Wealthy and Wanted - Alexa Riley Page 0,16

chance she feels even a fraction of what I do, then she should let me have her. I want her to give me a chance to put a ring on her finger and see how that one fits. I know I can be better because she makes me want to be more than I ever have been.

When I open my mouth to tell her all of this, the phone between us rings. It’s my cell, and the number on the screen isn’t one I recognize.

“That’s Kat,” Dotty says, pulling her hand away.

The moment I’ve lost her touch I feel like I’ve lost a part of her, and I don’t want that to happen again.

She answers the phone, and I try not to listen as I clean up the kitchen. She worked so hard on it that I don’t want to mess it up again. A few times I hear her whisper and I wonder if it’s about me or about him. I don’t want to know, so I try to put it out of my mind.

“Everything okay?” I ask when she hangs up.

“Yeah, great.” She smiles at me, and I have the urge to cup her face and hold her close.

“How about I show you around today? Shane said you have to take it easy, but we can take the Gator out in the pasture. It should be an easy ride.”

“Really?” She sits up straighter, and the blanket falls around her waist.

It’s then I notice her breasts pushing against the white shirt and how hard her nipples are. I should be a gentleman and look away, but goddamn it, I’m not that strong.

I openly stare at her, drinking in my fill as I lean back against the counter and sip my coffee. Yeah, a man could get used to this.

Chapter Nine

Dotty

I close my eyes as the sun warms my face. Why does the air feel so much freer here? It’s light and even smells different, or maybe I’m different now.

I smile when the breeze picks up, making my hair tickle my face. I open my eyes to push it away and see Clay staring at me. He’s smiling now, too, and I’m surprised, but I’m never sure how he’ll react to something. One moment he’s the sweetest man and the next he’s a bear with a thorn in his paw. I actually enjoy both, but maybe that’s because I always had a thing for bears.

“You’re so fucking beautiful.”

I suck in a breath, an excited stir blooming in my chest. He looks a little surprised himself that he said it out loud, and I suddenly feel shy.

“Fuck. I mean… Damn it.” He pauses, going back to looking grumpy. He takes his hat off and tosses it on the small dash of the Gator. “You’re beautiful, period, no curse words.”

“I don’t know, Clay, I think fucking beautiful sounds better, to be honest.”

“I’ll remember that.” He smirks, his eyes dropping to my mouth.

They've been doing that all day, and each time my heart starts to race while I wonder if he’s going to kiss me. I wish he would. I want to know what it would be like to kiss him, even if I only get to do it one time.

“No one’s ever called me beautiful other than my sister. It feels different coming from you.”

“Are you shitting me?” His expression turns to a scowl. I try not to laugh at his sudden change of mood. “What about—” I reach up, pressing two fingers against his lips to stop him.

“No, he hasn't, and I don’t want to talk about him right now.” I start to drop my hand, but he snags my wrist.

“Some people are stupid and don’t know what’s in front of them.” I know he’s talking about Judge, but those words hit home for me too. He turns my hand over and kisses my palm.

He slowly releases my wrist, his hand sliding up to take mine. We lock our fingers together and my heart is starting to beat harder. It’s so loud I wonder if he can hear it. How can something so small as our fingers linking together seem so big?

“Clay?”

“Yeah, sweetheart?” His voice is so low and quiet, it feels intimate.

“Will you kiss me?”

I barely get the words out, and he’s pulling me close. I think it’s going to be fast with how he grabbed me, but he pauses as he looks into my eyes and waits. It’s like he just wants to memorize my face or this moment,