Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 111359 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 557(@200wpm)___ 445(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111359 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 557(@200wpm)___ 445(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
But he just nodded. “That’s fair.”
“It . . . it is?”
“Yeah, baby. But I’m hoping you trust me enough to know I’m not going to hurt you. And I won’t let anyone else hurt you, either. However, I’m worried about you. So, will you let Jenna take some blood? And let me help?”
What else could she do but nod?
“That’s my girl.”
His girl. She waited for it to feel wrong, but to her shock, her stomach grew warm with pleasure. Okay, she didn’t mind being called his girl.
“I’m ready when you are,” Jenna said quietly.
She gulped in a breath. She was going to be sick.
Then Raid suddenly picked her up and put her in his lap. And now she had a new set of problems to contend with. Because when she’d been in his lap before, she’d been too upset to truly notice his body. Or how it felt against hers.
His thighs were hard and muscular under her bottom and thighs. His firm chest was against her side. His scent was utterly delicious, like leather and a bit of spice.
So. Yummy.
Steven had always smelled sweet. Like vanilla. And she’d always loved that scent.
But then she’d grown to hate it.
Now, taking in Raid’s scent, she could appreciate the rough masculinity of his scent. He smelled real. Not artificial.
“Raid,” she whispered. Her stomach had dropped slightly.
This is Raid.
“It’s me,” he whispered. “Remember, I’m not him. I’m not going to hurt you.”
She heard Jenna take in a sharp breath. Crap. She must have heard him.
“Don’t think about anyone else but me. Just me. Put your face against my neck.”
She buried herself into him as she felt him pull her arm out. A whimper escaped her.
Damn it.
She sucked in a breath.
The sleeve of her oversized shirt was rolled up.
“Gonna need you to breathe, baby,” Raid told her.
She shook her head, determined to hold in her whimper as Jenna tightened the strap around her arm.
Crap. Crap. Crap.
“Baby, breathe,” Raid urged.
She felt the prick of the needle.
“You can relax, Hannah,” Jenna told her.
She shook her head as her lungs burned.
“Hannah. Breathe.” The command was impossible to ignore, as was the way he squeezed her stomach with his arm. Her breath whooshed out of her, then back in.
Shit.
She felt light-headed. She might have held her breath a bit too long.
“You’re being so good,” he murmured to her.
Shit.
She waited for the nausea to hit her at hearing that word. But it only came in a small wave. She tensed, then relaxed.
“So good.”
Right. She got it now. First, calling her ‘my girl’ and then ‘good’.
“I know what you’re doing,” she said as she felt Jenna place something on her inner elbow.
“What’s that?”
“You’re trying to desensitize me to those words.”
“No flies on you.”
She snorted.
“All done,” Jenna said. “You can relax now.”
Hannah turned to look at Jenna, who shot her a quick wink. She felt her cheeks growing warm.
Crap. How had she forgotten that she was sitting on Raid’s lap? She wriggled, trying to get off, but Raid grabbed hold of her hips, holding her still with a grunt.
“Let me up.”
“Nope,” Raid replied. “Need you to stay where you are for the moment.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll let myself out,” Jenna said, her lips twitching as she grabbed her bag. “I’ll let you know the results as soon as I have them. But in the meantime, rest, drink lots of water, and eat. Okay, Hannah? You’re due at work next on Tuesday?”
“Ah, yeah.”
Why wouldn’t Raid let her up? She moved her hips and he let out a small grunt. She froze. Shit. Was she hurting him?
Or something else?
Crap.
“If you’re not feeling up to it, then don’t force yourself to come in, understand?” Jenna said.
“All right.”
“I’ll let myself out.” Jenna’s face turned stern. “Raid, don’t hurt my friend or I will hurt you. Get me?”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Then Jenna was gone. And whoa, had she just warned Raid away from harming her?
That had been intense.
“Let me up,” she said in a breathless voice.
Yeah? Do you want up? Or do you want to grind against the hard-on you can feel pressed against you?
Raid gave her another squeeze and kissed the side of her face. “Relax, baby. I might be turned on, but that doesn’t mean anything has to happen.”
“Aren’t you in pain? Wouldn’t it be better if I got off you?” Part of her couldn’t believe she was having this conversation.
At one stage in her life, she’d have been ecstatic to know that Raid Malone was turned on by her. Now, she wasn’t quite sure what to do with it.
“In pain? A little bit. But it’s not anything I can’t handle. I spent most of my teenage years with a hard-on. Fucking pain in the ass when you get a boner in the middle of Stats class. Well, not a pain in the ass, as such.”