Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 84913 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 425(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84913 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 425(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
The sexiest thing I had ever seen.
His hand shifted, his thumb finding the right spot, pressing.
"Vance..." My voice sounded airy, choked even to my own ears, making his breath sigh out of him.
His thumb went to do another swipe as my fingers clawed at his upper arms.
Then, ringing.
"Ignore it," he demanded when my body started to tense. As if to punctuate his point, his finger did another press as the ringing stopped. But just as I began to get back into it, it started up again. "Fuck," he growled, wrenching away from me, stalking over toward the living room to snatch his phone off the couch. "What?" It was a vicious, angry growl, something that managed to send another shock of desire through me as I tried desperately to bring some control back into my body, some focus back to my mind. Vance's gaze found mine, regret plain in his eyes. A sigh. His hand raking across the back of his neck. "Shit. Yeah. Okay. On our way."
Just like that, it was all over.
We had to go.
My Uncle Cash and Aunt Lo were picking my parents up at the airport. They said they would text my brothers when they were close. From there, West would let us know so we could get there first while he distracted my brothers.
We would wait out back until things calmed a little then we would go in.
Nerves twisted in my belly, snaked around my chest and throat.
"Everything is going to be fine," Vance told me as he shrugged his cut back on. "The sooner we get there, though, the better."
"Right," I agreed, hopping off the counter, looking down at myself.
I hadn't considered things like outfits and my overall appearance in a long time. Everything had sort of come down to utility, what was easiest to fight and train in. It didn't matter what I looked like. In fact, the less approachable I looked, the better.
This was the first time I could remember fretting about my slim wardrobe choices in ages.
I had on a simple pair of bluejeans and a white tee. I had my combat boots and my leather jacket. But that was it. Nothing soft. Nothing warm. No jewelry or makeup to speak of.
I would be a far cry from the daughter they remembered, the one who spent hours in front of the mirror, who had enough clothing to clothe an entire village somewhere.
"Ace," Vance called, making me shake the thoughts away. Even an unkempt daughter was better than no daughter at all, I imagined.
"Yeah?" I asked, shrugging into my leather jacket, taking a steadying breath.
"We got some shit to talk about now too," he told me, gaze full of meaning.
We'd finally crossed that line.
And I didn't think either of us wanted to go back.
Which, well, was problematic, wasn't it?
In more ways than one.
If we kept it up, he was right, there would need to be some talking.
But I had to take one uncomfortable interaction at a time.
"Let's get going," I said, brushing past him, moving outside, not bothering to wait for him to follow. I knew he would. We'd planned this in painstaking detail. The guards at the gate had even been told ahead that we were coming, to let us in.
There was a sense of urgency in me as we hid out behind the building, as I heard the SUV pull into the yard, the doors opening and closing, the sounds of my family reuniting in the clubhouse. I wasn't sure if that urgency stemmed from how much I really did want to see them, or the bone-deep need to get the initial interaction over with—or both—. But there was no denying it was coursing through my system as we finally heard things calm down, as West loudly declared it was nice to have everyone back—a not-so-subtle cue for us to finally make our move.
Vance went first, as we decided, moving in, saying hi, holding the door open.
And then it was my turn.
My heart skipped into overdrive as I forced my feet forward, as I moved into the doorway, then back into the clubhouse.
My mother saw me first.
She'd been giving Vance one of her warm, familiar smiles. Then saw a figure move in beside him.
The smile stayed there for a second as she searched my features, as she made them make sense.
And then the smile fell entirely, her whole face becoming a mask of shock."Ferryn?" the sound shrieked out of her. And she was running even before it was finished coming out of her lips.
Just before we collided, I saw the face of my father, my brothers, my Uncle Cash, my Aunt Lo.
But then my mother's arms were around me, and mine instinctively went around her.
And she was all there was for a long moment. My mother and her familiar scent, the warmth of her embrace, her hot tears soaking through my tee.