Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 138683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 693(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 462(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 693(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 462(@300wpm)
That’s what friends were for, and all.
But I knew better than asking so much of someone else.
My smile came soft. “You’re so kind, Milo, but I can’t—”
He suddenly shoved off the island and stalked around the side of it.
The words stalled on my tongue as he came to tower over me.
All that burly intimidation on display.
Beautiful Beast.
He grabbed the arms of the stool and swiveled it so I was facing him.
The man clutched them as if they were a life raft and he was in danger of going under.
Still, he angled down to get close to my face.
God, he was really freaking hot, and my mouth went dry as that dark intensity pulsed from him in shattering waves.
Stealing my breath and pounding my heart so frantically I thought it would bust through my ribs.
“You think I’m doing this for you out of obligation, Tessa? Because I’m a nice guy?” A growl filled the words, and I was getting sucked deeper into his mystery, into the deepest woods where the light couldn’t make it beneath the shroud of heavy, dense leaves.
A safe haven that whispered of destruction.
This man, who clearly wore a beautifully broken halo.
I struggled to draw oxygen into my thinned airways.
He dragged the stool even closer, so close I might as well have been in his arms. “I won’t sleep knowing you’re out there by yourself, and I’m already a flat second from rollin’ out that door, finding that prick, and showing him just what I think of him. Believe me, Tessa, that shit wouldn’t be pretty.”
He lifted one hand and ran the pad of his thumb over the tiny cut on my lip.
Gently, though it nipped with a current of rage.
His attention dipped to that spot for one second before his eyes cut to mine.
“So, no, Tessa, I’m not asking you to stay here because I think it’s the right thing to do. I’m asking you because I need you here. Just for a little while, until I know you’re safe and you’ve found your way.”
My tongue swept over my lips, every part of me shaking, my hands and my words and my unsteady heart. “I mean, because we’re friends, right?”
He peeled himself away, staring me down as he grumbled, “Yeah, Tessa, because we’re friends.”
Then he pointed at my plate. “Now eat, before your food gets cold.”
THREE
MILO
What the fuck was I thinking?
I stormed into my bedroom, slammed the door shut behind me, and drove my fingers into my hair. I started to pace, nothing but a madman tearing up the floor.
Of all the goddamn ideas I could have, I had to go and invite her to stay here? Hell, I’d all but demanded it.
And I’d done it already knowing having her here last night had nearly pushed me to a boiling point.
The entire night, I’d been torn between sitting in the corner of the guest room and watching her sleep to make sure she was fine and whole and hopping into my truck and taking a quick jog back into town so I could hunt a motherfucker down.
Ruin him for daring to touch on that beauty.
For tainting it.
Marring it.
I paced the other direction, doing my best to get my shit together. I needed to actually be there for her instead of inciting the type of mess there was no chance she would be prepared for.
I’d made the snap decision to ask her to stay here when I’d caught a glimpse of what that asshole had texted her, sure there would be no letting her out of my sight.
There was no taking it back now.
I had to suck it up.
Pretend like the woman didn’t needle into places I couldn’t let her go.
Support her like the friend I was supposed to be.
Inhaling a steadying breath, I forced myself to focus. I strode through the ensuite bathroom and into the closet on the opposite side so I could at least find something for her to change into. Suffice it to say her parading around in my shirt was not gonna do.
There was a drawer in the built-in chest that I tended to stuff odds and ends into. My mom loved hanging out on the dock, and she was constantly leaving crap behind.
I opened it and started to rummage around to find her something that might work, tossing old pieces of random clothing out of the way. I stalled out when my fingers brushed on the worn fabric tucked at the very back.
Recognition hit me so fast it punched the air from my lungs.
Agony raced in to take its place, filling my chest cavity to the point of bursting.
Warily, I pulled out the small pair of yoga pants.
Hidden away.
Forgotten.
Except there was no fucking chance I could ever forget.
I turned around and slumped back against the drawers, bringing the fabric to my nose and inhaling deep.