Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 146477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
“Oh, shut up,” I laugh as butterflies swarm through my stomach at just the thought of what Knight and I might mean to each other. “I think it might be something serious.”
“Wow. I never thought I’d see the day,” he tells me. “Won’t lie, I’m kinda jealous. I’m going to have to go find someone else for those 4 a.m. booty calls. Do you have any idea how hard that is going to be?”
“Why? Because I’m irreplaceable?”
“No,” he scoffs. “Because what woman would voluntarily put up with a guy who likes to fuck in the middle of the night? Don’t get me wrong, you and me together. We were always great, that’s not the issue. It’s just that most chicks aren’t spending their nights playing with dead people.”
A laugh bubbles up my throat. “It was always great with us, wasn’t it?”
He scoffs again. “Remember our first time?” he questions, recalling the one moment that we weren’t compatible. “You were a mess, trying to put your leg in places it’s got no business being.”
“Me?” I gasp, gaping at him wide-eyed. “Uh-uh. That was not my fault. That one was all on you. I mean, shit. What man in their right mind asks a girl he just met to perform acrobatics during sex? It’s not my fault that my foot slipped off the headboard and broke your nose.”
Laith reaches up and touches his nose, shaking his head. “Sometimes when it’s cold, I can still feel the pain.”
I roll my eyes and shove him in the side. “You’re such a loser.”
“Maybe. But you’ll always be a bigger loser,” he laughs, pulling me back in. “I’m glad you’re happy with this guy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you.”
“Thank you,” I murmur, a small smile playing on my lips. “You know that’s what I want for you too, and you’ll find it.”
Laith scoffs. “Oh, hell no. I’m content with my single, bachelor lifestyle. I’m not looking for someone to come and screw that up. I’m just fine on my own. Don’t go jinxing me with that shit.”
I roll my eyes. There’s no surprise that Harvey Spector has always been his idol. “You know, I hope some amazing chick comes along and really knocks you on your ass.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
I laugh. “I, ummm . . . I also think now that Knight and I might be something a little more than just two people mashing their junk together, I think we need to cool it on the flirty texts. Though to be fair, when I was texting you the other day, I thought you were dead and that my masked stalker was texting from your phone, but—”
“Wait. Why are you sending flirty sex texts to your stalker?” he asks, cutting me off before his eyes go wide. “Oh fuck! Was this stalker thing some kind of sexual fantasy? Were you getting railed by this guy? Holy fucking shit. I always knew you had some nasty undiscovered kinks. Were you holding back on me all these years?”
I press my lips into a hard line, regretting having brought up the texts in the first place. “Don’t you have somewhere to be? Court? The office? Searching old dive bars for your next booty call?”
Laith laughs. “Oh, hell no. Don’t even try to change the topic. I wanna hear all about this freaky stalker. What did your imaginary friend do to you? Did he put it down like I can? Fuck, tiger. Give me all the filthy details.”
Fuck me. This is going to be one hell of a long afternoon.
41
KNIGHT
Okay, I’ve done a lot of stupid shit in my life, but this about takes the cake.
I’m not the type of man who gets nervous, yet here I am, standing outside Harper’s apartment shitting bricks. If she were ever going to beat my ass, then today would be the day.
She was released from the hospital a little over a week ago and is doing great. She’s been taking her meds and has gone to regular therapy sessions with Dr. Preston trying to get to the bottom of her episodes and discover what helped to manifest such violent hallucinations. She hasn’t had an episode since, and seeing the way her eyes light up instead of being clouded by fear only confirms that I did the right thing.
I hated betraying her trust like that, forcing her into a psych hold wasn’t done without thought, and seeing the way she looked at me with such profound betrayal gutted me, but now that she’s come out the other end and is actively getting the help she needs to put this behind her and move forward, it all seems worth it.
On the plus side, the extra few days in the hospital did wonders for her healing body. Her injuries from being jumped in that alley have dramatically faded, leaving only slight yellowing, which I’m sure will continue to fade over the next few days. She’s still a little sore from her internal injuries, but for the most part, she’s doing a lot better.