Total pages in book: 12
Estimated words: 11119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 56(@200wpm)___ 44(@250wpm)___ 37(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 11119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 56(@200wpm)___ 44(@250wpm)___ 37(@300wpm)
“I remembered you from a function I attended a few months back. I decided then I’d be using your services as soon as I had a need. You’re very talented, young lady.”
“Great. That’s … great.” As she stood there awkwardly twiddling her thumbs, she remembered the reason she’d come back to the house in the first place. “Oh … my truck. Someone in here towed my truck.”
“That would be me, I’m afraid.” He clucked his tongue. “I noticed it from my bedroom window. We can’t have deliveries delayed with only days until the wedding.”
“And you naturally assumed it was an abandoned wreck?”
He shrugged with an apologetic lift of an eyebrow. Her blood was boiling, but she had to keep her cool. These rich A-holes thought they could get away with murder.
“We’re in the middle of nowhere. I have to have my truck. Can you call the towing company before they get too far away?” The rich didn’t seem to realize that real people were lucky to make it from paycheck to paycheck. She needed her damned truck.
“I hear they have very strict policies about releasing vehicles the same day. A lot of red tape involved. I’d be happy to drive you to the impound lot tomorrow.” How could he speak so nonchalantly when she was frantic on the inside? She swore her heart would beat right out of her chest.
Tomorrow? What would happen to her tonight? “I doubt you have a bus route way out here, so tomorrow isn’t going to work for me.”
“You’ll stay here. I have plenty of spare rooms not being used.”
He held the door open wider, encouraging her to enter the house. What choice did she have? Her best friend Stella didn’t even have a car of her own, and there was no one else she could call for help. Karlee stepped back into the white marble foyer with the vaulted ceilings and Roman columns. Every beautiful detail only increased her displeasure. It was only once the air-conditioning began to clear her head that she remembered what a mess she was. She immediately tried to adjust her hair and stand straight with one broken heel. Then she recalled that Robert Black might be jaw-droppingly gorgeous, but he was taken. As in getting married in two days.
Chapter Two
“How much would a taxi cost way out here?”
“You’re staying the night, Ms. Jones. That’s not debatable.”
Her jaw dropped, but she said nothing. He took her bags and set them down against the wall. There was such an authoritative air about him. It made her pussy tingle in ways she’d never known. He scrubbed a hand across his lightly stubbled cheek and chin, assessing her like a problem to solve.
“Okay…” She imagined a man like Mr. Black got everything he wanted, when he wanted it. The mere thought aroused her. Did he want her? Stop it, Karlee! Just as she forced her inappropriate thoughts away, Elizabeth approached from the kitchen. She wanted to bury her head in the sand.
“There you are,” she called out. “You had me so worried, Karlee.”
“Sorry … my truck…”
Elizabeth briefly kissed her fiancé on the cheek and then looked at the bags stacked against the wall. If Karlee had a man like Robert Black, she wouldn’t feel good about having another woman under her roof either. He was irresistible.
“I’m sure everything will get sorted. You’ll help her, won’t you, Robert?”
“Of course. I’ll take very good care of her.” Why did he seem to look into her soul when he said those little words? His fiancée was standing right there.
Once Elizabeth had walked off, Robert came closer. He kept coming until she was forced to back up against the closed glass doors. Why was she being tested? The guy was a two-timing loser, yet he still had a unique magnetic pull.
“What’re you doing?” she managed to squeak out.
“Hush.” He reached out and tucked some of her unruly locks behind her ear. The touch sizzled right down to her marrow. “You can’t imagine how good it feels to have you here. I watched you setting up the displays at my last business conference. All I could focus on was you—the highlights in your hair, the way you moved, the curve of your ass. I knew I had to see you again. Knew I had to have you.”
What the hell? Was he for real? She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Didn’t your parents tell you that you can’t have everything you want? There are some things money can’t buy.”
“That’s a lie,” he said. “I wanted you, and you’re here.”
“Then I’m an unsuspecting victim. I came here to sell flowers, not my body.”
“You’re right. You’ll give me that for free.” He smiled, not allowing her any personal space. “Tell me there’s no spark between us, and don’t lie.”
She kept silent.