Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 97339 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97339 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
I flinch away from Xavier’s touch, thoroughly disgusted by the man beside me, and glare up at him, but he doesn’t notice as Carter’s ferocious stare holds him captive. “What’s going on, babe?” Xavier asks me, a challenge in his tone as he fails to read the fucking room, his grip tightening around my waist.
Fury blasts through me, and I shove his hand off my waist before stepping closer to Carter, and even after five long months apart, Carter still knows me well enough to see that whatever the fuck is going on in here isn’t my doing. “Get the fuck out,” Carter growls, stepping into my apartment and discreetly putting himself in front of me.
“Excuse me?” Xavier scoffs, looking at Carter as though he’s the one intruding. “Who do you think you are?”
Carter doesn’t respond, just stands there, intimidating and imposing in the doorway, and all I can do is lift my hand to his back, unable to keep from touching him. Heat spreads through my touch, and for just a second, something eases within me. Carter leans into my touch, not daring to take his sharp glare off Xavier, and I watch as Xavier looks at me, his brows furrowed, clearly wondering why I haven’t stepped in and told Carter to fuck off. But if that’s what he’s waiting for, he’ll be waiting a long fucking time.
Xavier holds Carter’s stare like some kind of pissing contest before finally glancing back at me. I let out a frustrated sigh, knowing I’m going to have to intervene before Carter physically removes him from my apartment. “You need to leave.”
“What?” Xavier grunts, taken back. “I thought we had something going here.”
“Fuck no,” I say, not leaving any room for argument. “You’ve suffocated me all week, showing up here uninvited and blowing up my phone. It’s insanity. The only reason I didn’t kick you out is because I’m too fucking polite for that, but last night you crossed a line. Sleeping in my fucking bed? What the hell? When a woman falls asleep on the couch, that’s your cue to get your shit and leave. You don’t fucking take her to bed and climb in.”
Carter sees red and all fucking sense of control goes flying right out the fucking door. In the blink of an eye, he slams Xavier up against my wall, his hand braced around his throat. “What the fuck?” Xavier grunts, his eyes wide with fear as he tries to push Carter off him.
Undiluted rage burns through Carter’s eyes like molten lava, and I realize that despite everything Xavier’s done, he’s in a lot of trouble here. Rushing in, I force myself between the two men and grip Carter’s arms, knowing he feels the effects of my touch, just as I feel his. Reaching up with my other hand, I cup the side of his face, ignoring the way the feel of his skin on mine lights me up for the first time in five months.
“Carter,” I breathe, trying to gain his attention as I step right into him, his chest pressing against mine. My hand pushes around the back of his neck, and I pull, forcing his gaze to fall to mine. The moment I do, I feel his body finally begin to relax. “You need to let him go.”
Carter looks torn but finally sees sense and releases his manic hold on Xavier, and the second he does, Xavier hightails it for the door. “I didn’t sign up for this bullshit,” he says, grabbing his keys off the table and disappearing.
Thank fuck.
I hastily take a step back from Carter, looking up at him in concern. “What the hell has gotten into you?” I ask, not trying to sound mean, but my tone isn’t helping my case. “You can’t come in here and try to dictate my life. Hell, I don’t even recall inviting you through my door either.”
Carter scoffs, reaching back and yanking the door shut with a hard thud. “What does it even matter? You don’t even like that asshole a little bit.”
“So?” I grunt, crossing my arms over my chest, desperately wishing I could head back to bed for a few hours. “That doesn’t give you the right to kick him out of my apartment.”
“The fucker got into bed with you without your fucking consent, Bri. What was I supposed to do? Leave him be and hope like fuck he doesn’t try something tomorrow night?”
Fuck. I know he has a damn good point, but the last thing I want to do is admit it. So instead, I just glare at him, waiting to hear what he has to say for himself.
“Bri, please,” he sighs as he leans back against the closed door and drags his hands down his face, looking more exhausted than I think I’ve ever seen him. “I’m not here to start a fight.”