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)
I briefly wonder where their cars are parked, but the thought is gone the second Brianna rushes forward and wraps Cass in her arms. “I’m so sorry,” Bri cries. “It’s all my fault. If I’d been there, it never would have happened.”
“Shh,” Cass soothes, holding her tight. “It had nothing to do with you. He was a ticking time bomb, and he took his opportunity. Had it not been yesterday, it would have been today or the next day. We couldn’t have known.”
Brianna nods as Bobby steps into their sides, wrapping his arms around both the girls and giving them a gentle squeeze. “I’m glad you’re okay,” he murmurs to Cass, who gives him a fond smile.
One by one, everybody checks on her until exhaustion takes over her face, and her brothers start kicking them out until it’s just our close circle. I take a seat on the couch, and Cass falls into my arms. When Brianna does the same with Carter, Bobby scowls at them from across the room, which has Cass grinning into my side.
The boys pass around some beers and Bri cranks the music, and that’s how we stay, chatting and drinking until the late hours of the night. “Are you ready for bed?” I ask Cass after her fifth yawn in a row.
“Yeah,” she says, getting up from the couch and saying goodnight to everyone.
I follow behind her and help her into her pajamas before she climbs into bed, and I follow suit, sliding in beside her, my arms curling around her and pulling her in tight. “I’m so sorry this happened to you,” I tell her as she settles onto my chest, her hand dropping to my stomach.
“I know,” she murmurs. “You saved me, Jax. If it weren’t for you . . .”
She trails off, and knowing just how hard it is for her to find the words, I press my lips to hers and kiss her with every ounce of passion I possess, letting her know just how grateful I am to have her in my arms.
Cassie kisses me back, and as I feel tears on her cheeks, I gently pull back, hoping to God I haven’t pushed her too far. “Is this too much?” I ask, looking deep into those eyes that I have loved for nearly a decade.
She shakes her head, the tears still coming. “It’s exactly what I need.”
She presses her forehead to mine, and I hold her tighter. “I love you, Cass, so fucking much,” I whisper into the night, “and no matter what, I will always be there to catch you. I’ll never let you fall.”
“You’re my whole world, Jax. In that basement . . . I thought I was never going to see you again.”
Reaching up, I push her hair behind her ear and press a feather-soft kiss to her lips, those tears killing me. “I’ll never let that happen, Cass. We’re gonna grow old together. You’re going to have my ring on your finger and our baby in your gut.”
A smile pulls at the corner of her lips, and she does everything she can to try and smother it. “Ugh, Jax,” she groans, looking at me as though I hold her whole world in the palm of my hand. “Do you have to put it that way?”
I smirk as I roll us over so I hover above her, being careful not to disrupt any of her injuries. “What better way to put it?” I murmur. “Whether you like it or not, you’ll be my wife, and we’re going to have a tribe of kids. We’ll have a beautiful home in the hills so we can be near your parents, and you’ll have that stupid Great Dane you’ve always wanted.”
She grins up at me. “I want to call him Diesel, and he’ll probably chew all your hockey gear.”
“He better not,” I warn her.
Her eyes sparkle as she looks up at me then opens her legs before hooking them around my waist. “Oh yeah?” she questions, that confidence marred with a slight hesitation that she tries to hide.
I grin down at her, my cock straining to be freed as those beautiful eyes sparkle with mirth, daring me to meet her challenge, but I see it for what it is. She needs to know that no matter what happened to her in that basement, no matter who or what touched her, she will always have my whole heart. That she will always be the only woman I desire. I hate that what he did to her has formed a cloud of doubt in her mind, but goddamn, I will do anything to ensure she knows just how much she means to me.
With that, she frees my cock as I slide her pajama bottoms and panties down her legs, and I slowly push deep inside her, watching the way her eyes flutter with satisfaction. Silent tears well in her eyes as she wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me into her. “Don’t you worry about it, baby,” I growl in her ear. “I’ve got you.”