Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 117379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
“You’ll make it up to me,” I told him, and I had no doubt of it. But not tonight.
My beautiful man needed rest, and he’d damned well get it.
HUNTER
I woke up to an empty bed.
Em had been so cute last night … First she jerked me off like a pro, and then she’d come to bed wearing one of my T-shirts, which I’d confiscated. Guess she didn’t have time to find any of those pretty presents I’d “given” her. Not that it mattered—I didn’t want anything between her skin and mine anyway. I slept surrounded by her warmth and smell and her hair all over my face, which should’ve been annoying but in reality kicked ass.
Her face wasn’t waiting for me when I closed my eyes, though. Nope, I saw the faces of my brothers right before I’d shot them. One of them had cried, begging for his life. The other sneered and flipped me off.
Two of our own, selling us out to the cartel.
It wasn’t the first time I’d killed for the club—but I’d never had to put down a brother like a dog before. I’d known there was dissension in the ranks and fully realized that there were men who’d do anything to keep us from making peace with the Reapers. I even understood their perspective, to a degree. We’d been in a cold war with the other club for close to twenty years. That made for a lot of bad blood.
But they’d gone beyond betrayal—this was treason.
Good men died because of what they’d done.
On the long drive up from Redding, I focused on Em. How much I wanted to hold her and smell her and absolutely not think of anything but her gorgeous body and the flash of her ice-blue eyes.
Then Deke and his pet prospect got in the way and I’d lost it.
Fuck.
I couldn’t believe how stupid I’d been. I hated to admit it, but Em had been right. What the hell was I thinking, risking the peace for one night? With any luck we’d have years together, something that definitely wouldn’t be happening if I started a new war with her dad’s club.
So fucking stupid … but at least one of us had kept her shit together. A reluctant smile crossed my face, because Em had saved my ass yet again. I heard the shower running in the bathroom, and I realized she must be in there, all slippery and wet. Ten seconds later I was on my feet, sliding back the curtain and stepping in behind her.
“Hey, baby,” I whispered in her ear. “I forgot to give you something last night.”
She gave a sexy little squeak as I slid my hands around her body, grasping her breast and reaching for her clit at the same time. Then she leaned into me and for the first time I got to explore her body without rushing.
Beautiful.
Of course, I knew every curve she had. I’d studied her pictures a thousand times, memorizing every inch of her skin and fantasizing about what I’d do to her, given the chance. The reality was better than my dreams. Way better. She was soft, but I felt the strong muscles underneath her curves. I knew she’d have endurance, and despite what she’d said to me that night in Coeur d’Alene, she’d already proven herself one hell of an old lady.
She said she didn’t want to follow orders.
Fine by me—I didn’t need to control her … I just wanted to sit back and watch her, try to figure out what made her tick and hold on for the ride. I knew she’d support me, but I also knew she’d protect me from myself. She’d already protected our clubs. Last night she’d done a better job than I had. I promised myself that I’d never pull that kind of bullshit on her again.
Hell, I should be following her lead, because she’d been smarter than me and Deke put together. Now that I’d cooled off, I could see the humor in the situation. Somehow she’d managed to bypass all of us, not exactly defusing the situation, but definitely ending it without violence.
So what if Deke was pissed? So far as I could tell, the man was permanently pissed. He hated the Jacks and had threatened to kill me more than once, so I wasn’t exactly crying over his hurt feelings. As for Em, she was under my protection now, so it didn’t really matter how frustrated he got. He’d be dealing with me from now on.
Em squirmed in my arms, pulling me out of my thoughts.
I reached down and slipped my fingers into her hot warmth, and she squeaked in my arms. Why the fuck was I thinking about Deke when I had a naked woman in my arms?
I swiveled Em in my arms, finding her mouth and sucking her lower lip into mine. Then I lifted her, carrying her out of the tub and setting her on the bathroom counter. My hand slipped between us, dipping into that sweet pussy of hers.