Total pages in book: 164
Estimated words: 152853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 764(@200wpm)___ 611(@250wpm)___ 510(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 152853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 764(@200wpm)___ 611(@250wpm)___ 510(@300wpm)
And now, standing here in the middle of my living room, I can only wonder how I lived while feeling like the walls were closing in at all times. It’s claustrophobic in here. Sure, when Callum first offered me the renovated garden shed, I jumped at the chance to live here. It was the first time I had a little something for myself, though it wasn’t really mine. I wasn’t completely independent, still living within the walls of the compound, but I could come and go as I pleased. That was enough for me.
Now, it’s like wearing glasses for the first time when I didn’t know my eyesight was failing to begin with. Everything I got used to over time looks different. It makes me wonder how I ever got along like this.
Instead of standing around and wasting time with questions, I get to work unpacking and putting things away. What did I expect would happen tonight? I knew Tatum wouldn’t throw herself into my arms – not after our last fight. That’s by design, of course. I need her to hate me. I don’t trust myself otherwise.
By the time the house is in order, I’m damn near exhausted. It’s been a long day and an even longer night. I haven’t been sleeping well, either, thanks to the ugly dreams that have haunted me since Sunday.
I’m about to change for bed when there’s a sharp, insistent knock at the door.
My heart stops for a second before hammering furiously against my ribs. This was bound to happen. Tatum was going to confront me sooner or later. I have to be stronger this time. I can’t give in.
Not even when the sight of her floors me as I open the door. This is as close as we’ve been all night, close enough to reach out and take hold of.
Only her eyes flash deadly fire as she glares at me. “Are you serious? After all that, you came back, anyway?”
She rolls her eyes when I look behind her, then back and forth. “Nobody knows I came over here. Jesus. You think I’m stupid?”
“Get in here.” I grab her by the arm and tug her inside, then slam the door. “What the hell is wrong with you? Are you trying to —”
“Could you not, for once?” She holds up a hand, groaning. “I’m sick of hearing the same bullshit over and over. Do you think I’d come over here if I didn’t know he went upstairs? Please, give me a little bit of credit.”
How can I give her credit when it’s all I can do to keep from taking her in my arms and crushing her body against mine? I definitely missed her, but this is enough to take my breath away. The way my body reacts — all at once, my dick is hard and I’m starving. I am so damn hungry for her.
“What are you doing here?” Fuck, it’s not easy getting the words out with my jaw clenched. I can hardly suck in a breath with my chest this tight.
“What do you think? I want the answers. Was this all a game? Acting like you hate me just to screw with my head?”
I’m glad she’s acting like a brat. It’s easier to resist temptation when she irritates me this way. I flop onto the sofa, shrugging. “Not everything is about you.”
“You’re so full of shit.” She looks me up and down with the sort of disgust I’m used to. Yes, this is how I need her to be. Pissed off and hurt and hating me. It’s safer this way.
“What do you want me to say? I decided to come back. I’m selling the house, and I’ve come back.”
“Oh, that’s it? You’re done with the house?”
“Yeah, I am. I told Chaz Drummond he could sell it to me–so long as he stops sniffing around like a dog after a bone. Trying to talk people into selling now that the market is hot out there. I have the guys keeping an eye on him, and he knows it.” I was waiting for him to piss his pants when I strolled into his office and set the terms. I was hoping he would. The fucking sleaze. But he knows what he’s doing, and I need somebody to get the property off my hands.
“What about your bike? Are you selling that, too?”
Of all things for her to ask about. “No. I’m having it sent here, along with everything else I want to keep. Otherwise, I’m ready to move on.”
What did I expect? Praise? Acknowledgment, at the very least? I should know better by now. “You’re still running away, you know.”
Do not engage. Do not give her what she wants. Somehow, I swallow back the burning need to throw her assumptions in her face. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”