Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 25131 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 126(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25131 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 126(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
“Don’t give a fuck about your brother,” I growled as I came to stand directly in front of her and held out my hand. “You’re m—staying with me.” I’d almost declared that she belonged to me, but I caught myself at the last second because I didn’t want to have that discussion until we were alone in my room.
Elise’s lips curled up, and her brown eyes sparked with excitement as she placed her palm in mine. “Okay,” she agreed softly.
I helped her to her feet and lifted my chin at Molly, ignoring her knowing smirk, then led Elise out of the kitchen. While I had an apartment not far from the compound, I kept a permanent room in the clubhouse because I often needed to be here for someone overnight or to just crash if I treated someone at odd hours. I would have preferred to take Elise to my place, but I didn’t want her leaving the compound until the asshole who tried to kill her had been dealt with.
Deviant had discovered the guy’s name, but he hadn’t been able to locate him so far. All of our businesses were on the MC owned land in the town surrounding the compound, and most of the apartment buildings and houses were with either patches, prospects, or loyal families, so it was unlikely that he was local. What we were most concerned about was whether this was a one-time deal, or if the scumbag was part of a bigger drug ring that had decided to encroach on our territory.
I planned to jump into helping out with the investigation tomorrow, but for tonight, I was going to put all my focus on my woman.
My room was on the first floor, at the back of the house so that it was nearest to the clinic. There were a few suite-type rooms down that hall, but they were mostly used whenever one of my club brothers who didn’t have their own space needed to crash at the last minute or for guests. So it was pretty isolated, and that suited me just fine since I wasn’t keen on the idea of anyone hearing Elise screaming my name. Although, it was certainly one way to stake my claim.
When we reached our destination, I fished a key out of my pocket and unlocked the door before shoving it open and gesturing for her to enter. Being a doctor, I was used to keeping things organized and tidy. So the king bed was made and the only clutter was a worn paperback on one of the oak nightstands and a few items I’d left on the long dresser that faced the bed with a large flatscreen mounted above it.
The exterior wall had two windows, and beneath one of them was an old, comfy leather chair with a small table next to it. Elise wandered over and sat down, then turned on the little lamp and picked up the framed photo I kept there.
Her forehead puckered as she gazed at the two laughing toddlers in the picture. “You’re a dad?” Her eyes met mine, filled with confusion and hesitance.
“That’s my niece, Darrah, and my nephew, Devon,” I explained. Relief flooded her features, and I cocked my head to the side, studying her. “Do you want kids?”
A bright smile instantly spread across her face, giving me my answer before she said a word. “Oh, yes. I want lots of them.” She traced the cherub faces in the photo and sighed. “I love my brother to pieces, and he did his best to be there for me, but for the most part, I grew up like an only child since there are ten years between us. My parents were rarely there, and when they were, they acted like I wasn’t. I don’t want my kids to ever feel that kind of loneliness.”
I was happy to hear that she wanted a big family, but my chest ached at the sadness and pain she’d endured. Her parents were definitely on my shit list, and they had better stay the hell away from my woman.
“I wouldn’t mind if you already had kids,” she added with a soft smile. “I just don’t want to be a wedge that breaks a family apart.”
It baffled me that someone who’d been basically abandoned by her family—even by Storm to a certain extent—had such compassion. Just from watching her last night and today, it was already clear that she had a huge heart and a great capacity for love.
Hopefully, it wouldn’t be long before her heart belonged to me. But I was gonna start with her body. The sexual tension had been building since I’d shut and locked the door behind us, despite the serious conversation.
Elise’s pale skin was tinged with pink, and when I raked my heated eyes over her, I noticed her peaked nipples poking through her thin sweater. Her flushed skin darkened when I prowled over to stand in front of her. She was eye level with my groin, and when her gaze dropped to the bulge there, her eyes widened before whipping back up to meet my gaze. Her tongue darted out to wet her bottom lip, leaving it shiny and so very tempting.