Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 77775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
We fall into silence, both of us drifting to our own thoughts. Dempsey is a good kid who’s hurting for not feeling seen in his own family. Maybe he and Nathan can work on finding common ground so Dempsey doesn’t feel so alone.
“Anything else you want to talk about?” I ask gently. “Like the one you want but can’t have?”
He rises to his feet, shaking his head. “Nope. I’m tired as fuck.”
I grumble out a good night to him as he reenters the house. With a sigh, I stand up and fold up the blanket. The chill quickly seeps its way into my bones as awareness creeps in. When Dempsey was here, I didn’t think twice about being outside. I felt safe talking to him. Now that he’s gone, the familiar fear crawls down my spine.
Someone’s watching me.
Panicked thoughts of Sean prowling about in the darkness have me bolting off the porch like my ass is on fire. The quicker I can get to Jude’s house, the quicker I can get my heart rate back to normal. I take off in a sprint, sticking to the moonlit areas rather than the dark, menacing shadows around the trees.
I’ve barely made it across the road when someone steps out of one of the shadows, blocking my path. I stumble to a halt, chest heaving and head spinning.
Jude.
His lurking ways don’t seem so irritating right now. In fact, I nearly jump into his arms with gratefulness. It takes all the will I have not to grab onto him and bury my face in his solid chest.
“Hey,” I croak out, stepping closer and closer until I’m in his warm, safe orbit.
He studies me intently through his mask. “Hey.”
When he offers me his elbow, I greedily hook my arm around his. He’s warm and smells like cinnamon. I wonder if he got into another one of Violet’s pies.
If he’s feeling awkward about dinner, he doesn’t mention it. Instead, he escorts me slowly back to his house. It’s cold and my heart is still hammering in my chest, but I’m not in a hurry to get back either. Being close to him, comforted by his strong, massive presence, is nice.
You once felt comforted by Sean, too.
I try not to think about Sean, but it’s hard not to. This time I’ve spent with the Parks has been a vacation from reality. I’m not stupid, though. Sean’s still out there, most likely pissed off to no end, searching for me.
When he finally catches up to me, there’ll be hell to pay.
I shiver at the thought of him grabbing me by the elbow and forcefully dragging me into my apartment. At one time, we’d shared a few good times watching movies on the couch and eventually fooling around. Sometimes he was even playful. Sean felt like “the one” for me in the beginning. That is, until I learned he was freaking married with a mess of kids.
I tried breaking it off, but it’s like a switch flipped inside him.
He transformed into an abusive, cruel, tortuous monster I can’t escape from.
Jude, while domineering, a bit controlling, and completely all up in my business, is not Sean. I even wonder, given the time, would I be able to confide in him about Sean. Would he want to protect me so fiercely like he protects his family?
All too soon, we’re stepping inside his warm, dark home. Jude shuts and locks the door behind him. Then he untangles our arms and takes my hand. We’re both cold, but his hand around mine quickly creates the heat I crave.
He doesn’t stride up the stairs like usual but instead takes his time. It’s evident he’s not eager to get rid of me. My stomach flops at that because I’m not so ready to leave him yet either. When we reach the stairs, my fuzzy friend greets us.
Meow.
Funky peeks out of my bedroom door that’s ajar and meows again. I squat down to pet his soft head and note that Jude hasn’t released my other hand. My cat looks up at Jude and then darts away from me, disappearing into Jude’s office.
I guess this is it.
Time to say good night.
Jude tugs me back upright and steps into my space. His masculine, cinnamon scent dances in the air around me, making my mouth water for a taste. I tilt my head up to peer into his electric eyes.
“Thanks for walking me,” I murmur. “I really appreciate that.”
I felt safe and protected because of you.
He takes a step toward me, his body crowding mine. The urge to stand on my toes and lick the side of his neck is so tempting, I find myself staggering away from him until my ass hits the wall. He releases my hand, much to my disappointment, but then stalks closer until we’re so close, our chests brush against one another.