Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 80261 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80261 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
I could see it in her eyes, she wanted to defy me.
In a challenging stance, she countered, “What’s the hard way?”
I scoffed, holding up her fake ID. “I call Daddy to come pick up his jailbait little girl.”
Through a clenched jaw, she emphasized, “I’m. Not. A. Little. Girl.”
She was only fueling my anger.
Narrowing my heated stare at her, I bit, “What do you think was going to happen if I didn’t stop him? You think he would have stopped himself from getting in your panties, Peach? Because I’m sure as fuck you’re as ripe as a peach.”
She glared at me. “He was just going to kiss me.”
“Men like him don’t kiss—they fuck. Let that be your first lesson in men.”
“And what about you? Huh?” In one determined stride, she was in my personal space. “What kind of man are you?”
I cocked my head to the side, growling, “The kind that stays away from jailbait pussy.”
She jerked back, surprised by my harshness.
“Now get your ass in my car,” I ordered in another blunt tone. “I won’t ask you again.”
She may have been young.
Innocent.
Naive.
But I knew right then and there this ripe peach…
Was fucking trouble.
Three
Haven
“Happy birthday, dear Haven!” my family and Cove sang. “Happy birthday to you!”
Dad nodded to my chocolate cake. “Blow out your candles, baby girl.”
I closed my eyes and made the same wish I did every year. However, it had yet to come true. Regardless, it didn’t stop me from making it. I blew out all the candles, silently hoping it’d come true this time.
“I can’t believe my baby’s eighteen,” Daddy announced, pulling me into the side of his chest. He kissed the top of my head.
I smiled, leaning into his embrace.
Jace was the first to tug me away. “It doesn’t matter how old you are, Teeny. You’ll always be our baby sister.”
I playfully smacked him on the chest. “How many times have I told you to stop calling me that? I’m not three anymore.”
Troy laughed. “Tough shit, Teeny.”
I rolled my eyes, instantly hearing Hayes’s voice.
His words, “Little girl.”
They played on repeat in my mind all week long. There was no getting away from my thoughts about him. The ride home was silent. Hayes blared the music in his big ass, black, Denali truck. He had a sweet ride that was for sure. My brother Reid was into cars, teaching me a lot about them. I tried not to fawn over the hemi engine while he drove me home, staring out the window instead.
However, the loud music made it impossible to talk anyway. He only turned it down once we entered my neighborhood and caught me by surprise he cared about the noise compliance. Though he didn’t care enough to drop me off near my front door. He left me at the gate entrance of my property instead. We lived on five acres. It was a hike to walk from the gate to the front door.
When I said that to him, he simply replied, “Better hurry if you want to make curfew, Peach.”
Asshole.
It didn’t matter how many times I tried to shake my thoughts about him, he consumed my head. It was as frustrating as it was confusing all at the same time.
Why couldn’t I stop thinking about him?
He treated me like shit, but he still protected me. It didn’t make any sense. I didn’t believe his excuse of me being underage. Cove had been partying in his biker bar for weeks with her fake ID. He would have kicked her out if that was truly the problem. There was more to the story, and I was dying to find out what the next chapters were.
I wanted him to eat his words, apologizing for the way he treated me.
Who the hell did he think he was?
The more I thought about it, the angrier I was.
Cove asked, “You thinking about Hayes again?” Only loud enough for me to hear, tearing me away from my reckless thoughts.
I bowed my head, opening one of my gifts on the table. “No.”
“Liar.”
I shrugged.
“You get this annoyed expression on your face when you’re thinking about him.”
“Yeah,” I chuckled. “That sounds about right.”
“What’s with you and him anyway? Since when do you obsess over a guy?”
“I’m not obsessing.”
“I’ve seen that scowl on your face more this week than I have all year.” She smiled. “You can’t hide from your best friend.”
I smirked. “I know.”
We’d been best friends since we were five, bonding over the fact that we both loved the color teal instead of pink or purple like the other girls in our preschool class did. Cove was the only child, spending more time at my house than her own. Her parents had demanding jobs, high-profile ones where they weren’t around a lot.
Jace brought our attention over to him, questioning, “What trouble are you two getting into tonight?”