Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 70651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
“Bermuda,” she clips out.
“Erin.” I sigh, turning to face her. “How are you?”
She bristles and frowns, turning her glare to the floor. “Not well.”
Tossing the dish towel that was in my hands onto the counter, I prowl toward her. Though she’s an ice queen, sometimes she melts in my presence. I’ve had her naked and beneath me enough times to know it’s possible to get her hot. But usually when she gets what she wants, she moves along her merry little way.
It shouldn’t hurt, but it does.
There’s something inside Erin I want to save and nurture and heal. She, like Dragon, was a victim of human trafficking, forced to perform sexually and on camera. It’s amazing she’s still down to fuck considering her past. From what I’ve gathered from her and the others, she doesn’t fuck just anyone either. Just me. Our little secret.
“What’s going on?” I demand, using a finger beneath her chin to lift it and force her eyes to meet mine. “Are you sick?”
Her brows knit together. “It’s nothing.”
I take the liberty of kissing her pursed lips. “If you’re hurting, it’s not nothing. Talk to me.”
Her nostrils flare. “We’re not boyfriend and girlfriend, Bermuda. We’re nothing.”
Ouch.
Her barbs always cut deep, but I’m learning to look past the nastiness to find the real source of her pain. I’m an easy target because I don’t fight back. She needs protecting. Her past eats her alive from the inside out.
“We’re something, sugar,” I rumble, bringing my mouth to her ear. “I can show you how much of something we are after dinner.”
“Liar,” she whispers, but I can tell she wants me to argue.
“You wouldn’t keep coming back for more if it wasn’t the truth.” I nip at her ear. “I’ve been patient, letting you go at your own pace.”
“But,” she snaps.
“But nothing. I’ll keep being patient if that’s what you need. I just don’t know what you need because you never talk to me. You’re a fortress, sugar, and I just want in.”
Her palms go to my chest and she starts to push away, but I snake my arms around her, locking her in my embrace. She relaxes, no longer trying to escape me.
“Just words, Bermuda. That’s all this is. Words and an occasional good dicking.”
I roll my eyes at her. “We both know it’s a fan-fucking-tastic dicking when it happens. Good is for mere mortals. Like Filter and Calla. I bet they have regular good ol’-fashioned missionary-style dicking. Ours is spectacular. Who else can make you come like a wild woman with just his tongue?” I waggle my brows at her. “Seriously, Erin, talk to me.”
She bravely lifts her chin, boring her hard gaze into me. “I have something to say. Don’t speak, just listen.”
I frown but make a show of pressing my lips together.
“I’m…” She swallows and her lip wobbles. “Oh, God, I can’t do this. I can’t.”
“Whatever it is, we can tackle it together,” I assure her, not keeping my promise to keep my trap shut. “Let me in, woman.”
Tears sheen in her eyes and her voice is hoarse. “I’m pregnant.”
Gripping her hair, I tug her head back and attack her mouth with mine. She moans in surprise and melts in my arms.
Pregnant.
My mean-ass girl is pregnant.
With my baby.
“Marry me.” I grin at her, laughing when she huffs in horror. “What? I can cook and clean. My dick is magical. What more could you want?”
“You’re a cocky dumbass,” she snaps. “Maybe I don’t want to marry my baby daddy.”
“Maybe your baby daddy wasn’t asking. Maybe he was tellin’. Maybe you and I have a date with the courthouse tomorrow morning because I’m making you mine now, Erin. No more games. You gotta let me in. Trust me. I think I’ve earned it.”
She studies me with the softest expression I’ve ever seen on her face. I watch as she gnaws on her bottom lip, seriously thinking it through. I’m patient, so I wait it out. Finally, she offers me a roll of her eyes and a clipped nod.
I crush my lips to hers, sealing the deal. Then I scoop her up like she’s already my bride and stride outside where everyone is lounging around listening to Gibson play “Simple Man” by Hank Williams Jr. on his guitar. All eyes turn to us, shock evident in all of them. We’ve been discreet with our…relationship until now. Poor Nees’s heart will be broken. But that’s too bad. She’s mine and I claimed her a long time ago. Now it’s time to do it publicly.
“Hey, assholes,” I call out, grinning like a fucking idiot. “We have an announcement.”
“Put me down, freak!” Erin growls.
“We’re having a baby and I’m making her my wife.”
“Does she know that?” Stormy asks, brow arched high. “You can’t just kidnap the woman you think is hot and make her your wife. Doesn’t work like that, sweetie.”