Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 107667 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107667 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
What I need.
With one arm around me, he snakes his other up my back to squeeze my neck as he holds me close, his nose gliding along the shell of my ear. Every ounce of my being sings for him, and in his arms, I’ve never felt safer in my life. His lips brush against my ear as he whispers, “I’d rather be scared of how you could shatter me into a million pieces than live another moment not yours. There is no choice, Tennessee.” I can’t even remember how to breathe as he nuzzles my ear. “I’m yours, and you’re mine.”
His words are unnecessary because I’ve felt them since the moment his eyes caught mine three months ago.
And I can’t ignore it any longer.
Chapter Eighteen
Dart
I’m realizing that patience is not my jam.
I should have kissed Tennessee yesterday. Gotten my fill of her before I grudgingly let her go. She left, needing “space.” I’m also realizing that space is the last thing I need when it comes to her.
I watch as she brushes her hair off her shoulder, crouching down to fix her camera, and that ass is delectable. She wears a pair of black leggings, those thighs thick and that ass even thicker. Her long-sleeved blue CapitalCare shirt hugs her breasts and is rising in the back as she bends down, showing a very sexy strip of skin.
I’ve kissed her there. Right there on the small of her back.
“You’re drooling,” Owen mutters beside me, and I swallow as I look down at the boards, tapping my glove to them. I sigh deeply as his laughter taunts me. “You going to make it?”
“Probably not,” I admit, looking back up at her as she explains to Anderson what she is doing. She’s here to do our assessments, and I really enjoy watching her work. She’s proficient and very detail-oriented, just as she was when she was on her knees in front of me. God, she has me squirming on this bench. Her smiles are quick, her knowledge is vast, and the excitement that covers her face when she gets the right angle does something to my heart. She does this little wiggle. I don’t even know if anyone else notices it, but I do.
It blows my mind to smithereens.
“Drooling again.”
I swallow again, shaking my head as laughter leaves my lips. But it falls away when I hear the bench door open. I look over just in time to see the jackass who thinks he is dating my girl stepping through it and walking along the rug they have down for the people not wearing skates. The rage I feel is incomparable. He’s touched her. He’s kissed her. He has tasted her when I wasn’t able to. The jealousy inside me is like a caged beast. I want to rip him apart for even looking at her.
“Now you look like you’re going to kill someone.”
I look toward my best friend. “You’re not helping.”
He shrugs, his eyes playful, and I know he sympathizes with my pain. I mean, he listened to it all night and even took my phone when I tried to call Tennessee. Angie stressed for me to give her a moment, to let Tennessee get her head on straight, but I’m dying here. Especially when that fucker’s hand moves along her shoulder, squeezing it. The only reason I don’t get up and kick his ass is because Tennessee steps away from him, giving him a pointed look.
“This is about to get real awkward, isn’t it?”
I only shrug. “I mean, we can do awkward, or you can bail me out of jail.”
“I pick awkward.”
I pick her.
I’m met only with a huff before he says, “Are you going tonight?”
“Yeah,” I say, even though I don’t want to. The only reason I am is because I know she’ll be there. Hopefully on my arm and not his.
“Great. I’ll have Angie get cash for bail money.”
I laugh as Anderson skates to the bench, entering the door before looking over at us. “You’re up, Dart. And also, that girl is hot.”
“God help us,” Owen says, shaking his head as I just look at my new friend.
“You know we’re still deciding if we like you,” I remind him, and his brows come in.
“I think you’re cool as hell,” Owen says to Sawyer. “But before my friend can beat you with his stick, that girl is off-limits.”
Anderson looks between us, confused. “Because of that guy?” he scoffs. “He asked her to go to dinner before the thing tonight, and she didn’t look like she was feeling him.”
“Not him. Me,” I say, and understanding fills his face.
“Ah, okay. Noted,” he says, tipping his chin toward me before disappearing down the hall. I stand up, grabbing my stick, and I look up just as she glances over at me. A blush moves into her full cheeks, and I can’t stop the smirk that pulls at my lips.