Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 60018 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 300(@200wpm)___ 240(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60018 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 300(@200wpm)___ 240(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
“I have Dad’s house and he’s happy to let me live there. Besides, this way if I hook up with someone, it has to be at their place. It’s easier for me to get out the next morning instead of having to make them leave. It’s not always easy to be me.”
Raven grinned.
“This guy,” Remy said with a shake of his head. “Now, can we go inside? It’s freezing.”
They trudged up to the house, the dog following close behind.
Dex stopped. “Go home,” he said to the big, black dog.
After giving him a soulful look, the dog bounded off, for home, she assumed. “He’s well trained.”
“Brian takes in dogs and trains them, too. The grounds are big enough. Let’s get going. Remy’s got thin blood,” Dex said.
Remy smacked him lightly on the head and they all headed inside.
Raven glanced around, taking in the rustic feel of the cabin-like house that featured modern accessories and amenities. Despite the huge property and the idea of so many surrounding homes, Raven felt at home here.
She pulled off her jacket and laid it over the tallest piece of luggage. The guys did the same, stripping off their jackets. Remy wore a sweatshirt and a pair of faded jeans that she’d already noticed clung lovingly to his ass. An ass she liked to squeeze when he was on top of her and thrusting deep.
She cleared her throat. “Is it okay if I wander and check out the house?” she asked, eager to get away.
“Make yourself at home,” the man who starred in her dirty dreams said. “I’ll hang out with Dex for a while.”
Relieved Remy hadn’t noticed the heavy flush on her cheeks, she nodded and took off to check out the massive house, leaving the men alone.
* * *
Remy and Dex ended up in the family room. The house had a slight chill and Remy immediately decided he’d be making a fire so he could sit in here and have Raven snuggled close.
“I said I’d wait and decide if you need a lecture. You do. So… another damsel in distress?” Dex asked.
Remy stiffened. There was no equating Raven with any woman in his past. “It’s not like that.”
Dex raised an eyebrow. “Then what is it like because as I recall, every woman you’ve been with since Mom died was someone who needed you in some way. You need to save them.”
Frowning, Remy glared at his brother. “I don’t have a savior complex and Raven is different.”
“Oh, so she’s not here because you’re protecting her from her psychotic brother?”
Without answering, Remy walked over to the French doors and looked out onto the rolling lawn behind, covered in light snow. Knowing Dex would give him this time to think, he took advantage.
As much as Remy resented his brother’s words, he knew Dex meant well. The truth was, their mother’s death had been the catalyst for Remy going into police work and joining up with Zach when that job became stale. True, he’d met his ex-wife when she’d been the victim of a mugging and stabbing. She’d needed him and he liked being needed. Liked knowing he could help her where he couldn’t with his mother. They were married after six months.
What could Remy say? He’d been young, out of the academy only three years, and eager to settle down. He’d come home one night after being grazed by a bullet and bandaged at the hospital. The sight had awakened Sadie from her fog, as he now saw it. She’d left him a short time afterward, unable to handle the danger inherent in his job. Why she couldn’t have realized that before they got married was beyond him, but all victims handled the aftermath differently.
Remy thought about the women he dated afterward and turned to meet his patient brother’s gaze. “Fine. So maybe I do have a complex,” he muttered. “And you and Fallon talk too much,” he said, knowing his siblings had likely discussed the situation since they were the only two people in the family who knew about Raven’s stalker issue.
“Fallon loves you and is worried about you. And frankly, so am I. When you told me you were into Raven…” He tilted his head toward the main part of the house where Raven was wandering. “I figured it’d be short term and fizzle out. But you brought her to the family compound?”
“Because I need to keep her safe and with me. And before you give me that look, the situation is different from Sadie or anyone else. Raven is different.” He’d known it from the moment they met. Maybe she needed his help now but that hadn’t been the reason he’d fallen for her.
“So she’s not just another one of your mysteries you like to solve?”
Remy shook his head. “Dammit, Dex. Stop trying to psychoanalyze me.”