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)
He scoffs again. “That doesn’t mean shit. I’ve had stepdaughters before. Didn’t stop me then, and it’s not going to stop me now. I just gotta wait for the right time to let her pounce.” He pauses to take another long drink, throwing back what’s left of the glass. It’s his third tumbler of whiskey in less than ten minutes. “I bet she’d go off. What do you think? I reckon she’d be a little whore like her momma, thirsty for my cock and calling me Daddy until I hand her my black card.”
I place my glass down on the side table before getting to my feet. “Brother, I can guarantee that girl doesn’t even notice you, let alone tolerate you,” I tell him before dropping my hand to his shoulder and leaning in, letting him feel the threat behind my stare. “You lay a hand on Harper without her consent, and I’ll burn your whole fucking empire to the ground.”
He holds my stare, his gaze narrowing. “Ahh, it seems the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. You fucking want her too, don’t you, little brother? Have you been fantasizing about taking that sweet cunt just as much as I have?”
I let out a breath, needing a moment to find just a fraction of composure before I beat the shit out of him in his damn armchair. “You’re drunk, Elias. Sleep it off before you say something you can’t take back.”
Elias laughs as I stride out of the room, heading straight for the door. “You’ll see, Knight. It’s only a matter of time before she’s mine.”
If only he knew that I already know exactly how she tastes, how she pants when she’s getting close, how her nails dig into my skin as she comes. But he’ll never fucking know because he’ll never fucking touch her. Not if I have anything to do with it.
I shake my head, gritting my teeth in an attempt not to turn around and show him precisely what I think of him. It wouldn’t even be hard. He’s a sloppy drunk and spends more time in boardrooms than in a gym. Sure, we’re the same height, and we have more similarities than I care to admit, but when it comes to muscle mass, he’s got nothing on me. Not to mention the years of vigorous training I’ve been through to ensure I’m in peak physical condition. I’d snap him like a fucking twig, and what’s more, after those comments about Harper, I’d enjoy it.
I’m just getting into my truck when my phone lights up with an incoming call from Ace, and considering my current mood, I almost let it ring out, but something has me answering his call.
“What’s up, man?”
“Diesel and I are only just getting off. We’re gonna head out to that new bar on 2nd. You down?”
My face scrunches. I don’t particularly want to head out, especially after the fresh bullshit I just discovered in my brother’s private bar. However, if I were to go home, I have no doubt that I’ll spend the rest of my night picturing Elias and Harper together, and it’s not a pretty sight. He will do whatever he can to hold his money over her and force her into compliance, but he’d be barking up the wrong tree. Harper isn’t anything like her mother. She’s not a gold digger, and she’s certainly not frothing at the mouth to be with the man her mother is screwing.
Letting out a heavy sigh, I glance at the time. It’s a little after two in the morning, and while I know I should go home, a drink with the boys will do me a world of good. “Yeah, alright. I’ll be there in thirty minutes.”
After ending the call, I turn on my truck and feel it rumble to life beneath me. Without skipping a beat, I hit the gas and get the fuck out of this hellhole.
With no traffic on the road, it takes a little over fifteen minutes to reach the bar. After parking and heading inside, I find Diesel and Ace sitting at a table, already halfway through their first drink.
“Aye,” Ace calls over the loud music and the sound of the mechanical bull competition happening deeper in the bar. “I thought for sure you were gonna bail.”
I scoff and take the beer out of Diesel’s outstretched hand, appreciating it more than they could know. “Not tonight,” I say, knowing they have more than enough experience with me bailing on nights just like this for his assumption to have merit. “I need this.”
“Ahh yeah,” Diesel murmurs. “You had that thing with your brother.”
Ace scoffs, knowing my disdain for my brother. “How’d that go?”
“As expected,” I mutter, lifting the rim to my lips and taking a long drink. “He talked. I listened. Then I left before I beat the shit out of him.”