Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76807 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76807 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
I didn’t even pause to go into the bathroom to fix my makeup or run my fingers through my hair.
I just ducked my head, and flew out of the room, out of the clubhouse, each step making the pain intensify as I got into my car, then drove home.
And for the second time in my life, it seemed like my heart was hurting over Brooks.
This time, though, I was a grown-ass woman.
I wasn’t going to let it break me.
Luckily for me, I found a great new way to hide from my grief.
“Bitch, I’m gonna see you in less than twenty minutes. What do you want?” Sage answered her phone.
I put her on speaker then set mine on the sink cabinet as I slathered makeup remover across my face.
“Tonight. You free?”
“Maybe. What do you have in mind?”
“Depends on what you are in the mood for. Bar crawl. Music on the beach. Margs and apps. I’m down for anything.”
There was no mistaking the desperation in my voice.
“I’ll never turn down margs and apps,” she said. “You okay, C?”
“No,” I admitted, looking up at my face, catching all the desolation there.
“Does this happen to have something to do with a very hot biker guy from your past?”
I sucked in a deep breath, swearing I could still feel his lips, beard, fingers, and mouth on me.
“Yes.”
“Do I need to shiv him?”
“You sound entirely too excited about that prospect,” I said.
“If he hurt my girl, he deserves it.”
Oh, he hurt me alright.
And I had a feeling this was the kind of wound that was only going to fester and get worse with time.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Brooks
Fuck.
Fuck.
How could I let that happen?
No, not even let. I’d been a really active participant.
I’d been the one to roll her under me, to explore her, to slip between her thighs and taste her.
And, fuck, did she taste good.
So good in fact, that it was taking everything in me not to turn around, go back in there, and bury myself between her legs again.
Instead, I grabbed one of the donuts out of the box in the kitchen, shoving half of it in my mouth to try to stop obsessing about her.
“Did Boss Man Brooks have overnight company?” Sully asked, coming into the kitchen in nothing but a pair of boxers in, yes, a Hawaiian pattern.
That was not the kind of thing a man bought for himself. I had to imagine the girls club had given it to him for his last birthday.
His hair was mussed and there was a row of lipstick marks down his neck, despite there not having been a party the night before.
“It’s not like that,” I insisted.
“No?” Sully asked, smirking. “It sounded like that to me a few—“
He didn’t finish that sentence.
Because I was across the room, shoving him back against the wall with my forearm across his throat.
“Don’t fucking talk about her like that,” I snarled.
“Whoa whoa there,” Dezi said over a mouth full of donut. “As much as I wholly condone violence in all forms, I have a feeling I should be stepping in here,” he said, grabbing me around my elbow as Sully and I glared at each other.
“What’s going on here?” Callow asked, coming into the doorway, eyes still red from sleep.
“Running my mouth, as usual,” Sully said, but it took more effort than it should have, what with my arm still attempting to crush his windpipe.
“Well, carry on then,” Callow said, smirking as he went to peruse the donut selection.
“Didn’t know it was like that, man,” Sully said, making me loosen my hold, enough that Dezi easily pulled me back.
“It’s not.”
“Far be it from me to deny a man his secrets,” Sully said, suddenly more serious than I’d ever seen him. “But seems like you’re going through some shit. Might help if you told your brothers about it.”
He wasn’t wrong.
I’d been locking shit up since I joined the club, not really having anyone I could speak to once Clay and I were on the outs. It got worse when Fallon gave me a leadership role in the club. That made it feel like I couldn’t share, couldn’t unburden myself, because I didn’t want to look weak in front of the prospects.
Sure, I talked here and there with the guys, but it never got deep.
And grief, yeah, grief was some deep shit.
“Cali is my best friend’s baby sister,” I admitted, watching as understanding crossed their faces.
Best friend’s baby sisters were always off limits.
“He died a few weeks back,” I added. “His last wish was for me to keep an eye on her. Shit’s… complicated.”
“Sorry for your loss, man,” Callow said, clamping me on the shoulder for a second.
“I’m sure big brother wouldn’t want you fucking and dumping his baby sister,” Sully started, saying the obvious thing out loud. “But,” he went on. “You ever consider that seeing the two of you together and happy might be exactly what he would have wanted for the two of you?”