Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 70162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Jacob just glared at me.
“I mean, I really like him. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t want to, but…”
“Well, damn. It seems like love is in the air around here.”
I shook my head frantically. “No. I don’t… It’s not like that. I just… I mean, I’d like to see him again. I am going to see him again.”
Jacob grinned. “Good for you.”
“You think I should?”
“Of course you should. He’s the first man you’ve really taken an interest in since I met you.”
“What? That’s not true.”
“I didn’t say he was the first man you’d fucked.”
I sighed. “Jacob, just because you’re in love doesn’t—”
“Mean you have to be. I get that, but I want you to be happy, and you smile when you talk about this guy.”
“It’s temporary.”
“The guy or your happiness?”
“Probably both.”
Jacob raised his brows. “You don’t have to be a martyr, you know? You can go for what you want.”
“I want to work on a ranch, and I’m not a martyr.”
“You nearly killed yourself on the rodeo circuit to raise money for your family. You acted out to make sure your father focused his anger on you so Rhys wouldn’t get the brunt of it.”
Anger burned through me. “That was my secret. Who told you that?”
“You did, idiot.”
“No, I wouldn’t have.”
“You were very drunk.”
Oh fuck. I bet I knew when. “The day I lost in San Antonio?”
Jacob nodded.
I needed to remember not to drink around Ghost. He was the last person I should spill any of my secrets to.
“Rogue, you deserve to be happy.”
I shook my head. “I… I’ve fucked up a lot.”
“Haven’t we all?”
“Not Saint Grant.”
He scowled at me. “Your brother has plenty of faults.”
“Have you tried telling him that?”
“Yes.”
“How did it go?”
“About as well as you’d expect.”
I met his gaze, and we both burst out laughing. It took several minutes for us to calm down.
Jacob studied me when he’d sobered, and I fought the urge to look away. “Who is this guy?”
“I don’t kiss and tell.”
“That’s a change from your rodeo days.”
I flipped him off.
“Seriously, Rogue.”
“He’s just a guy I met.”
He looked at me like he was trying to read my mind.
Did he know? Ghost and I had flirted openly in front of him, but I flirted with everybody, and Jacob didn’t know Ghost was close by.
“Be careful.” Jacob’s voice was as serious as I’d ever heard it.
“I’m always careful.”
Jacob took a few quick steps backward.
“What?”
“I don’t want to be too close when lightning strikes you.”
“Asshole. So I’m not careful, but with this… I have to be.”
“Have you considered that maybe you’re being careful about the wrong things?”
My breath caught in my lungs. I wouldn’t have been able to speak even if I knew what to say.
“It’s okay to feel things, Rogue.”
I shook myself, breaking free of the spell his words had cast on me. “I feel things all the time. That’s why I loved bull riding. The adrenaline rush.”
“Which kept you from feeling anything else.”
“Damn, what did I do to you to deserve this?”
“You’ve been my friend. You helped pull me out of hell, and you brought me here.”
“And you repaid me by fucking my brother.”
Color rose in Jacob’s cheeks. “It just happened.”
I gave him a reassuring smile. “I’m glad it did.”
“You are? Really?”
“Yes. Of course I am. I care about you, and you know I love Grant.”
“You would do anything for him, wouldn’t you?”
I nodded.
“He would do anything for you too.”
I sighed. He would die for me, but he wouldn’t be happy about me and Ghost getting together. I wasn’t sure he was ever going to decide I was ready to be given the same level of responsibility as Rhys.
“Rogue, he loves you.”
“I know that. I do. I just wish he trusted me, but I fucked that up a long time ago.” I’d changed so much, though. At least Rhys was starting to see it.
“Grant will come around.”
I looked at Jacob and saw real confidence in his eyes. “I hope so.”
“Enjoy yourself with your new man.”
A flash of what Ghost and I had done the night before popped into my mind. He’d known exactly what I wanted better than I even knew myself.
“That is one thing I can promise.” At least until it’s time for him to leave. Surely he’d be out of my system by then. I wasn’t stupid enough to think this was something long-term. We were good in bed. Why not keep it up while he was close enough?
And if he were close again later?
I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to say no to him.
12
GHOST
As soon as Rogue was out the door, I called X. Before I got in deeper with Rogue, I needed to find out more of his story. Was he really as good a man as he seemed? Since X had hired Grant, I had no doubt he’d done a full investigation of Grant’s family.