Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 79462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Jayson’s looking at me again.
With that stare.
The animalistic, beastly stare, the pure sex-and-sweat-and-cum sort of stare. His eyes grind into my body, and this time I don’t have a jacket to hide behind. I’m in yoga pants and a simple t-shirt, a bit on the smaller side, hugging my chest, and I can tell he likes what he’s about to marry.
He licks his lips, and my nipples are stiff—fucking again—and all I want to do is run.
“Fallie? Hey, you alright?”
I start slightly. Rian’s looking at me with concern. Isabel and Hellie already walked off, chatting with each other, and Casey’s hanging onto Adler’s arm. They’re speaking quietly together.
Nobody noticed the way Jayson stared at me, as if he’s a hungry wolf.
“I’m alright,” I say, steering Rian away. “What’s he doing here?”
“We had one final conversation, just to make sure everything’s good. Did you get a dress?”
“I got one. And everything’s all set? I’m still stuck here?”
“Ceremony’s at ten tomorrow morning.”
“Great. Lovely. Can’t wait.” I glance over my shoulder.
Jayson’s still standing right where I left him. He hasn’t taken his eyes off me, and he doesn’t seem ashamed of it.
He gives me a little smile.
Gods in heaven, he looks incredible.
I flip him off.
Discreetly, of course. Rian wouldn’t approve. But it makes Jayson’s smile double, and there’s something in his grin, something possessive and needy.
The way he looks at me and the way my body reacts to the idea of being alone in a room with him—both scare me half to death.
Chapter 7
Jayson
My wedding day arrives. The weather’s ugly. My mother sits in the living room of my condo at the top of the Sunrise, wearing a chic blue dress with her hair up in a twist, already drinking a glass of wine.
“You look nervous,” she says.
I adjust my tie and shake my head. “Not nervous. No reason to be nervous.”
“I agree, but that doesn’t change anything.”
Mother looks older than the last time I saw her. That’s objectively true, but this is the first time I’m really noticing. Her hair’s grayer, her wrinkles are deeper, and she seems tired. The bite’s not there anymore. Adler tells me she haunts the Sunrise like a ghost of the old days, and while everyone loves her, she’s not half the force she used to be. I’m not sure how I feel about that. My mother’s an enormous presence in my memory, both warm and cold at the same time, sharp when she needed to be but soft enough to balance out our father’s edges. Now she looks like a person, not a myth anymore, and I can’t help but think I’ve lost something.
“I’m fine, Mother. Don’t worry about me.”
She’s quiet for a moment before she stands. “You’re the last of my boys to get married. I don’t love that it’s happening under these circumstances, but the others have been lucky. Adler, Conlan, even Erick, they all stumbled into a wife they adore. Maybe you’ll have the same thing happen to you.”
I picture Fallon walking across the lobby wearing those tights clinging to her gorgeous ass and the t-shirt that hugged her full chest. It was the simplest outfit imaginable, but the moment I saw her, my blood was singing with a need I’ve never felt before. Those pouty lips, that lovely red hair, and those light green eyes—she’s beyond beautiful, the sort of woman I want to conquer, over and over.
Too bad I fucked up my chances already.
Too bad I despise her with all my heart.
The stench of Jackson’s blood drifts into my mind every time I think about wanting more with Fallon.
“I don’t think so,” I say as Mother fusses with my jacket. She smooths the lapels and gives me a sad smile.
“I hope you’re wrong. Good luck today, darling. I’m glad all four of my boys are under this roof again. It’s been too long.”
“It’s nice being home,” I say and I mean it. “I missed you.”
She kisses my cheek and leaves. I finish getting ready before heading downstairs to the chapel where Conlan, Erick, Adler, and their wives are already waiting. The girls are fussing with flowers and making the place pretty, while my brothers are discreetly pouring drinks from metal flasks.
I accept mine and throw it back.
“Easy there,” Conlan says with a grin. “You still need to perform today.”
“Nobody’s performing,” I tell him. “We’re saying the words and getting this shit over with.”
“Not going to consummate?” Adler asks with a bawdy grin.
“Not happening.”
“It will,” Erick says with a sage nod.
“It won’t.” I grab the drink from Conlan’s hand and sip it. “Where are the Irish?”
“Coming soon,” Adler says and walks over to help his wife string up some lights before insisting that she take a seat. She ignores him like she always does, but it’s nice to see my big brother care about his wife so much. Whenever she’s around, he’s always doing his best to make her more comfortable, even if Casey’s the kind of woman who doesn’t want the help, and only grudgingly accepts it from him.