Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Or don't accept it, and never get to see him again, feel his touch, hear his voice. And not only him. I would lose the girls. And Dezi. And the others.
No.
It wasn't even an option at all, was it?
"I understand perfectly," I told him, scooting up into his lap.
"And you're okay with it?" Malcolm asked, arms going around me even as the vulnerability slipped into his words. "You can accept that about me?"
"I think I can happily accept everything about you," I told him, sealing my lips over his.
It was just meant to be a soft, sweet kiss.
But it seemed like our lips couldn't do anything halfway.
Before I knew it, my hands were slipping down the collar of his shirt, seeking the slightest bit of skin, as my teeth nipped his lower lip.
"You know what?" he asked against my lips.
"What?"
"I think I need to check your injuries," he told me, making my lips curve into a smile against his.
He was talking about my bruised backside.
"It has been a whole five hours," I agreed, rolling my hips against his.
"Way too long," he agreed, his hands sliding down my back. "Things could have gotten worse. It's important to keep an eye on things like this," he said as his hands slid over my butt, sinking in just enough that I felt them there, but they didn't hurt the bruises there.
"Hey, Holly, do you like—" Billie's voice trailed off as she barged into the room, finding her cousin pawing my butt. "Oh! Fun. Okay, is this just a quickie, or are you guys going to need an hour or two to really explore?" she asked, completely unfazed.
"Billie," Malcolm growled as I buried my face in his neck, more embarrassed than I probably should have been. We were adults in a relationship, after all. Of course we were having sex.
"What? I just need to know if we should order the pizza now, or wait a bit," Billie claimed.
"Billie, go," Malcolm demanded.
"Fine. Holly, do you like pepperoni?"
"Go," Malcolm barked again, getting a chuckle out of his cousin before she moved back out into the hall.
I'd just lifted my head from his neck when the door flew open again.
"Do you guys want some fun toys?" she asked. "I always keep a trunk full."
"Billie," Malcolm grumbled.
"Right. Right. Still new and exciting in and of itself. Sorry. I will let everyone know you guys will be out after—"
"I swear to fucking God, Billie, if you tell them we're having sex, I'm going to tell Rowe what you said about his eyes when you were drunk the last time."
That, surprisingly, got exactly the response he wanted out of his cousin, who mumbled something about a low blow before closing the door.
Seeming to see my confusion, Malcolm shrugged a shoulder. "You ever want Billie to leave you alone, just bring up Rowe," he told me.
"I feel like I need to know the story," I said, wondering what kind of man could get the better of a woman like Billie.
"Mmhmm," Malcolm agreed, pressing a kiss to the outside of my lips, moving inward. "Later," he told me, hands going back to my ass.
"Yes," I agreed, rolling my hips against his. "Definitely later."
Epilogue
Malcolm - 3 days
Holly was at work.
I wanted to tell her that she didn't have to go back to that place. Now that she was at the clubhouse, she wouldn't have to worry about so many bills. And pretty soon, Shep would be fully in control of his business again. He'd need to hire an electrician to handle the work for a while, but he would have a decent income again.
She didn't have to work so hard.
But she felt like she needed to.
And it wasn't my place to tell her she couldn't do it.
It was my decision, though, to send Cary with her to work in case her asshole boss gave her any shit about being out for a few days.
As for me, well, I had some business to handle.
My mom and her crew had been working overtime to double and triple-check that we were right about Glen, that he had been the one to put all these string of events in order.
My mother had been able to find the traffic camera from the night of Holly's attack, finding Glen and his car heading away from the diner. Not the kind of proof that would hold up in any court, of course, but it was important for us to make sure.
And then, and I didn't want to think about how hard she had to look for this, but she actually got him on a store camera buying nail polish remover. In a store several towns over.
When all this shit was done, I owed my mother something big. What? I had no idea. But I would figure it out.
But after sharing the information with Shep, we both felt confident that there was no real question. It was all because of Glen.