Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 73043 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73043 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
I closed my eyes again as Kimber’s nose dug into my shoulder—just like she always did when we were at home in our bed—and I went boneless.
“Love you.”
I blinked my eyes open again to see Rafe fully clothed now.
He was leaning over me, his mouth inches from my face.
I pursed my lips, and he grinned.
He didn’t hesitate, placing his lips on mine, though.
“Love you, too.” I stared at him for a long moment, my heart hurting. “Be careful. Don’t do anything crazy.”
He winked. “I’ll try.”
The remembrance of that day at the hospital, the worry I felt when I spoke with his doctor…it was still there. That feeling of impending doom.
I’d probably always worry about it.
It’d always be there, in the back of my mind.
But then he whispered, “I love you,” one more time, and I forced myself to calm.
My eyes fell closed, and the next time I opened them, it was to find the room empty—long empty—and the dogs now growling somewhere in the living room.
I got up, slipped on a t-shirt of Rafe’s from the night before, and snatched my phone which Rafe had so helpfully plugged in some time after I’d passed out.
With Rafe’s name pulled up for a quick dial, I made my way out into the living room to find someone standing in it.
Found her standing in it.
She was in the process of taking her shoes off, and she had her purse in her hand as if she was about to drop it onto the coffee table.
“Can I help you?” I asked, pressing Rafe’s name on the phone.
I was fairly sure that this wasn’t going to get ugly, mainly because I could more than handle myself thanks to my father’s and uncles’ instruction, but I figured Rafe would want to know that someone had come into his house.
Also, that she’d done it seemingly without breaking in, because I would’ve definitely heard had that been the case.
I also knew for a fact that she didn’t have a key—at least one that Rafe had given her—because Rafe had flat out said he hadn’t given her one. Not before when he’d had his memory, and not after when Elspeth had played While You Were Sleeping on him.
Elspeth froze at my words and looked up, a look of horror on her face. “What are you doing in Rafe’s house?”
I blinked. “Well, I actually came here legally. You, on the other hand, have not. Which, I might add, is illegal.”
Elspeth blinked. Then a flush started to crawl up her chest—which was entirely exposed. Who the hell wore tank tops in the middle of December that looked like that?
Nobody.
It was dental floss at best.
The pieces of triangles that were covering her nipples were just enough to cover the areolas and not much more.
It was also white. Meaning that I could see those areolas.
They were dark. Like, almost black.
Was that normal?
Yes, Elspeth’s hair was black, and mine was blonde. But her skin tone wasn’t much different from mine.
Maybe even a little lighter, maybe.
I hated her.
“This is my fiancé’s house.”
I snorted. “Your fiancé my ass. You damn well know that you made that shit up,” I said. “You do realize, right, that he was bound to remember sometime. Not to mention he’s mine.”
“I’m sorry, but he’s not yours. He’s mine.”
“Negative,” I disagreed. “He’s mine. Has been for a very long time,” I said.
Rafe and I had spoken about how he’d deal with Elspeth when the time came—though we had always planned on him actually being here when the discussion took place—and it was decided that whatever avenue he was trying to use with Elspeth was now at a dead end. He wouldn’t be able to pretend to like her when he very much didn’t, and I was okay with that. Anything that kept him away from this woman was okay with me.
“I beg to differ.” Elspeth crossed her hands over her chest, making the barely-there fabric stretch even thinner.
I put the phone to my ear to ask a question, but Rafe’s words caught my attention.
“That’s so fucking hot,” Rafe growled when I placed the phone back to my ear.
“What is?” I heard a man reply.
“She just claimed me.”
I found myself smiling despite my anger at the situation. “She claimed you as her daddy?”
At that, I burst out laughing. “Who is that with you?”
Rafe snorted. “That would be Parker, the bundle of sunshine and flowers.”
“Fuck you,” I heard him say.
“She’s not leaving,” I finally said. “Is there something I should be doing? Calling the police?”
“I’m about two minutes, at most, away. I’ll handle it when I get there.” Rafe’s words were abrupt and curt, letting me know that he wasn’t happy that she’d just walked into his house.
“Okay,” I said.
Then I dropped the phone to my side. “He’s on his way. If you don’t want this to get ugly, I’d suggest heading on out before he gets here.”