Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 35291 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 118(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35291 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 118(@300wpm)
She squints at the sun streaming through the window over the sink.
"What time is it?" She presses her fingertips to her temples. “I need my phone. I left it in the cabin last night. It’s like being in a casino here. I have no idea if I slept two hours or eight days.”
"It’s time for you to drink this." I push up from the table, take a few steps to the counter and dump the glass of milk into the blender I have prepped with the rest of the ingredients, and hit the button.
It screams to life and Tessa screws up her face, hands slapping over her ears.
“Really?!” She stabs me with her eyes, but I’ll do what’s best for her whether it’s what she wants or not.
“Probiotics, banana, field honey, my brother’s famous maple syrup and some protein powder.” I turn the machine off, pop the lid and fill half a glass with the thick mixture, holding it out for her.
She eyes the glass. "I'm not hungry."
"Didn't ask if you were hungry." I push the glass into her hands. "Drink. All of it."
She takes a sip and makes a face. "It's thick."
"It’s good for you." Every sleepy blink, every stretch that makes my shirt ride up her thighs, is driving me crazy. My girl needs taking care of. "You did good last night, princess."
A flush crawls up her neck. "I can barely remember half of it."
Liar. She remembers every second. Her nipples just gave her away.
"Well, I do. I remember all of it. Every sound. Every time you called me Daddy."
She chokes on the shake. "Beau..."
"What? You embarrassed?" I crowd her against the counter, placing one hand on the granite beside her hip. "Last night was perfect."
Her pupils dilate, and I want to lean down and taste the little bead of liquid on her upper lip.
She raises the glass between us, and takes another drink. She’s stalling, but she's also drinking that drink I made for her, so she’s not done with me yet.
"I should shower. The bear sort of cockblocked that plan last night," she says, taking another drink. I watch her throat move as she swallows. She’s so fucking beautiful I can barely breathe. "I smell like..."
"Like sex and wine and me." I lean down, breathing her in.
She slips to the left, out of my reach, not that I’m able to fucking touch her. "Twenty minutes. Then maybe we could... I want to see the town. See where you work, maybe..."
Showing her my garage, my real life, makes it all feel so fucking real. My eyes roam up and down her body as the urge to hump that tight little squirting cunt hits me like a brick to the forehead. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." She grins.
Christ, it's like watching the sun come up. If we stay here, I’ll crack. I know I will.
"I want to see everything."
Ten minutes into the drive, I’m watching her fidget with the radio dial like it’s her own personal stress ball. My girl shouldn't be nervous about meeting people. If only she knew how perfect she is, how much everyone is going to love her.
I clear my throat and try to make conversation to keep her calm.
"So what did you do before coming here?" I keep my voice casual, even though I already know every detail of her rise and fall. "Back in the real world?"
She goes still for a second, then shrugs. "Social media stuff. Nothing too exciting."
The deflection is smooth, but I catch the way her shoulders tense.
I shouldn’t push it, but I want her to tell me things. I want to hear her voice, know her story. All of it. The real story, the one that she doesn’t tell the cameras.
"Must have been good at it," I press gently. "To afford a Tesla and twenty-three suitcases."
She laughs, but it sounds forced. "I got lucky with a few things." Her fingers twist in her lap. "So, you’re close with your brothers?"
Nice subject change, princess. But I let her have it.
"Too close. They’re younger, all pains in my ass." The familiar ground relaxes her, and I'm rewarded with a real smile. "They'll probably show up at some point to interrogate you."
"Interrogate me?" She laughs. "About what?"
"About how I managed to land someone so far out of my league."
Land her. God, is that what I’ve done? Landed Tessa Quinn?
She turns in her seat to face me, and thank God she doesn’t laugh at my assumption that I’ve landed her like a trout. "You're not giving yourself enough credit."
She means it. Whatever she's running from, whatever she's hiding, right now she means it.
"We'll see if you still think that after you see how I live my life," I say, pulling into the garage parking lot. "Small-town glamor, it is not."
Nine
Tessa
I've never been part of a family before.