Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 56410 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 282(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56410 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 282(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
“Fuck them,” Reese said right away. She lifted her eyes to his, and after a second, he watched the discontent leave her as his words had this lightness coming to her eyes.
“Yeah?”
He smiled and nodded. “That’s my motto for just about everything, especially rich assholes.”
She laughed softly. “Yeah… fuck them.”
Thatta girl.
“And if those assholes want to think I’d have some ulterior motive for helping a girl out who was attacked—” He shrugged, but it was because he had to try to loosen his muscles. He’d gone pretty fucking tense all of a sudden. “—then let them think whatever. It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks, because we know the truth.” He’d had to not pay attention to what others thought or how they felt about him… hell, for damn near his whole life. If he worried about that shit, it would have eaten him alive.
“You’re not like the rest,” she said softly as she picked at her fries. She lifted her eyes again to meet his. “And that’s a compliment.”
“Same goes for you.” They held each other’s stares for long moments, and then he gestured to their food, needing to break up the moment, because what he wanted to do was lean in and kiss her.
Now wasn’t the right time for that, but eventually, Reese would do that ’cause as he looked into her face he felt his damn heart doing that funny thing again, and he had every intention of making Keira his.
11
Keira could have spent the whole day with Reese, and it still wouldn’t have been enough time. It was crazy how deep her emotions for him were growing, like roots planting themselves inside her.
He turned his truck onto her road then made his way up the circular driveway that led to her house. He stopped and put it in park, and then a beat of silence filled the interior.
“So, thanks for the escape and the meal.” Keira was seriously horrible at this. “I didn’t realize how much I needed that.”
He watched her for so long without saying anything that Keira didn’t know if he’d respond. Finally he said, “I’d like to hang out again, if you want?”
Her throat tightened, and she found herself nodding before she really let his statement sink in. “I’d like that.” Maybe I like it too much. She grabbed her bag from the floor and reached for the handle.
She felt her feelings for him suffocate her, and when he flashed her a straight, white toothed smile, she felt her sex clench in demand, in need.
What was it about this bad boy that had her belly tightening and her heart racing?
She didn’t know, but she wanted to explore it and see how far it went.
12
Reese’s heart hammered behind his ribs, and all he could think about, all he could hear in his mind, smell filling the interior of the truck… was Keira.
He waited until she was safely inside before he pulled out, not having a destination in mind, because he sure as fuck didn’t want to go home. He took a sharp left and headed a mile to the edge of the city limits. Five minutes later and he was pulling into the parking lot of the tattoo parlor. The small building was on the rougher side, with fading white paint and in need of a new roof, but anyone who wanted quality ink came to Max’s. A neon sign on the front window flashed OPEN in bright blue letters.
He climbed out of the truck and pushed the front door open. Max was working on a client and didn’t bother glancing up as he hollered out a hello and that he’d be right with him. Reese took a seat behind the front desk and waited.
A second later, the sound of the tattoo gun stopped, the pleased murmur of voices came through, and then Max was stepping around the front desk.
“Shouldn’t you be in school?” Max asked as he checked the client out.
Reese waited to start the conversation until they were alone.
“I skipped.”
Max looked at him with hooded deep-brown eyes. “Can you skip at that rich fucking school? Aren’t there laws against that shit at that fucking place?”
Reese snorted. “Maybe. Probably. But I had a good reason to.”
Max was silent for a second before prompting, “A good reason, as in the female kind?”
Reese shrugged but couldn’t keep his smile in check.
Max cocked a bushy white eyebrow at him, sat down, and leaned thick, heavily tattooed forearms on the counter. “So now you’re ditching class for some pussy on the side?”
Even though Max never minced his words and always called it like he saw it, Reese couldn’t help but get pissed at Keira being referred to as something like that. Max must have seen the emotion flicker across his face, because he made a deep noise in the back of his throat and watched Reese intently.