Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 121734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Images of us together pushed to the forefront of my mind. The feeling of sliding inside her, of her walls as she squeezed me when she came. Her little gasp when I pulled out and she reached for me, needing me back inside of her.
I’d been standing here too long, but I couldn’t make myself move.
I bit back a moan.
Or I tried.
Rain heard it, and she looked up at me.
I couldn’t hold back the lust I was feeling, and her eyes widened, flaring before she hid it. How she did that, I didn’t know, but I didn’t like it.
Screw this.
Wrapping an arm around her waist, I brought her flush against me. “We’re leaving.”
“Yep. That’s what you keep saying. Thought you would’ve been gone by now.” Skylar tried to sound bored, but when I met her gaze, she was anything but. She did give me a smile.
“Say goodbye, Rain.”
“Bye.” She waved to them, and we started walking. I kept her in my arms, making her walk in front of me.
The other two parroted together, “Goodbye, Rain.” Then they laughed.
Rain chuckled, her breath hitching when I readjusted, clamping my hand over her thigh. “Oooh.”
I groaned. “Do not make those sounds right now.”
She leaned even more of her weight on me. “Why not?”
“Because I’ll bend you over the back of your car and fuck you for anyone to see. I won’t be quiet. I’ll make you scream, and I’ll make you beg, and I’ll make you want to beat me bloody because I’ll keep you from coming over and over and over again. Are you getting me?”
She saw me. Read me. And gulped before whispering, “I got you.”
“Fucking good.” I gave up the pretense and just bent down to hoist her up in my arms.
I carried her the rest of the way to her car.
45
RAIN
Tyler had positioned himself in the driver’s seat of my car, and his knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel. He was livid.
Uneasiness flip flopped in my sternum. “Are you mad at me?”
“No,” he said.
Okay… “Who are you mad at?”
He cursed, making a concerted effort to loosen his grip on the steering wheel. “I’m not mad at anyone.”
“But you are mad.”
“No.”
I scoffed. “I grew up with Daniel Connors. Anger is his profession. I can tell you’re mad. Why?”
“I’m not mad at any person. That’s what you were asking. I’m mad at the situation.”
“What situation?” I asked. I had a feeling I knew.
“What situation?” He shook his head. “What situation do you think I’m talking about? I want to fuck you again, and I can’t. I. Can’t,” he seethed through gritted teeth. “Why haven’t you talked to your brothers in twelve years?”
He seemed genuinely confused, and my heart sank. From his point of view, his sister was everything. His niece too. But it wasn’t the same for me—or for lots of other people. He had no idea that I’d been left out for as long as I could remember. I looked away, because if I kept looking at him, I’d spill all the sad and lonely details, and that wouldn’t help anyone. “Why do you care? I thought I was your enemy.”
He was quiet for a few blocks, and then we merged onto the interstate. It wasn’t until we neared my exit that he sighed. “I’m starting to wonder if that’s actually the case.”
The same flutters that had buzzed in my stomach at Hank’s Tulip, when he’d made sure I was okay before going outside with his sister, stirred again. I took a deep breath. I couldn’t afford to let those feelings grow. “Well, don’t waste your time,” I said harshly.
He didn’t reply, and my heart constricted at his silence, but that’s what I wanted. There were things between us we could never get past. This was for the best.
His phone buzzed. He dug it out, giving it to me. “Can you tell me who that’s from?” He used his finger to unlock it.
I had to suppress the fangirl in me when I saw it was from Nolan Everwood. “Nolan.”
“Can you read it?”
I cleared my throat. “Based on the full minute of yelling your sister left in my voice messages, I’m guessing you found her? Let me know what you need from me.”
He laughed before motioning to the phone. “Do me a favor? Call him and put it on speaker.”
A second after the ringing filled the car, Nolan Everwood answered, sounding amused. “I hope you’re still in one piece. Do I need to rouse some people I know in Minneapolis and send them to patch your ass up?”
Tyler took the phone from me, raising it to his mouth, but he kept it on speaker. “We found her.”
“Good. Is everything okay?” Nolan asked.
Tyler slid a look my way. “We can get into the specifics later. I’m not alone right now, brother, but I think things will be okay. I’ll see Zoey tomorrow.”