Total pages in book: 162
Estimated words: 158872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 794(@200wpm)___ 635(@250wpm)___ 530(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 158872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 794(@200wpm)___ 635(@250wpm)___ 530(@300wpm)
“Come on, my sweet muffin.” I slide my arms under her small frame. “Let’s get you to bed.”
“Mmm,” she sighs. Her body jerks as I lift her.
“Hang onto me, baby.”
She links her fingers around my neck and murmurs, “Okay.”
“That’s it.” I turn us toward the stairs and carry her to her room. Her door’s only open a crack and I nudge it open wider with my foot.
It’s too dark to see more than the outlines of her furniture. I cross the room, praying I don’t trip over something. Thankfully, Molly’s always been pretty neat.
I make it to the bed and gently set her down.
“You want the sweatshirt off?” I tug on her sleeve.
“No. Mine now,” she mumbles.
Laughing softly, I turn away and click on the small lamp on her desk. It casts a soft glow in the corner of the room.
When I return, Molly’s on her side with one hand tucked under her cheek. I chuckle under my breath. It’s an improvement from the way she slept when we were kids—with her face shoved under the pillow. Remy teased her so much about smothering herself to death that she must’ve ended up breaking the habit at some point.
A fruity scent with a hint of something warmer lingers in the air. Like the cherries and vanilla scent of her shampoo, but softer. Her long, thick hair fans over her pillow.
She sighs and murmurs something I can’t make out, then flips over to her other side, facing away from me. My lips quirk. How can my sweet girl be such a violent sleeper?
With her back turned toward me, it would be so easy to slide into her bed. Gather her in my arms. Bury my face in her hair. Kiss her shoulder. Wake up with her pressed against me.
One day.
Stillness settles over the house as the night eases toward dawn. I should go downstairs. If Remy decides to come home early and finds me up here, watching his sister like a creepy intruder, he’ll kill me.
Keeping my eyes on Molly, I click the lamp off. To my relief, she doesn’t stir.
As quietly as possible, I step out of her bedroom, leaving the door ajar.
Downstairs, I stretch out on the couch and close my eyes. Molly’s enticing cherry scent clings to my shirt, teasing me with thoughts of returning upstairs, keeping me awake for hours.
No matter how hard I try, sleep continues to slip out of my grasp.
CHAPTER TEN
Griff
A solid thump rattles me out of sleep the next morning. Or is it afternoon already?
I blink my eyes open and find Remy looming over me.
He kicks his foot into the side of the couch again, jarring me further awake. “The fuck are you doing here?”
Slowly, I yawn and roll myself upright. My spine crackles in protest. Remy’s lumpy old couch makes a lousy bed.
“I stopped by to check on Molly.” I stretch my arms over my head and yawn again. “You know how much she hates being here alone.”
Guilt flashes over his face. “Thanks for doing that.”
“Not a problem.”
“Eraser said he and Ella picked her up early.” He cocks his head. “What happened? Someone bother Molly at the party?”
“Fuck if I know.” I yawn again. Really would’ve preferred a few more hours of sleep. “She wouldn’t tell me much about it.”
“You talked to her, though? She was okay?”
She was more than okay. We were…I’ve never opened up to someone the way I did to Molly last night. And the stuff she shared with me…it’s like everything between us changed or shifted.
Remy isn’t the Holt I wanted to be woken up by this morning.
His foot slams into the couch again. “Where’d your mind wander, Griff?”
“For fuck’s sake.” I scrub my hands over my face. “I’m still half asleep.”
He growls out something I don’t bother interpreting and stalks into the kitchen. Ignoring his moody ass, I find my way to the downstairs bathroom.
A few minutes later, I join him in the kitchen, the scent of coffee pulling me along.
“So, how was the rest of the party?” I catch the mug he slides across the counter toward me, pick up a carton of half-and-half and pour a generous amount into the dark brew.
“I finally understand how Teller earned his road name,” Remy says. “‘Tell-her-shit-she-doesn’t-want-to hear.’ No fucking joke.” He snorts and shakes his head.
“Why are you mad?” I try to hide my smirk with a sip of coffee. “Were you the girl in this situation?”
He stops, cocks his head, then laughs. “No, asshole. He tried giving me a lecture.”
Well, now I’m almost sorry I missed it. “On what?”
“Let’s just say…” He shakes his head. “Teller’s got nerve lecturing me about who my sister dates,” Remy grumbles.
What an interesting conversation. I lift an eyebrow. “He did? When?”
Remy shoots a glare at me. “After you ran out to see the garage.”