Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 97696 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97696 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Gaby as usual was leading the pack, though I sometimes get the feeling Nessa is just humoring her. She usually reins her in when she goes too far on one of her escapades. I know one thing, as bad as they think they are, the threat of their men finding out what they’re up to can bring them to a full stop like nobody’s business.
I glared across the room at the four of them and rolled my eyes. They think they have it hard; they have no idea. What, Connor growls at Danielle, Logan roars at Gabriella, Zak gives Vanessa smoldering glares that promise retribution, and Tyler the big softie cajoles Victoria-Lyn when they misbehave. Me, I get my ass spanked and half the time I’m the innocent one, just following behind them and their hair brained schemes.
But does Cord see it that way? Hell no, according to him as long as he tells me not to do something that should be enough. He has no idea of the pressure I’m under to be a part of whatever it is they’re building here, to fit in. How out of my element I am. So I go along most of the time so as not to be the odd man out, and ninety-five percent of the time my ass pays the price. As far as he’s concerned, as long as Cord says it, it shall be so; he’s so bossy.
I guess I shouldn’t complain because boy have I been reaping the benefits of that bossiness. All he has to do is give me that look and my whole body goes on alert. I never knew the prospect of a spanking could be so…invigorating. I think sometimes I do things just to get a rise out of him. Heaven help me if he ever figures that one out. The man can be a beast.
Which brings me back to this bunch and their penchant for getting my ass in trouble whether I want to be a part of it or not. They too have a creed of their own. Since our men are practically joined at the hip, we’re supposed to follow suit I guess. And most often than not, Gaby is our fearless leader.
I listened as she pumped poor Kat for information. “I don’t know but I do know since we got back they’ve been busy with something, and now they’re even more anal than usual. I mean I just asked Logan if I could go see my mom and he all but bit my head off.”
“Colton’s been acting like a bear with his paw caught too. Not that that’s any different from his norm, but now he has the kids under lock and key too, more so than usual. So I know something’s definitely up.” She sounded worried, but more so for her man than herself or her children.
“Dana Sue and the others said the same, but try as we might we can’t find out anything. We thought that whatever it was had to do with the smuggling that’s been rumored about down here, but the fact that the guys went to Law’s and then your place seem to say different. Do you think it could have something to do with them personally, something from their time in the navy?”
“I’m not sure girls, Colt was never in the armed forces, who would have him?” We all had a good laugh at that one and for a minute or so the conversation grew lighter as the women talked about the faults in their men. But there was still an element of unease in the room. We all knew that something big was going on, and the men keeping us out of the loop wasn’t helping.
That was the one place where I felt left out. Even though the other women didn’t know much, I was sure their men shared at least a little something with them. Not Cord, he tells me nothing. He seems to think my head should be filled only with him and his many dos and don’ts and nothing else. It doesn’t exactly make me feel like part of the pack.
I guess I shouldn’t complain, outside of him keeping me well away from whatever they were dealing with, everyone here has been welcoming to my brother and I without question, as if we did belong.
I loved that for my brother. He’s never really had that in his life and he seems to flourish under all the attention they show him. But for me, being the only one of the girls not engaged, it’s kind of hard to know just exactly what my place is here. Except that is, for those times when it’s just Cord and I. Then I know just where I belong, who I belong to, because he never lets me forget.
When I first came here that day looking for my brother, I had no idea what else I was going to find, how could I? It wasn’t like I was looking. I never paid much attention to my brother’s praise of the men he’d recently met. I had better, more important things on my mind. Like finishing school and getting the hell out of the small town that was all I’ve ever known.
Then I met him and everything changed. From the first moment I laid eyes on him, something inside me came alive, but not in the usual boy meets girl way. No, there was something more volatile ignited between us from the start; even then I felt it; like a simmering just beneath the surface of my skin.
He looked at me that day and I felt…something. I still have no words, no, explanation, for what he made me feel then. Or the way his words had seemed to whisper down my spine. It was unreal the affect he had on me from that day ‘til now. I’d never met anyone so…forceful. Even in the midst of all those forceful men, he still managed to stand out as just a little bit more. And now, I am completely under his spell.