Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 31257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 156(@200wpm)___ 125(@250wpm)___ 104(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 156(@200wpm)___ 125(@250wpm)___ 104(@300wpm)
I refuse to take care of the situation, though. I'm not getting off again until I'm getting her off. I'm a glutton for punishment, what can I say? Around two-thirty, I hit the gym and try to run off a little sexual frustration before I spend the morning at the shop with her. I'd rather her not shiv me when I toss her sexy ass up on the counter and try to eat her.
Call me crazy, but I don't think we're quite there yet. She may have opened up a little last night, but she still doesn't trust me or my motives. I could cheerfully thrash her brother right now. She's so damn stressed about him trying to meddle that she's not willing to entertain the possibility that I'm not on his side here. I get it. Really, I do. As far as she knows, my loyalty is to him, not her. But I have every intention of changing her mind on that front.
I'm not sure why he wants her back home so badly. Actually, that's not true. He misses the fuck out of her. She's his little sister, and half the United States stretches between them. I'd worry if I were in his shoes. But this is Silver Spoon Falls, home to the richest of the rich in Texas. It's not exactly a crime-riddled city or a den of inequity. She's safer here than she is in Seattle.
At a few minutes after three, I shoot Aspen a text.
Me: Good morning, Dimples.
I don't have to wait long to find out if she's been tossing and turning all night too. Within seconds, three little dots appear, letting me know she's already up.
Dimples: How'd you get my number??
Me: I would tell you but…
Dimples: Nash.
Me: Maybe. Maybe not.
Dimples: I should just start giving his number to random puck bunnies.
I chuckle, dragging a shirt on over my head.
Me: So I'm on the same level as a random puck bunny, huh? Ouch.
Dimples: Oops?
I laugh quietly, shaking my head. Fuck. I love that she doesn't give an inch without being a mean girl about it. She's cheeky and sassy without crossing the line.
Me: I have so many inappropriate comments now…
Dimples: Of course you do. I bet they all involve big sticks too, don't they?
Me: Maybe I'll tell you when I get there. Are we still on for this morning?
Dimples: I guess so.
Me: Wow. Even through text, I hear the reluctance.
Dimples: I guess so! Is that better?
Me: See you soon, baby.
I'm grinning from ear to ear as I slip my phone into my pocket and sit on the edge of the bed to pull on a pair of shoes. I've never been this fucking thrilled to be up at three in the morning in my life.
By three-thirty, I'm in the truck, headed toward downtown. I'm the only car on the road. Despite the late hour, it's still humid out. October in Texas is not like October in the Pacific Northwest. The heat just pools in the atmosphere here. Last month, it felt as if we were drinking it. It's cooling off now that fall is beginning to take hold, but it's still hot.
My phone rings halfway to the coffee shop. My smile grows when I see Aspen's number light up on my navigation screen.
"You miss talking to me already, Dimples?"
Her panicked breathing is the only response.
A jolt goes through me. The smile slides from my face. "Aspen? What's wrong?"
"There's someone in the coffee shop," she whimpers. "They broke in through the back."
My heart fucking stops. For a protracted moment, it simply ceases to beat. I stop breathing. Everything inside of me shrivels as pure terror for her takes over. Someone is in the shop, and she's there alone.
Fuck.
I hit the gas. The engine revs, the tachometer and the speedometer shooting upward.
"I'm on my way," I promise. "I'll be there in three minutes, tops. Can you stay hidden and hang on until then?"
"I don't know," she whispers, her voice barely audible. "S-should I try to scare them off?"
"No. Fuck no," I growl. "Don't let them know you're there if you can help it." I may not know much about crime and criminals, but I know enough to know revealing that she's in the shop right now is the absolute wrong thing to do. Maybe it'll scare them off. Or maybe they'll decide to hurt her. That's not a gamble I'm willing to take.
Fuck my life. Not even an hour ago, I was convincing myself that she's safer here than in Seattle. If this is the universe's way of telling me to get with the program and do what Nash wants…it's a mighty powerful goddamn lesson.
"But…"
"I will spank your gorgeous ass if you put yourself in harm's way, Aspen." My hands tighten around the steering wheel. I push the truck harder, flying through a red light at ninety miles an hour. If anyone from the Sheriff's Office is out running radar, they're just going to have to chase me to the coffee shop to write me a ticket because I hear the fear bleeding out of her tone as indignation and anger move in.