Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 57350 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57350 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
“Go on,” he snapped.
“Act like some caveman,” she snapped. “I’m mad at you, remember?”
His temper fought with the arousal slashing through him. “I am equally angry with you,” he said through gritted teeth. “You know that group is unhinged,” he continued. “I told you that, and yet you went out there anyway.”
“You didn’t give me a choice.” Bianca threw her hands into the air and paced beside his driveway, her boots scraping the dirt. The night air smelled of pine and cold earth while the wind tugged at her hair, sending dark strands across her shoulders as she glared at him. She looked stunning.
Adam dragged a hand down his face. “You had a choice,” he said. “You could have waited.”
“For what?” she shot back. “For the movie crew to arrive and find out we don’t have a location?”
“Yes,” he said flatly. “Or for me to go with you.”
Her eyes widened. “You’re the reason I had to go in the first place.”
He took a step closer, apparently not making himself clear. “You drove to the house of a man who already threatened you.”
“He didn’t threaten me until after we got there,” she snapped.
“That doesn’t make it better.”
They stood there for a long moment, both breathing hard. Somewhere down the road a truck passed in the distance, its headlights sliding briefly across the trees before disappearing again.
“Go inside. We can finish fighting there,” he said, not liking the darkening trees around them. He’d probably sense if a predator were near, human or animal, but right now, he was seeing red.
“Fine.” She stomped toward the house, yanking open the door.
Adam followed her inside, his temper wide awake and ready to rumble.
CHAPTER 18
Bianca shoved the door open and stormed into the house before the anger boiling inside her had a chance to spill over into reckless action. The living room lights were already on, casting a warm gold across the wide space and the dark wood floors. It should have felt comforting.
It didn’t.
She spun around the second she heard the door close, grabbed the nearest pillow from the sofa, and hurled it straight at his head.
He knocked it aside easily. “Feel better?”
“No.” Her chest rose and fell quickly as she glared at him. Which was a mistake. Because he looked infuriatingly good standing there.
His broad chest filled out that dark shirt, jeans riding low on his hips, boots still dusty from Billy Rockefeller’s yard. And that whole dangerous, don’t-mess-with-me attitude that had been on full display when he’d grabbed Billy by the throat and nearly shaken the life out of him.
The memory flashed through her mind. The strength in his arms. The way he’d stepped in front of her without hesitation. The way he’d protected her.
Terrifying.
Impressive.
Intriguing.
And horribly, terribly, undeniably sexy. She’d deal with that later. Right now she was furious. “You lied to me,” she said.
“I did not.”
Bianca crossed her arms. “We had last night and this morning together. You knew I planned to use the Willoughby house.” Her voice sharpened. “You knew it.”
Adam exhaled slowly, his chest expanding beneath the dark cotton of his shirt. “I tried to tell you,” he said. “But you said no business.”
“You should have said something anyway.”
His jaw flexed. “Yeah,” he admitted quietly. “I should have.”
The words nearly dropped her to the floor. She stared at him. “Did you just apologize?”
He gave a short, humorless chuckle. The anger still burned in his eyes, but a softer glimmer moved beneath it now. “I was wrong. I should’ve told you about the Willoughbys even though you told me not to.”
She blinked. That… had not been the response she expected. “Okay. Well now. Don’t do it again.”
He planted one hand on his hip, watching her closely. “Your turn.”
She lifted her chin, her spine straightening with each stubborn vertebra. “Me? I didn’t do anything wrong. I have a job to do.” The second the words left her mouth she knew it had been the wrong thing to say.
Adam moved.
Fast.
She barely had time to gasp before he closed the distance between them. His hands caught her around the waist and lifted her clean off the floor. “Hey—” Her protest turned into a squeak as he pinned her gently, but very firmly, against the wall. He was warm, solid, and completely immovable.
Her breath caught.
“I strongly suggest you apologize and promise not to put yourself in danger again,” he said.
“No.” She wouldn’t give in on this, damn it.
His eyes darkened. “All right.” Then he kissed her. Hard.
She’d meant to stay angry. But the second his mouth took hers, the fire between them exploded. The kiss wasn’t sweet or even sexy. It was fierce. Demanding. Full of frustration and dominance. A whole lot of it.
She grabbed his shirt before she even realized what she was doing.
Adam made a rough sound in his throat. “Still mad?” he whispered against her mouth.