Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 88936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Nope. Don’t think about it.
We were at the car in minutes, and I did my damnedest to watch the road as I started driving back to her house while she took off the rain boots and began putting her heels back on. All that skin I didn’t get to touch. Teasing me with it. Yeah, I didn’t care if this was for the best. I hated that motherfucker for ending the night before I wanted to.
She was silent most of the way back, and by the way she held her body, I could tell she was tense. Unable to resist any longer, I reached over and took one of her fisted hands, then flipped it over. With the pad of my thumb, I caressed her fingers, and she relaxed them, slowly opening until she wasn’t pressing her nails into her palm anymore.
I glanced at her, and she was watching me rub her hand. I ran my fingers from the tops of hers, all the way down to the base of her palm, then back up, continuing the pattern. The sound of her breath hitching made my cock start to stiffen again. I bet she sounded fucking amazing when she got off.
“Better?” I asked her.
She nodded. “Yes,” was her whispered response.
“I’ll go with you to get him,” I said.
Her head snapped up, and she looked at me, wide-eyed. “No. No, you don’t have to do that. It’s fine, really.”
I’d go straight there, but he wasn’t fitting in the back of this car. She could argue with me all she wanted, but I was going to Miller’s with her. Mostly because I hated thinking of her dealing with him on her own, but there was also the thought of her walking into that bar, dressed like she was, that wasn’t helping my mood.
“I want to,” I told her.
“I don’t want you to.”
I cut my eyes at her. “Ready to get rid of me so soon?”
A sad smile touched her lips. “No, it’s not that. I wish …” She sighed. “I was enjoying the evening. I don’t want it to end with you seeing my drunk father, acting like a jerk at the bar.”
I laced my fingers through hers and held her hand. “Life isn’t a fairy tale, Royal. We all deal with real shit. I’m not going to go running when I see what yours looks like.”
She laid her head back against the seat as her fingers curled around my hand as if she needed me. That one little move triggered an odd reaction deep inside me. I didn’t recognize it, and I wasn’t sure this was a good thing. The closest description I could think of to label it was pleasure, but that wasn’t strong enough. There was a dangerous edge to it. Almost as if a predator had been lying dormant in my soul and it had just been woken up for the first time, currently sated.
But what would happen when it wasn’t?
• Fifteen •
“He can’t breathe!”
Royal
Not only was he determined to go with me, but he was also driving the Bug. If I wasn’t so stressed about him seeing my dad like this, I would laugh at the picture he made. His tall body and broad shoulders sitting behind the wheel of my Grams’s Volkswagen Bug.
Before we had left in this car to head to the bar, Amory had convinced Maeme to go on home since Grams had taken her meds and was asleep. I hated having to rush off instead of thanking her properly and asking her about the evening. She had been so kind to come stay with Grams. I needed to get her address so I could send her a thank-you card.
“This place?” Amory asked as he slowed in front of Miller’s Bar.
“Yeah,” I told him. “Pull around to the back door. They normally have him back there so it’s easier for me to get to him.”
Amory nodded, but his jaw was clenched tightly. Not only did it stand out more, but the veins in his neck were also prominent I wanted to make that look go away, but I knew there was nothing I could do. He disapproved of my dad doing this. So did I, but this was life. It wasn’t like I could stop him.
The moment he stopped the car, I was already unbuckled. I opened the door to bolt out and get to the bar first. I wasn’t sure if he’d stay in the car or not. Hopefully, he would. My dad wasn’t a nice drunk. If he decided to go on one of his rants about me, then I didn’t want Amory to hear him. It was bad enough that the bartenders at Miller’s had more than once.
The door swung open, and Glenn, one of the younger bartenders, came out, holding my dad’s arm in a firm grip as he stumbled and cursed.