Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 131916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
I wasn’t entirely sure he was being genuine.
“It’s good to see you, too,” I managed, hating feeling uncomfortable, but God, I didn’t get what was up with River’s friends. He kept saying they were the best people, but they kept watching me like I might be some trespasser or spy.
Otto and Theo had joined the group, and they gave us both quick hellos.
Then the mammoth who’d been sitting next to Kane stepped forward. “River, great to see you, man.”
He and River gave each other one of those quick hugs with slaps to the back. “Good to see you, brother. It’s been too long,” River said.
River stepped back and gestured between us. “Charleigh, want you to meet one of my oldest friends. Jud Lawson. And this is his wife, Salem.”
Jud grinned. He was covered in nearly as many tattoos as River, handsome in that terrifying, biker way, though his smile was easy and kind. “Nice to meet you, darlin’,” he said.
“You, too.”
“Hey, it’s really good to meet you, Charleigh.” Salem stepped up and gave me a welcoming hug.
“It’s good to meet you,” I told her, overwhelmed by all the attention.
River turned. “And this is Trent and his wife, Eden.”
Satisfaction played on the man’s mouth as he glanced between me and River. “Ah, looks like someone really did need that spot more than I did.”
“Yeah, seems she did.” River let it go in that rough, raw voice, stormy gaze taking me in like I might have the power to calm it.
Nerves fluttered, joy and anxiety at being in the middle of a group this way.
“Thanks go to me then, yeah?” Trent said as he cut an elbow into River’s arm.
River only chuckled.
Eden gave her husband a playful shove as she stepped in my direction.
She was the exact opposite of him. Where he oozed the same danger that River possessed, dark and menacing, dripping intimidation, she appeared wholly innocent. Sweet and caring with her gentle hazel eyes.
“Oh my gosh, I’m really happy to meet you. Trent told me about what happened that night.”
“Called it, didn’t I, Kitten? Thousand bucks said I was gonna see you again.” With that, he jutted his chin at me, grinning wide.
“And I was the idiot who bet against him,” she said in a soft, tinkling voice, fingers bouncing off her forehead like she couldn’t believe her judgement. “Only because I have met River before, and I thought never in a million years, but now that I have met you…I see what’s happened here.”
It was all lighthearted as she pointed between the two of us.
River tightened his hold around my waist and ran his nose up under my hair, along my neck and to my ear, his words only for me. “Yeah, I see what’s happened here, too. Little Runner wrecked me. Wrecked me good.”
Heat erupted across my flesh, and the air tremored from my lungs, and Trent was sending us another winning grin as he slung his arm around Eden’s shoulders. “Looks like we really do have a whole lot to celebrate.”
Everyone turned when another man was suddenly within the boundary, a surprise rippling through the crowd. Then Raven shrieked. “Cash is here!”
She beelined his way and threw herself at him, hugging him tight, before the rest of the group pretty much surrounded him to tell him hello, though I could tell by his demeanor that the attention made him uncomfortable.
Could sense the same reluctance I often did when I was surrounded by too many people. The panic that simmered right below the surface.
River and I hung back, waiting for our turn, and once everyone had cleared out, River slowly ushered me forward. “This is the last of my brothers you haven’t met. Charleigh, this is Cash. Cash, this is Charleigh Lowe.”
Cash was more country than the rest of River’s friends, wearing faded denim jeans and boots, though his arms were completely covered in what I now recognized was River’s ink, his designs distinct. He wasn’t as tall as River, but he was thick and burly, muscles corded and ripped, skin tanned a deep golden brown, as if he’d spent all his life living off the land.
He had wavy brown hair that hung down near his chin and curled around his neck, and a short beard. Keen green eyes took me in, his expression guarded. “Good to meet you.”
“You, too,” I whispered, hating that I felt like the man was pulling me apart. Trying to see beneath every hidden layer.
The two of them shared a look before River turned to me and slung his arm around my waist, his mouth at my jaw when he muttered, “Come on, gorgeous, let’s find us a drink.”
Maybe it made me a fool that I tucked the turbulence I felt radiating from his friends down. The questions and speculation. Because for a little while, I wanted to be what River claimed I was.