Total pages in book: 176
Estimated words: 167257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 558(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 167257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 558(@300wpm)
“What do you mean?”
“Why did you cut yourself?”
I frowned even as I kept my gaze on our hands. “It was an accident.” When he didn’t respond, I chanced looking up. I didn’t like that he was staring at me like he didn’t believe me. Did he think I’d hurt myself on purpose?
Once the bleeding stopped, Rowdy started to clean my wound. And unlike moments ago when he dragged me up here, he was gentle. “It’s not deep,” he announced after a long and rather stilted silence.
“I told you that,” I said with a hiss. When he gave me a warning look, I shrank and adjusted my tone. “It looks worse than it is.”
“Mmmh.” Rowdy was silent, too focused on his task as he used some type of glue to seal my wound.
Once it was dry, he tightly secured my cut with more gauze. I winced from the pressure on my wound and then could have sworn I felt the soothing brush of his finger. It happened so quickly that I wondered if I’d imagined it.
“It won’t scar,” he told me once he was done.
I didn’t respond since I kind of hoped it did. It would serve as a reminder of what kind of man he was. I didn’t believe for a second that Tuesday’s ex had simply cut his losses after hunting her down.
It was more likely that Rowdy had scared him away, but why? He didn’t strike me as the type that strapped on a cape and flew around saving women for the hell of it.
“Thanks.” I stood from the toilet as he cleaned up the mess and repacked the first aid kit. “I think I’ll go home now.”
“No.”
I blinked while wondering if I’d misheard him. “We’re pretty much done setting up, and I won’t be much help to Tuesday with one hand anyway. She can handle the rest.” And if not, I’m sure you can give her a hand since you’re soooo helpful. I rolled my eyes while his back was turned.
“You’re Pride of King’s newest employee,” he told me as he placed the kit back in the cabinet. “This party is for you, so no, Atlas. You can’t go home.”
I thought it was an uncharacteristically sweet gesture until another thought occurred to me. “Wait…you made me decorate my own welcome party?”
“Somebody had to do it.” Rowdy shrugged before leaning against the sink and placing his hand on my hip to pull me into him. I was wearing jeans today, thankfully, but that didn’t stop him from roughly groping my ass in his large hands. “I can’t wait to see you throwing all this ass on my dick,” he told me as he nestled his face in my neck and inhaled. “The way it’s sitting in these jeans, I’ll be giving you back shots all night.”
Oh, God. I didn’t have to question if it was true. Somehow, I knew sex with Rowdy would be rough, dirty, and a little disrespectful. “You’re talking like it’s a done deal,” I said a little breathlessly.
“It is.”
Rowdy pressed an open mouth kiss against my throat, and I sighed when I felt an invisible force pulling me toward the inevitable. “I don’t even know your real name.”
I thought Rowdy was his real name until I’d heard the other Kings call him O. I hadn’t been brave enough to ask and show too much interest in him.
I’d also had zero luck finding out who’d sent me those anonymous notes. I hadn’t received another since the second mysteriously arrived here of all places, and I couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or not.
Rowdy was biting and sucking on my neck when I felt his lips forming a name against my skin.
“Owen.”
Owen, I echoed in my head. My belly dipped, and I smiled despite myself. The name fit somehow. It was soft and unassuming, while he was hard and turbulent.
Balance.
“What’s your middle name?”
“It’s Rashaad, nosy. Anything else?”
“Um…your favorite color?” I yelped, surprised when he nipped my collarbone.
“Blue and green.”
His answer made my heart skip a beat, and I found myself smiling goofily at the ceiling. “Mine too,” I confessed.
Rowdy lifted his head and smirked. “Yeah, right, Atlas. You just wanted to copy me.”
“No, I don’t!” I giggled when he pinched my butt. I tried to swat him away, but he only pulled me closer. My knees buckled a little when I felt his dick growing against my stomach.
All thoughts of names and colors went poof as I quickly became alarmed. Rowdy alone was intimidating enough. The sheer size of the monster waking up terrified me.
“Um…how big are you?” I blurted.
Rowdy’s green eyes gleamed as he bit his bottom lip. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
“Maybe I should just ask Tuesday.”
I was pleased to have wiped the smugness from his face for all of two seconds before his expression turned savage. “What the fuck are you talking about, Atlas?”