Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 128980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 645(@200wpm)___ 516(@250wpm)___ 430(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 645(@200wpm)___ 516(@250wpm)___ 430(@300wpm)
And walk face-first into someone. Everything held in my hands tumbles to my feet, and my lungs balloon from my shocked inhalation, ready to rush out on a frightened scream.
Chapter 23
JAKE
I only just get my hand over her mouth before she lets loose with what I knew would be a scream that would probably stretch from here to Manchester. Her eyes are wide and frightened as I seize her and carry her into the bathroom, squinting as I enter to avoid being blinded by the offensive amount of gold.
I push the door closed with my foot and set her on her feet, being sure to get my face in her field of vision before I release her mouth. It takes her a few seconds to focus, and I see the moment she realizes it’s me. Her whole body softens in my arms, her dull eyes sparking back to life. Oh God, the feel of her, the sight of her. The past few hours have been pure hell.
I gently peel my palm away from her mouth. “I’ll always find you, angel.”
“Oh God!” She launches herself at me, throwing her arms over my shoulders and burying her face in my neck. “I thought you’d left me!” She sounds freaked…and totally amazing.
“Don’t be daft.” I meld into her and hug her with a force that could probably break a bone. “Does your father know you’re here?” I ask.
“No. I ran away. I didn’t know what to do.”
I smile at her instinct. “I had no choice but to leave, Cami.” The thought of her thinking I would just abandon her is crippling.
“Why?” She starts to kiss my neck—quick, constant pecks across my skin.
“Your father’s paid your ex to press charges against me. The police turned up.”
Her mouth stops moving across my skin, and she’s out of my neck a split second later. “What?”
She heard me just fine. Her request for a repeat is simply because she’s shocked. Fuck me, she hasn’t heard anything yet. “You must have seen the police at my apartment.”
“No! I was locked in your room for…ever!”
I shake my head in disbelief, though the extent of Logan’s ruthlessness shouldn’t be a surprise. There’s no way a bunch of cops would ignore the screams of a woman coming from my bedroom, which tells me Logan has more than one corrupt cop in his pocket. Fucker!
I take her cheeks in my hands, bringing my face closer to hers. “He really, really doesn’t want me to have you, angel.” I say it with a light, almost humorous edge, but her jaw still tightens.
“How did you find me?”
“Your phone,” I tell her, seeing her frown. “You switched it on an hour ago. I tracked it via GPS.” I can’t help but smile at her astonishment. It’s simple tracking technology, though I’m seriously considering having her microchipped so I don’t have to go to hell and back again should her phone ever be switched off when she’s out of my sight.
She withdraws and jabs me in the shoulder with surprising force, her face going from astounded to annoyed in a nanosecond. “Then why didn’t you call me and tell me where you were? I’ve been going out of my mind!”
“I didn’t know who was with you,” I grate, unreasonably thinking that she has no idea what it feels like to be going out of your mind. Fuck me, every artery I have is blocked with stress. I feel like I could have a heart attack at any moment. “Your father could have taken your phone. How the hell was I supposed to know?”
“He did take my phone, but I got it back. And he deleted your number so I couldn’t contact you. But even if you didn’t want to risk calling me, you should have contacted me somehow!” she argues.
“How?” I’m truly flummoxed.
“I don’t know! You’re the stealth ninja in this relationship!” Her gorgeous face twists with frustration that’s heavily mixed with relief.
“Sure.” I laugh. “Next time I lose you, I’ll have a satellite signal sent to your lipgloss.”
She gasps her disgust as her arm flies out again, except this time I block her swing with ease, making her stagger forward a little on another disgruntled gasp. She quickly finds her composure, the nostrils of her cute button nose flaring. I keep my lips straight, but there’s nothing I can do to stop my cock lunging behind my fly. How easy it would be to bend her over that gold-plated bath and smash into her from behind. Lord knows, I need to let off some steam.
I see every muscle in her go lax, despite her raging eyes. She’s playing it cool. Her willowy body wrapped tightly in that little towel is one of the most gratifying things I’ve ever seen.
But then the tiniest of movements from her right arm catches my eye and tells me her intention. My hand comes up between our bodies and her wrist lands in my waiting palm. She grunts her annoyance, bringing the other up in quick succession. I catch that one, too, now unable to hold back my victorious smirk. She yanks, incensed, and battles with my hold. And I let her, unmoving, working out the distance to that gold tub.