Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 117379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
I gaped at her and she shrugged.
“Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Because hormones impair thinking,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Go on. Get outside before they start shooting or something.”
“Why are you helping me?”
“Because I’m sick of this shit,” she said, her voice blunt. “The Reapers don’t own either of us. Deke has no right to keep you here and neither does your dad. Make your own decisions, Em. I miss Bagger every day of my life and I wish I’d spent more time with him. We just never know when it’s all going to end, and life is too short to sit around waiting for a man. I still think it’s a mistake to hook up with Hunter, but it’s your mistake to make.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, giving her a quick hug. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Good,” she said. Then an evil smile crossed her face. “I know it’s wrong of me, but I’m really looking forward to Deke losing for once. About time someone stands up to him.”
I stifled a giggle as she turned off the alarm and opened the door. Then I ran quickly across the wet grass, feeling the cold seep into my pink Chucks. I crept carefully around the house to find Hunter and Deke in a standoff on the sidewalk.
Gordie watched from the porch, mesmerized.
“You can leave on your own or we’ll make you, but you aren’t taking Em with you,” Deke was saying. “Not gonna happen.”
Hunter bristled.
“She’s my old lady now. She belongs with me.”
God, it would be so much faster if they just did a side-by-side penis comparison. I ran my eyes over Hunter, torn between wanting to lick his entire body and punch him in the face. Instead of doing either, I walked quietly to my car. I needed to time things perfectly. I took a deep breath and counted to three before opening the door, hopping into my seat, and sliding the key into the ignition, all in one smooth move. The car started right up (thank God!) and I slammed it into reverse, backing out into the street with a jolt.
Both men turned to stare at me, the surprise on their faces priceless.
I rolled down my window, foot poised on the accelerator.
“I’m leaving,” I yelled at them. “Hunter, call me if you’d rather sleep with me than fight with Deke.”
With that, I slammed my foot down and took off into the night.
Damn, that felt good.
“I’ll strangle you if you ever pull something like that again,” Hunter said, pacing back and forth across the hotel room we’d gotten. Under the circumstances, neutral ground seemed like a good idea.
Someone was grumpy.
“You could’ve gotten shot. I could’ve shot you. What were you thinking, sneaking around outside a house under guard?”
I leaned against the bathroom door frame, my arms crossed, and sighed heavily. This reunion had been nowhere near as fun as I’d pictured it. Sweet baby Jesus, but the man could pout.
“Maybe if everyone wasn’t so trigger happy, this wouldn’t be such an issue,” I said, my voice tart. “Don’t give me this shit, Hunter. You caused a big scene because you weren’t willing to wait a few hours to get things sorted out. Someone could’ve gotten hurt. Silvie could’ve gotten hurt. Don’t we have enough to worry about from the cartel? I thought you wanted peace?”
He stopped pacing to snarl at me.
“Goddamn, Em—whose side are you on? I’ve been going hard for four fucking days. I drove for six hours to get here and claim my woman, and I wasn’t going to let some pissant Reaper prospect keep her from me. You’re mine now. I don’t fucking share.”
I took a deep breath, poised to rip him a new asshole. Then it struck me—something was really wrong here. Hunter was usually so cool, always calculating. This was nothing like him, something else was going on here.
“You’re overreacting,” I said slowly and deliberately. “I hear what you’re saying, but it’s not making sense. This isn’t like you. What happened?”
His face twisted, and he turned away from me, running a hand through his hair.
“Bad shit, Em,” he said finally. “I saw some bad shit today. Did some bad shit. I just needed to be near you, around someone clean and whole. He wouldn’t let me have you.”
Well, fuck. Now he looked all broken, and seeing this big, strong man so close to the edge made my insides twist. I still wanted to kick him, but I wanted to make him feel better even more. Hunter turned away, so I walked up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist, pulling him back into me. My cheek rubbed against the red devil on the back of his cut, reminding me that I’d left my club behind for this man.
“You have me,” I said into his back, letting go of my anger. I started running my hands up and down his stomach. I loved the feel of his hard muscles, but this was about more than sensation. He needed to realize how much I wanted him, how special he was to me. I tugged his shirt slowly out of his pants, trailing my fingers along his bare skin. Those amazing muscles of his tightened and he groaned.