Total pages in book: 180
Estimated words: 176012 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 880(@200wpm)___ 704(@250wpm)___ 587(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 176012 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 880(@200wpm)___ 704(@250wpm)___ 587(@300wpm)
He shrugs. “Farrow will just suggest we share her.”
My heart drops like a hammer.
We stop and Noah jumps down with my flags. I follow him, sliding a pole in, but my hand shakes. “Quinn isn’t like that,” I tell him.
“They’re all like that.”
I drop my arms, the remaining flags draping on the ground. Son of a bitch.
Noah meets my eyes, moving to the next pole. “People love to be desired, especially good girls who haven’t experienced much attention,” he tells me in his confident, piece-of-shit tone. “They’re kind of dumb. Hot hands coming at them from two men, they unravel, and all they can do is hang on for the ride.”
Who does he think he’s talking to? I swipe the flag poles off the ground, ready to lunge.
“Every girl has two sides,” he explains. “Sunday best and doggy-style-fuck-fest.”
I snarl, throwing the flags into the bed of the truck as I charge for him. I wrap one hand around his fucking throat and pin him to the lamppost. He just smiles, pulling up a hundred-dollar bill from his pocket. “How about a bet?” he taunts.
“How about a lesson, you little shit?”
But he just goes on. “You’ll say you don’t think about her like that, and I say you want her exactly like that.”
Quinn’s face looking up at me last night floats through my head, and God…
I could’ve driven with her like that forever. Fuck, I wanted to take her somewhere. Is it obvious?
“If I’m wrong, you win.” He stuffs the money into my jeans pocket. “If I’m right, you owe me.”
I breathe hard, shoving the little prick away. He’s not worth the energy.
“I’ll be waiting,” he says, jumping into the back of the truck and throwing me the rest of the flags.
I can’t swallow. My mouth is parched.
I take the money back out of the pocket and throw it at him. “She’s a kid.”
“She’s not.”
He tosses the bill back, and it lands on the ground.
“She’s practically family,” I growl.
“But she’s not.”
Brooks, one of Jared’s mechanics, starts to drive.
“She’s too young!” I bark at Noah.
“Fine!” he shouts. “Let her fuck around with a few boyfriends, and then when you’re forty and Farrow Kelly and I have doubly-penetrated her, you can put her heart back together.”
Two ladies on the sidewalk stop short, their mouths hanging open, and I blink long and hard.
Fuck.
Noah howls with laughter. “I dub thee my new older brother!” he shouts. “I miss him. You can fill in. Gym tonight. Seven o’clock.”
I would yell expletives at him, but he’s too far away now even if I can still make out his stupid fucking grin from here. Brooks is taking him to the park to set up tables and chairs.
Plus, I’m the adult.
Images of him, Farrow, and Quinn assault my brain, and I don’t know if Quinn would let something like that happen, but they certainly would never say no. And she’s the inexperienced one. Someone needs to be keeping an eye on her.
And I’m not clear in my head right now. Watching her the other night on the bed, and last night with her head in my lap, is messing with me. I could bond with her when we were younger and it was safe, but I’m bonding with her now and it’s different. My body is reacting. It’s not okay.
Quickly, I hang the rest of the flags and pull out my phone, dialing Isobel.
“Good morning, sir,” she answers.
It’s almost nine-thirty at night there.
“Tell me I’m needed.” I sound like I’m daring her. “Tell me to come home.”
I hear her tinkling laugh. “You’re handling everything just fine via phone and computer for now,” she says. “Take a few more days.”
I figured she’d say that. She likes being in charge of my office.
“Are you in the mood for some research?” I ask instead.
“Ohhh, what’s up?”
I turn in a slow circle, making sure no one is walking up on me as I scan the street for that Traverse.
I spot Kade pulling up to the curb in his truck, a couple of friends in the cab with him. Jax stands up on the hill, in front of the historical society, setting up the sound system.
“Take these names down,” I tell her. “Hugo Navarre, Drew Reeves, Noah Van der Berg—V-A-N-D-E-R-B-E-R-G, and Farrow Kelly. F-A-R-R-O-W.” I give her a few seconds, hearing her type. “Also…” I swallow, lowering my voice. “Madoc Caruthers, Jared Trent, and Jaxon Trent.”
I look around me again for any listening ears.
“I want dossiers that rival that one you keep on that girl who destroyed the curve in your high school calculus class.”
Kade rounds the front of his truck as his friends climb out. I watch him hold his arm out and flip the middle finger to some guy passing by on a motorcycle. A young girl with a white-blonde ponytail and red tips hangs on behind him.