Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 84294 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84294 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
It’s enough to put my mind at ease while he works on putting my body at ease. A moan slips from my lips, and he smothers it with his kiss, the raw passion between us filling me with unconditional love.
I raise my hips to meet his thrusts, taking him deeper, and it doesn’t take long before we’re coming together. He drops his head to mine and presses a gentle kiss on my lips. “What is it about you, Cassandra Waters?” he groans against my lips.
I smile against his lips, feeling content and at peace for the first time in three long years. “I could ask you the same thing.”
He looks into my eyes as he considers something before sliding out of me and pulling my back against him, spooning me once again. “Goodnight, Cass.”
“Night, Jax,” I whisper into the darkness as a yawn takes over me.
He pulls me in tighter and drifts into a peaceful sleep, his arms bringing a safety that I’ve craved since the day I left.
It must be at least an hour later when I feel Jax pull away from me. He climbs out of bed and pulls on a pair of pants, and I listen as he takes a few steps toward the door and pulls it open. “What’s up?” he asks, his voice thick from sleep.
“I was just checking in on Cass,” Sean says. “I figured she would be here with you.”
“Yeah, she’s fine. She’s out like a light,” Jax explains.
“Yeah, good. It looked like she enjoyed herself tonight,” he says, a hint of concern in his voice.
“Better believe she did,” Jax laughs, the fondness in his tone making something heal in my heart. “I haven’t seen her like that in a long time. It was nice.”
“Yeah, sure was, man,” he says. “Listen, I actually wanted to talk to you.”
“About what?” Jax grunts in confusion.
“About Cass, the real reason she’s home,” Sean says, making me stiffen in bed. What on earth is he talking about? I’m home because the boys asked me to come back. Because with Dad gone, they needed me close, somewhere they could easily watch over me like the overprotective big turds they are.
“Go on,” Jax says cautiously, and I can tell by the shift in his tone he suspects that I’ve lied about something.
“Shit,” Sean sighs. “Look, I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t mention any of this to her, but me and the boys sort of manipulated her into coming home.” I hear the cringe in his voice, and I can imagine what his face would look like at this moment.
“Huh?” Jax grunts, amusement in his voice, prompting Sean to go on.
“She wasn’t happy in New York. We had all gone to visit, but it never got better, and we knew the best thing for her was to come home. Then after Dad died, we guilt-tripped her, saying we needed our baby sister home. We had all talked about it and agreed it was best for her to go to Denver and see you again. You’re what makes her happy and we knew, whether it was intentional or not, you’d take her pain away.”
Jax is silent for a moment, but I’m a different story.
I shoot out of bed and storm up to my big brother, pushing him in the chest, not giving a shit that he’s still celebrating his wedding. His eyes widen in shock, either too tired or drunk to have noticed me earlier. “You lying sack of shit!” I scream at him. “All of you. You’re nothing but dirty, lying douchebags!”
“Shit,” he mutters under his breath.
“Shit?” I hiss. “That’s all you have to say?”
“Yep. What else can I say?” he says with a nonchalant shrug. “We don’t regret it. Look at you, you’re smiling again. For fuck’s sake, Cass, you even sang tonight. Don’t you see that?”
Tears well in my eyes, the raw emotions giving me whiplash. “It should have been my decision to come home,” I tell him. “I wasn’t ready.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, little sister. We had to step in. You’re way too stubborn to have admitted it to yourself. If it were up to you, you would still be rotting away in New York, not living. You would have died there, Cass. Fuck, you were dead. You were nothing but a fucking shell. Jax brings you back to life.”
“He’s right,” Jax cuts in as the tears begin to spill. “You should have come home years ago.”
I give him a look that would scare the dead. “Whose side are you on here?”
He raises his brow at me and gives me a stupid look. “Uhh, theirs,” he says as if I should have known, but really . . . I should have.
I flick my attention back to Sean, and all I can do is stare at him as I admit defeat. He’s right, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.