Total pages in book: 215
Estimated words: 217988 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1090(@200wpm)___ 872(@250wpm)___ 727(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 217988 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1090(@200wpm)___ 872(@250wpm)___ 727(@300wpm)
But he did hate that Autumn was so upset.
“What are you thinking?” the Fox asked quietly, sitting in the armchair next to them. He held a glass of scotch in his hand.
“Are you going to drink that?” Brody asked curiously. He hadn’t taken a sip yet.
“No.” The Fox frowned down at the scotch.
“Why then?”
“My father was an alcoholic, and while I like the smell, I won’t touch the stuff.”
“No, he wasn’t.”
The Fox stared at him. “You calling me a liar, Pup?”
Brody knew he was smart. He had a high IQ. So logically, all his intelligence should tell him to be scared at that moment.
But not all of him was smart.
His dick was a real dumbass. And so was the rest of his body. Because a thrill went through him as the Fox stared at him, his eyes dark with the promise of punishment.
Brody tilted up his chin. It was hard to keep the other man’s gaze but he managed it. “Aren’t you lying?”
“I am. But it’s curious that you can tell. Not sure I like that.” The Fox moved his gaze to the glass of scotch. There was something a bit lost about him now.
Brody had to hide his shock. The other man was always so strong. Overconfident. But he could afford to be. Because he was just that good at everything.
“You don’t need to lie to us, Fox,” Brody told him quietly. He brushed Autumn’s hair to one side so he could see her gorgeous face. “We’re not going to betray you.”
The Fox grunted, but didn’t say anything. Brody could see he was thinking. That was all he could ask from the other man. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
And a man who’d never been in a relationship before, who struggled with empathy and morality, who was used to trusting no one, wouldn’t suddenly become trusting and honest overnight.
The Fox was a long-term project. And that he’d likely never fully change.
Thing was, he didn’t care.
See? He really wasn’t that smart.
“I don’t drink or take drugs because I can’t ever be out of control.”
Brody got that. “First time I got drunk, I spent the next day puking and being miserable. Never been drunk again.”
The Fox leaned an elbow on the arm of the chair and ran a finger over his lips. “I wouldn’t mind seeing you after a few drinks, letting down your inhibitions.”
Brody could feel himself growing hot at the look on the Fox’s face.
Shoot. Don’t get hard. Don’t get hard.
Autumn let out a low moan in her sleep.
Was she having a nightmare? Should he wake her?
“She won’t forgive me,” the Fox whispered.
Brody sighed. “Just because she got upset before doesn’t mean she won’t understand. Eventually. She’s just going to take a while to adjust.” He glanced around. “We’re completely underground here, aren’t we? How did you build all of this?”
“I hired the best.”
“What makes you think they won’t talk?”
“I cut out their tongues.”
Okay. He thought the other man was joking. But if he wasn’t . . . he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.
“Fuck. Honest, huh? The man who . . . mentored me had this place built. I don’t know what happened to the men he hired. But I doubt they are alive. He gifted it to me. But I have put in additional security over the years.”
Holy. Heck.
Brody was shocked at his honesty.
The Fox eyed Autumn pensively. “She was mad at me. She’s not allowed to be mad at me.”
“You have to let people feel the way they feel. Because it’s their feelings.”
“Feelings,” the Fox spat out. “Be easier if people didn’t have them.”
“You have them too.”
Oh, if looks could kill, he’d be a dead man. Sometimes talking to the Fox was like navigating a minefield. Suddenly, the other man stood up, moving away. “You’re scared of me.”
Brody stared at him with wide eyes. “What? No!”
“I’m not going to hurt you. Even if you disagree with me.” Leaning against the wall, the Fox crossed his arms over his chest. Then his gaze moved to the woman lying in Brody’s lap. “She yelled. I don’t think Sunny yells at that dumb biker she married.”
“She’s scared and stressed. Of course she yelled. Neither of us know why we’re actually here. We don’t hear from you in weeks, then you send a text to tell us that there’s danger and we have to leave immediately. Change is hard on her. She’s already worried about you, why you left, if you were okay. And when you come to get us, you don’t have time to explain. Instead, we’re in a strange place where she feels trapped, and she obviously doesn’t like being underground. Wouldn’t you yell? Put yourself in her shoes.”
“Her feet are tiny.”
“I know you’re not that literal.”
Something like amusement flashed across the other man’s face. The Fox could be a trial on a person’s patience. Lucky he was hot and funny and protective.