Total pages in book: 176
Estimated words: 167257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 558(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 167257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 558(@300wpm)
It had to be the earth-shattering orgasm.
That was the only logical explanation for why I placed my hand in his and let him pull me from his car. Just the memory had my legs shaking like jello, and I would have collapsed, furthering my humiliation if it weren’t for Rowdy’s quick reflexes. Once I was standing in front of him, he pulled my coat tighter around me before zipping it up and pressing his soft lips against mine.
I released this sound—part hungry and part scandalized—that later I’d fervently deny when I realized I could still taste myself on his lips. He’d brushed his teeth and changed his shirt before we left, but lingering in small traces with the cool mint was…me.
Smirking, Rowdy kissed me one last time before releasing me and declining to comment on how badly I obviously wanted him to fuck me right now.
My knees felt weak, and it wasn’t just from me wishing I’d taken him up on his offer. I was quiet as he led me by the hand into the building.
There was a wide clearing with tire tracks in the middle of the building, with people standing on either side like they were waiting for something.
Higher up and overlooking the concrete floor was a smaller room that looked like one of those press boxes you’d find at a stadium, complete with a microphone and window spanning the length of the room.
We’d barely made it ten feet inside the building before we were spotted. One after another, some of the people standing around came over to either shoot the shit, ask Rowdy’s advice, or thank him for some past repairs. It took us twenty minutes to make it to the other side of the building, and Rowdy never let go of my hand the entire time. Even when he’d dap up someone he knew from around the way, he never let go.
“Who’s that you got with you?” one of his bolder homies inquired. Teddy, I’d heard Rowdy call him, inched toward me while eyeing me up like I was on the menu and he wanted to sample me. “She’s bad as hell.” Before I could question my instinct to seek out Rowdy for refuge, I was glued to his side, watching Teddy lick his cracked lips while rubbing his ashy palms together. He wore blue jeans and a white tee three sizes too big for him like he was stuck in two thousand and seven and waiting for Crime Mob to make a comeback.
“She’s my business,” Rowdy warned, brows dipped murderously now like it hadn’t been love between them moments ago. “And back your ass up. You standing too close to her.”
“Oh, my fault.” Teddy looked as confused as I felt, but he did what he was told, backing away from me, his eyes bouncing between us as he tried to decipher Rowdy’s territorial pissing. I didn’t have to question if this reaction from Rowdy was unusual. “I ain’t mean no disrespect,” Teddy added before scurrying away with his tail tucked between his legs.
Rowdy watched him go, and I could see the indecision in his eyes whether to follow him and fuck him up.
Curling my free palm around the back of the hand clutching mine, I caught his attention and offered him—for what might have been the first time—a smile that wasn’t laced with barbed wire.
Slowly, I watched the violence fade from his eyes, but he didn’t return my gesture. Instead, his green gaze greedily roved all over my face as if he were committing the sight to memory.
“Come on,” he whispered after the moment had stretched dangerously close to something meaningful.
I followed him through the garage opening large enough to fit a truck through and out into a second lot—this one much bigger and packed full of cars parked haphazardly. The ground was covered with gravel, and a few rows over, I spotted a forklift speeding by with a red convertible in its grip.
We paused just outside the door while Rowdy checked something on his phone. “This way.”
I was silent as I obediently followed him through the maze of cars. Even with my long legs, I had to practically run to keep up with him as he strode through the crowded lot like he was on a mission. Rowdy’s head was on a swivel, swinging left and right as he searched for something.
“Owen,” I spoke up once I started to lose my breath. “Can we slow down?” Rowdy looked back at me as if only just remembering I was there before slowing his stride. “What is this place anyway?”
“Car auction.” He didn’t bother to explain further before bracing his weight on the trunks of two cars backed so close together there was no hope of squeezing through and lifting his body over them until he stood on the other side.