Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 107667 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107667 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
As it always does when her eyes lock with mine.
“I’ll see you tonight, baby doll.”
She pulls her hand from mine reluctantly, and again, that pleases me to no end. I start to skate off, but I look over my shoulder, my gaze colliding with Tennessee’s. Her flushed skin makes my cock strain in my girdle. “Call me when you’re ready to go over my scans. I’m excited to work so closely with you.”
Steam is basically coming out of TicTacDick’s ears, but that flush on Tennessee’s neck has me grinning even harder. I go through the door just as Owen looks at me, shaking his head while his laughter envelops me. “You’re ruthless.”
“I am when it comes to what’s mine.”
Chapter Nineteen
Tennessee
I could kill him dead.
I watch as Dart skates off without a care in the world, as if he didn’t just flip my world upside down.
“You may be involved with her, but her heart is mine—and only mine.”
Good Lord Almighty.
He said that out loud and with so much confidence that my body tingles because I know it’s true. I may have been off doing me the last three months, but my heart has been with him the whole time. I’ve gone through the motions of a relationship, but my heart wasn’t available. Not when Dart had already confiscated it.
I ignore the sting along my knuckles where Dart’s lips were and flip to the next file, which will be for Owen Adler. I feel Troy watching me, the anger coming off him in waves, but I don’t dare say anything. I can’t because I don’t know what to say. I respect him, care for him, but I worry that if I say anything right now, I’ll hurt him. Because in this moment, I want to follow Dart into that locker room. Help him undress and make up for the three months we’ve been apart.
I feel Troy move beside me before he calls out, “Hey, buddy. Give us a minute,” to Owen Adler on the bench.
Owen just snorts. “Yeah. You may need it after that.”
Lordy, he is not wrong.
I take a deep breath since Troy’s anger is substantial. In a low voice, he bites out, “What the hell, Tennessee?”
I let my eyes drift shut. “What?”
“You said you wanted space, and I respected that. But I didn’t do that for you to go off and fuck him behind my back.”
My brows slam together, and my eyes fly open. “I haven’t slept with him.”
“I couldn’t tell,” he snaps, his eyes wild. “Did you hear what he said?”
I can’t stop hearing it. It’s on a loop in my brain.
Her heart is mine—and only mine. Her heart is mine—and only mine. Her heart is mine—and only mine. Her heart is mine—and only mine. Her heart is mine—and only mine. Her heart is mine—and only mine. Her heart is mine—and only mine. Her heart is mine—and only mine.
Oh lordy.
“He’s intense.”
“It’s not only him. I saw the way you looked at him. You’ve never looked at me like that.”
“We’re intense,” I admit, crossing my arms over my chest. “I don’t know what to say, Troy. I care for you, I do, but—”
“Don’t you see he’s all talk? He may make you think he’s all about you and only you, but I know athletes like him. I’ve worked with them for years. They have women in every state and are driven only by sex.”
I press my lips together. “He’s not like that.”
“You don’t even know him,” he stresses, his eyes burning into mine. “You know me, I know you, and Tennie, I love you.”
Those three words do nothing for me. Nothing. And that has to mean something. I know good and well Troy is the safer choice. He wouldn’t hurt me, he’d be steady and kind, but I would be completely bored out of my mind with him. I refuse to think that’s all I am meant for—a boring life—when there is a man like Dart out there who worships my body.
Worships me.
“He is fucking with your head. All he wants is to get in your pants.”
“He got in my pants—for twelve hours straight,” I tell him, pushing my shoulders back. “He tried to get ahold of me for three months, so I don’t think it’s only about sex, Troy.”
“You’re being naïve. Men like that don’t want—” He cuts himself off, and I hold his gaze.
“Finish what you were going to say,” I demand, my hands shaking at my sides. “Girls like me? Girls of my size?”
“No,” he says sternly. “I would never disrespect you by saying that.”
“No? Because it feels like you are.”
“You are beautiful—”
“I am well aware of my beauty,” I tell him, fire in my eyes. “If that wasn’t what you were saying, then what were you saying?”
He pauses for a second, and I can feel Owen watching us. I take a quick glance over at him, and his face is red, his lips pressed together tightly. He’s visibly upset. Troy clears his throat, watching me as he says, “Men like that don’t settle down. He’s always traveling, and he won’t have time for you the way I do.”