Total pages in book: 154
Estimated words: 151765 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 759(@200wpm)___ 607(@250wpm)___ 506(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151765 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 759(@200wpm)___ 607(@250wpm)___ 506(@300wpm)
The guys were yelling next to me. Cohen was clapping and then turning and high-fiving my cousins and me. I stepped away from the intensity because it was overwhelming, and jarring, but it was also a reminder where I was. At a fight. Watching a fight. With strangers, and my cousins, and I’d completely forgotten everything else until that moment. I’d been so enthralled with Scout, and my gaze went back to him.
His eyes were on me.
They were piercing.
He wanted me in that moment. I knew it, like his eyes darkened at seeing me because he knew I wanted him as well.
Fuck.
Fuck!
The ache was there, right where he’d thrust inside. Him moving in me. Him touching me. Tasting me. I wanted to feel his arms around me, his sleek muscles holding me in place as he pounded me, and I wanted it bad.
God.
I ripped my gaze away, physically aching. Aching from looking away from him, from seeing what I was feeling reflecting in him, and aching from the total and complete throbbing that was going through my entire body.
“You ready?”
I startled, rounding on my cousin. “What?”
Trenton was the one who asked, and I looked around for everyone else. Clint in the corner, talking to some girls, but Alex and Cohen were gone. After another second, I spotted them winding their way to the cage to talk to Scout. I couldn’t endure that, standing there, listening to the guys talk to Scout, not being able to touch him. And knowing he would know the torment that’d be on me. It was humiliating in a way because I had no doubt he’d have his needs checked by then.
Or hell, he’d literally have them fulfilled by someone else. Someone not me.
No matter how much my wanton body wanted to do it, I couldn’t. No way. He was Alex’s best friend. He and Cohen were friends with Clint and Trenton. I was their cousin.
It’d be wrong.
I coughed, my voice coming out hoarse, “Could we leave? Like now?”
Trenton blinked, his grin fading. “Are you okay?”
“Could Alex get a ride back with Cohen? This whole situation was a lot for me. I thought I could handle it . . .” I was lying. I needed to stop and just let it be where I left it because my cousins could tell when I lied. They’d always been able to tell. They were human Ramsay lie detectors, but Trenton’s gaze had darkened. He nodded quickly. “Yeah. Yeah. We can go.”
Relief hit me hard.
We started down, and I heard him yelling at Clint, “Gotta go, doofus.”
“Don’t call me doofus, doofus. Hey, wait. What’s going on? Is something wrong with Ramsay?” He caught up, zeroing in on me and getting a good look at my face. I let him see how bothered I was, masking the other emotions. He cursed under his breath. “I’m sorry, Rams. I thought—”
I shook my head. “Let’s just get home. I had fun, but it got to be a lot by the end.”
“Yeah. Yeah.” He ran a hand over his face, sharing a look with Trenton. “We’ll head home.”
Right before we stepped outside, I glanced back and saw Scout watching us as if he knew the truth.
His gaze was almost mocking as I ducked my head and kept going.
Kept running from him.
11
RAMSAY
“CANNONBALL!!!!!!”
The next day, I went home from school excited to spend the afternoon with my mom, only to find her packing our cooler because we were not going to be spending the day alone. Instead, we were spending the day on the river with my cousins, my aunt, and my uncle since it was a hot day. So here we were, or here I was, lying out on the front of the boat when Clint jumped over me. His knees were tucked to his chest as he crashed into the water. It splashed up and over me.
The guys had been cool after the fight. At school, Cohen asked if I’d been okay and that made me feel guilty. He knew the guys took me home right after the fight for a reason.
The only person who hadn’t seemed to care was Scout, and well, he knew the real reason.
Then Gem found out I’d gone to one of Scout’s fights without her and that took precedent over everything else. Even my cousins started avoiding us if they saw I was with her because, by the end of the day, I was offering a blood promise to invite her the next time I went to one of Scout’s fights with my cousins. Especially with my cousins. That was a big part of it for her.
And so here we were, and Clint wasn’t alone in cannonballing me.
Alex followed Clint’s cannonball with one of his own. Trenton came next.
I glared at the fourth guy in line to jump, but Cohen only laughed, held his hands up in mock surrender, and jumped over me anyway. He just didn’t cannonball.