Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 40484 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 202(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40484 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 202(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
“Seriously? You literally still have my cum in you,” he muttered, stretching his neck, which had become so tense each move ached.
El ran his tongue over his teeth. “Just testing the slack on my leash.”
Provocative as always, and while Trig ought to have been angry, he found El’s attitude endearing. He nudged El into the seat and shut the door behind him.
This would be a very, very long night.
Chapter 5 – El
Trig wrapped El’s injured arm in two plastic bags, which he checked for holes beforehand. El wasn’t sure whether he should be infuriated or charmed. He was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, but wasn’t it nice to be taken care of for once? Even in the wild, members of solitary species would get together from time to time, and considering that it was usually to get their rocks off, El’s situation was more than appropriate.
It turned out Trig had left his ride at the local truck stop and, after sharing a meal of cookies from the store, it was time to shower in one of the two shower rooms available. It must have been cleaned right before they came in, because the odor of bleach stabbed El’s nose, and there was no trash or dirt within sight, which gave him hope that he would not end up stepping on a used syringe.
“There, all secure,” Trig said and sat on a metal bench provided in the small space meant for undressing.
He’d uncuffed El earlier, and made a show of locking the door, but El was too tired to run anymore. He’d bled enough to weaken, and the sex had made him too soft-hearted to get up and leave. The fuck had been scarily good, as if nothing had changed in the time that had passed since their breakup. It would have been so easy to fall into another relationship with Trig, their bond so simple to restore, even if raw from past hurt.
Finding out that his ex had been watching him all this time without ever disclosing his presence had been unnerving but it should have angered him far more than it did. After so long on his own, El was a stray dog kicked one time too many, so accepting affection didn’t come to him easily, even from a man who’d known him in his most vulnerable years and helped him through them. But a long time had passed since they’d last spoken, and he didn’t know this new, grown-up Trig.
“I might not be some big bad biker, but I’m not a baby,” he muttered.
Trig rubbed his jaw, which had so deliciously tickled El with stubble less than an hour ago. He’d always been a bit taller than El, and larger, but his new life had transformed his body into a wiry package of strong muscle.
Manliness looked so very good on him. He wasn’t the same person who’d slept with El in abandoned buildings and shared one meal to cut costs. Regardless of the hardships that came with Trig’s life as a member of the Coffin Nails MC, he obviously had time for gym and enough money for decent food and visits at the barber’s.
It passed through El’s mind that someone might have been taking care of his other needs as well, and the green fumes of jealousy made El choke up. It shouldn’t matter. He hadn’t been a monk either, but the idea of Trig living with someone else while he survived hardship on his own made his throat dry with unvoiced anger.
“I just want you to heal well,” Trig said and pulled off his leather vest before placing it on a shelf covered by the same brown tile as the rest of the cramped interior.
El took two seconds to compose himself and removed his T-shirt. They’d fucked, and now they were about to shower. Any pretentions to modesty had no place in this tiny space.
“I’m a cat, I always land on four feet.” He shrugged, but the truth was that if Trig hadn’t appeared tonight, he’d have been a dead cat. A very dead cat with broken ribs, a cut tail, and missing teeth.
“It’s still easier to live when there’s someone to feed you and let you sleep in their home,” Trig said and pulled up his T-shirt. He stalled, uttering a choked grunt when he attempted to raise his arms, and ended up peeling the fabric from one side of his body first to save the shoulder he’d injured during his unfortunate meeting with El’s car.
Guilt sank into El’s flesh when he saw bruises already forming on Trig’s ribs, but no one had forced him to casually jump onto the hood of a moving vehicle.
“I’m so sorry,” he muttered, and his fingers travelled to the purple spots. This was the first time he was seeing Trig’s new body. “It’s just that I’m… I’m not that cute kitten you picked up on the side of the road anymore. I’m wary, feral, and all claws. I can’t help it.”