Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 103231 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 413(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103231 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 413(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
“It’s Dante!” I heard Matty call and I looked down to see his face peeking through the window next to the door. He waved at me and then disappeared as the lock on the door disengaged. I quelled the anxiety rushing through me and leaned against the door frame like I didn’t have a care in the world.
No amount of preparation took away the bout of lust that went through me when Magnus opened the door and that just pissed me off further. “Hey, Pop-pop,” I said, plastering a smile on my face that I knew would rile the man along with my use of his grandson’s nickname for him.
I barely managed to maintain my composure when Magnus didn’t acknowledge me or the title I’d bestowed on him.
Fucker and his goddamn unflappable control.
“Dante,” Matty said happily and I forced my eyes off Magnus and dropped down so I could be at eye level with the boy. He threw his arms around me and I carefully held onto his still frail little body. I’d been watching the kid battle cancer for months now and I’d never met anyone as fucking brave as him. I’d told him as much the day before, minus the fucking part, when he’d been humiliated during the ceremony when his overexcited puppy had tripped him while he’d been walking down the aisle. The little boy, though unhurt, had been distraught when he’d realized he’d lost one of the wedding rings he’d been entrusted with, but I’d spied it almost instantly and pointed it out.
Matty had grabbed it and carefully put the treasure back in his pocket. But it wasn’t until I’d told him that I thought he was the coolest, bravest superhero ever, that he’d smiled his unique, big, heartfelt smile and thrown his arms around me. And for a moment I’d forgotten where we were and that it was an entirely different little boy in my arms and I’d let the joy of that unfettered, unquestioning trust wash over me like a tidal wave. It wasn’t until the music had started playing again that I’d forced myself to release Matty and grab the puppy so she couldn’t chase after him as he’d continued his walk towards the arch where his fathers would be getting married. I’d lifted the not-so-light dog in my arms and carried her to the far side of the room so we’d both be out of the way for Hawke and his fiancé’s walks down the aisle.
And that’s when I’d felt it.
That shiver that snaked down my spine and caused my insides to tighten up. And I’d been helpless to ignore it, though I’d known the cause. But this time when my eyes had met the flinty blue ones, my first instinct hadn’t been to hold the stare in some ‘my dick is bigger than yours’ showdown. No, I’d felt a wave of heat go through me at the hard look in Magnus’s eyes…and not because he’d seemed pissed. Nope, he’d just looked…confused.
And for the first time in a long time…in a really fucking long time…I hadn’t been able to keep my chin up. I hadn’t been able to find the balls to send him my standard, albeit silent, fuck you look. So, I’d dropped my eyes and pretended to be focused on calming the wriggly dog in my arms and ignored the hope that had been unfurling like an ugly serpent in my belly…the hope that maybe, just maybe, Magnus had seen something more…something very few people in my life, if any, would ever admit to seeing. Something even I could no longer see in myself.
But that little glimmer of light died out for good just a couple of short hours later when he’d walked in on me getting a less than stellar blow job in that bathroom…or the end of the evening when he’d had me dismissed like I was no more than an errant child.
Or now when I could feel his derision bouncing off my body. How the fuck was I going to survive weeks cooped up with this asshole? No way in hell was I following his lead, despite Memphis’s order.
I forced myself not to put any pressure on Matty’s little body despite the tension running through my system and I pulled back so I could reach into my long jacket for the package that was tucked in a side pocket along with my gun. “I brought you something,” I said as I ignored the twitch of embarrassment that I hadn’t thought to buy actual wrapping paper for the present, choosing to use newspaper instead. “Merry Christmas, Matty.”
His already big eyes went even bigger as he took the present and then he was looking up at his grandfather. “Can I open it, Pop-pop?”
Magnus flashed me the briefest of looks before he nodded and then held the door open for me so I could follow Matty into the living room. I sat down next to him on the couch and began helping him get some of the paper off since I’d gone a little over the top with the tape on the corners.