Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 151384 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 757(@200wpm)___ 606(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151384 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 757(@200wpm)___ 606(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
That wasn’t what he’d expected Jenner to say.
“She is. Not what I thought you were coming out to say.”
“No? Hell, I wasn’t sure what I was coming out to say.”
“Is she all right?” Worry swirled in his gut. Tobias hadn’t wanted to leave her, but if he’d stayed . . . well, he might never have left.
And she wasn’t ready for him to make that move yet.
Tobias wasn’t used to waiting to take what he wanted. But he couldn’t mess this up. Immy was too important.
“Her blood pressure was low. And she’s tired. She should rest tomorrow. You should make sure she rests.”
He shot the other man a sharp look. It was dark and the outside lights didn’t illuminate the back porch enough for him to see the expression on Jenner’s face.
“I should make sure she rests? What about you?” Tobias asked.
“I will take care of her as much as I can. But I can’t be here all the time. Immy deserves the fucking world. Don’t tell her I was swearing.”
“You can’t afford the swear jar fees?” Tobias asked dryly.
Jenner let out a huff of laughter. “Something like that.”
“Pretty sure I could have bought myself a new car with how much money I’ve had to put in that jar,” Tobias said.
Jenner nodded. “She’s been scared of the dark for a while now, although nothing like this has ever happened before. It has to be because of our time at the Camp. That was part of the reason she fainted. The rest was likely her low blood pressure. She needs to drink lots of water and eat regularly.”
What the fuck had happened at the Camp? Who the fuck did he have to kill? Because if some fucking asshole had scared or hurt her . . .
“The Deity had a naughty cupboard where bad kids got locked up. It was small and dark. We didn’t know that Immy had been locked in there a few times. Or we would have snuck her out. She didn’t tell us until later.” There was fury in Jenner’s voice. “If I could go back and kill that bastard, I would. Immy won’t talk about it, though. Or speak to a therapist. I just thought you should know since you’re spending so much time taking care of her.”
Jenner really did care about Immy. A lot. Enough that he was telling Tobias this even though Tobias was technically just her security.
And it made Tobias angry for some reason.
“You ever think about making her yours?” he asked as Jenner turned away.
The other man froze. And Tobias could hear his harsh breaths.
“All the fucking time. Every second of every day. All I think about is Immy. About her being mine.”
“She would be if you would step up and claim her.” Although Tobias wasn’t letting her go without a fight.
“Maybe. But I’m not what she needs. I don’t deserve her. We all have our own demons and unfortunately, my demons are tied to Immy.”
“Because of your time in the cult?” Tobias asked, confused.
“Yeah. Our time in the cult. And the assholes who . . . who abused us.”
Tobias swallowed heavily. “Abused you?”
“There’s all sorts of abuse.”
“You talking to someone about that?”
“I tried once. It could be time to try again,” Jenner said.
“You’ve got a good thing here. A good family. They need you.”
“I know that. Believe me.”
There was something in Jenner’s voice that he didn’t understand. And before he could question him, the other man was gone.
Maybe Tobias had been wrong about him. Perhaps he wasn’t an oblivious asshole who didn’t see what was right in front of him.
Maybe he was a damaged man who did see the beauty presented to him and was too scared to touch it for fear of tarnishing it. Tobias knew all about that, he just didn’t let it get in the way of what he wanted.
What would be best for Immy, though?
Who would be best for Immy?
Jenner. They fit together. They had a past. Immy clearly loved him.
However, Tobias wasn’t a good enough man to step aside and let him have her. Especially as he couldn’t trust that Jenner would actually catch her when she reached out for him.
And no one got to upset his girl.
Not Jenner.
And not him.
Tobias stared down at the hand he’d used to smack her ass. He’d gone too far tonight, that was clear to see.
And he would owe her an apology. The way she’d run from him . . . yeah, he didn’t fucking like that. Nor the way that she’d run outside to find him, breaking one of her rules.
She’d deserved a scolding. To be punished.
But he shouldn’t have done it that way. Nope, he’d pull back a bit on his Dominant side until he could have a proper conversation with her about rules.
And punishments.
20
“Baby? What are you doing up?” Jenner asked as he walked into the office.