about kissing her. “No, I don’t regret it… but it can’t happen again.”
She crosses her arms over her chest. “Because of Margie?”
When she mentions my wife who died ten years ago, I wait for some kind of pang in my chest, maybe guilt or something, but it never comes. “No, this doesn’t have anything to do with Margie.”
She turns in her seat, and thank goodness I’m pulling into her driveway. I know I can’t refuse her for long. I can feel her staring at me, but I keep my eyes on the road. “What is it then? Why can’t this happen again?”
I lean up in my seat and look out at the road in front of me. I might as well tell her. She won’t give up until I do. “Where should I start? Because you’re my best friend's little sister.”
She cuts in. “I’m an adult and have been for a long time.”
I ignore her and continue. “Because you’re twelve years younger than me.”
“Age is just a number.”
I cut her off and start to ramble all the reasons I’ve convinced myself of why this is not possible. “Because you have your whole life in front of you, because you deserve more than some broke cowboy, because people like your stupid ex will think I’m trying to take your land from you, because you deserve better than me.”
I stop in front of her house and slam the gear into park. I’m huffing like I’m out of breath, but more than anything, I’m pissed off. I want Maddie. Hell, I’d give anything to be with Maddie, but that’s not in the cards for me. It can never happen.
I hear the click of her seatbelt and drag my eyes off the dash and look at her. She’s up on her knees coming toward me. Fuck me, I should get out. Hell, I should walk away and not look back, but I can’t. She doesn’t stop until she’s straddling my lap, and when she sits down, fitting her body to mine, I inhale sharply. This is too much.
Her hands grip my shoulders, and she presses her breasts against my chest. I look like a crazy person, with my hands held up in the air, refusing to touch her. At this point, I’m wondering if I am crazy.
“Rhett.” She says my name huskily, and all I can think is I would love to hear her say it when I’m impaling her on my cock.
My voice is strangled when I say her name. “Maddie.”
Her thumb is tracing the vein in my neck that is vibrating under her touch. I’m losing all control here, and if I don’t rein it in soon, I can’t be blamed for what I might do.
“Maddie, baby, we can’t. I can’t.”
CHAPTER 5
MADDIE
This is not me. I’m not the type to climb onto a man’s lap. Hell, I’m not a forward person at all, but hearing Rhett say that he wants me and then list all the asinine reasons of why he can’t have me has pushed me to the limit. How this man thinks I could do better than him is beyond me. There’s no other man better than him.
I grab his hands and hold them between us. While looking into his eyes, I ask him, “Do you have any idea how many times I’ve thought about these hands? How many times I’ve dreamed about you touching me with them?”
He grunts, but he doesn’t pull away. I lower our hands and move them to my hips. I can’t help myself; when his fingers dig into my waist, I scoot closer. The bulge in his jeans presses against me, and I throw my head back and twist my lower half on top of him.
He holds me tighter, and I’m not sure if it’s to stop me or bring me closer. The conflict on his face is obvious, and I know he’s struggling with this, but I also know I’ll regret it if I don’t tell him how I feel.
While grinding on his lap, I lean into his chest. I trace my finger over his jaw. “Did you know that when you come over, I want to be close to you? Sometimes, I just stand next to you and listen to you talk all while imagining you holding my hand, touching me, kissing me.”