Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 142728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
“God will judge us, brother. Until then, keep doing what you know is right.” He thumps his fist over his heart. “In here. Not what people out there tell you is right.” He points a finger toward the door.
I love my brother and what he’s saying comes from a good place. So I don’t bother telling him that there is no God. Just the universe and its imperfect wisdom.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Dex
I probably should’ve sent Emily a text letting her know I was stopping by. It’s late. A school night for Libby. I don’t want to disrupt their lives but the need to see Emily burns in my chest. Kissing her has been on my mind since she left Crystal Ball.
Unlike some of my brothers, I’ve never modified my exhaust system to make it louder. Even so, at this hour, the whole neighborhood will hear me coming. I slow the bike as I turn onto her street and basically coast into her driveway.
Lights from the living room shine through the slivers of curtain. Hopefully that means I didn’t wake her up.
Outdoor lights pop on, nearly blinding me as I walk to the front porch. The overhead light blinks to life and after a few seconds, the front door creaks open.
“Dex?” Emily whispers.
“Did I wake you?”
“No.” There’s a click as she unlatches the screen door.
I open it and slip inside.
“What’re you doing here?”
“I missed you.”
The corners of her mouth turn up. “You just saw me a few hours ago.”
“It wasn’t enough.” I lean down to kiss her, but she ducks to the side.
“Hang on.” A heap of black metal flashes in her hand as she skirts around me. She stops at the antique-looking entryway table that I’ve never given much thought to, and slides open a long, slim drawer, revealing a biometric safe about the size of a shoebox.
A million thoughts race through my head as she presses her thumb to the keypad, unlocking the safe, and stashes a small black pistol inside. She shoves the drawer closed and faces me.
“You always answer the door gun-in-hand?” I ask.
She cocks her head as if it was a dumb question. “Don’t tell me guns bother you?”
I snort. “No.” I step closer, resting my hands on her hips. “In fact, I’m very turned-on by a woman who’s ready to protect herself.”
She huffs a soft laugh and leans into me. “Of course you are.”
More serious now, I stare into her troubled hazel eyes. “I didn’t mean to scare you, though.”
“I thought it was you, but I wasn’t completely sure.”
While I tried to make light of it, I’m bothered that she feels so unsafe in her own house that she keeps a gun by the door. “I hope I didn’t wake Libby,” I say.
Emily turns toward the stairs. “She’s all the way at the end of the hallway. Farthest from the road. I doubt it.”
“Good.” I pull her closer. She tips her head back and I press my lips to hers. She sighs, her body melting against mine.
“I’m happy you’re here,” she whispers against my lips. “Just in case that wasn’t clear.”
I release her for now, turning to shrug out of my cut. Heat hovers around me like a cloud. Emily must set the temperature high at night. Or I’m chilled from the long ride. I unbutton my flannel and pull it off too.
“You can keep going,” she teases.
I flash a lopsided grin. “Not until you earn it.”
“Ooo.” She fans her hand in front of her face for a second. “Hey, are you hungry? I made chicken and broccoli for dinner and there’s a lot left over.”
I’m about to say I don’t want her to go to any trouble when my stomach rumbles. “Yeah, if you don’t mind.” Besides, I need something to do so I can keep my hands off of her for a few minutes.
“I wouldn’t have asked if I did.” She turns and gestures over her shoulder for me to follow.
In the kitchen, she quickly dishes a generous portion of chunks of chicken and bright green broccoli onto a plate. “I don’t have any rice,” she says. “We had cauliflower rice with it and there isn’t any of that left.”
“Looks good the way it is.”
She throws me a grateful smile.
“You think I’d show up unannounced and demand you cook for me?” I ask.
“No. Doesn’t mean I don’t want you to be happy, though.”
“I’m just happy being in your aura, Emily.”
She side-eyes me. “I never pegged you for an aura kind of guy.”
Amused, one corner of my mouth slides up. “I don’t enjoy being put in a box.”
Her smile fades as if she’s worried I’m mad or something. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it in a bad way.”
I reach over and capture her hand. “Relax, I know what you meant. You don’t have to censor yourself around me. I’m hard to offend.”