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)
The dogs stayed at my feet as I hurried out of the gate and took a left. Immediately my feet took me on my familiar trail, and I was walking partially shaded by the woods on the side of the road, easily hidden from approaching cars—or bikes.
At least, I thought I was.
And I was thinking I was alone, too, until I felt someone yank on my arm from a tree I’d just passed, causing me to gasp.
And then I felt myself being pressed against a familiar, hard chest.
Oh, and my dogs going absolutely wild.
“Call ‘em off, honey,” Rafe’s velvety soft voice said in my ear.
I shivered, then turned and ‘called them off.’
“Kimber and Glock, sit.”
Both dogs sat, but they didn’t look happy to be doing so.
“Good dogs,” he said.
I blinked then turned.
“Yeah?”
He nodded. “They were aware I was here the entire time, trailing you. You should pay more attention to their cues, though. They can’t talk, so you’ll have to glance at them every once in a while. But, they didn’t move or do anything until after I’d grabbed you. I’m guessing they knew I wasn’t a threat, or at least they thought I wasn’t. Then, they weren’t so sure, so they started to bark.”
I blinked.
“Well,” I hesitated. “That’s kind of awesome, isn’t it?”
He winked. “You bet.”
I frowned. “What are you doing here?”
He opened his mouth, then immediately closed it.
“Something I shouldn’t be doin’,” he finally settled on.
“And what would that be…” I questioned, my heart starting to pound. “Because I haven’t the slightest idea.”
And I really didn’t.
He hadn’t called. He hadn’t texted. Hell, I hadn’t even gotten a smoke signal—something I knew that he was likely more than capable of giving me.
I was literally sitting on my hands, waiting for something to happen.
Something I really, really wanted to happen.
I wanted him to make that move.
I wanted to do a lot of things more than what I’d done with him—such as actually hold a conversation that didn’t have him running the other way when my family came into the room. Or involve us only talking with our bodies. Not that I was complaining about that last bit.
I could go for more of that.
In fact, the more I thought about how he felt pressed up against me, the more my mind continued to spiral out of control until I couldn’t even hide what I was feeling anymore.
“Janie,” Rafe growled.
I shivered at the sound of his voice.
“Yeah?” I licked my lips, staring into his eyes as I did.
Those eyes of his darkened impossibly further, and I swear I felt that straight to my soul.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he ordered.
I blew out a breath. “I don’t know if I can help it.”
He leaned forward so close that I felt his beard against my lips as he spoke. “I have so many things wrong right now that being here with you is the only thing right…but I can’t do that with your father able to walk up on us at any moment.”
I swallowed.
“What my father doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” I informed my torturer.
“There are game trails all along this stretch of woods,” he said softly, tucking a few stray hairs that’d escaped my messy bun behind my ear as he spoke. “Not to mention that they have live feed. I like you, darlin’. But I also like my face.”
I grinned, and then took a step back. “Well, I can’t be that close to you then.”
He smiled, but that smile quickly fell.
“I have some things I’d like to discuss with you…but then that came up.”
“What?” I questioned.
“That with Dante and Cobie. I’ve meant to call you for a while now, but my life…” he sighed. “My life is complicated. I don’t have time to even go see my sister. I just don’t want you to think that I forgot about you.”
I swallowed, touched that he’d even take the time to say anything to me at all, let alone explain his actions.
Rafe didn’t seem the type to explain.
He seemed the type to tell a person how it was, and then expect to be obeyed.
My hand rose, and my fingers started to curl around the stray hair he’d tucked behind my ear as I said, “I think I can wait for you to uncomplicate it.”
His grin was bright.
And with a wink, he was gone, disappearing into the woods almost as fast as he’d appeared.
Unfortunately, I had no idea that by promising that, I’d be waiting far longer than I ever intended.
Chapter 7
I hate it when I say I hate everyone, and then the one person I hate the most laughs and says, ‘not me, right?’ No, bitch. I especially hate you.
-Conversation between Rafe to Janie
Rafe
Eight weeks later
Nobody ever prepares for a grenade.
Nobody.
Sure, you might think about how you’d react if a grenade was thrown in your direction, but until you’ve actually had a live one thrown at you without warning, you have no fuckin’ clue how you’ll react.