Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 123672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 618(@200wpm)___ 495(@250wpm)___ 412(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 618(@200wpm)___ 495(@250wpm)___ 412(@300wpm)
“Don’t worry about what I can handle, Ky.”
“I have to,” she throws back at me. “I care about you too much, and I know I’m going to fuck this up, which is exactly why I’ve tried to force this distance between us. And when that inevitably happens, where does that leave me with High Voltage? Big Jim is just as much a father figure to you as he is to me, and I don’t want to have to leave there because I fucked up and crossed a line I shouldn’t have.”
I shake my head, pushing her back into her chair properly to better see her face. “You really think that low of me that I would let you fuck up so bad that you couldn’t show your face at High Voltage?”
“No,” she says, her gaze lingering on mine. “I know you wouldn’t, but I also know me, and when I feel like I’m backed into a corner, I start lashing out, and I don’t want to hurt you, Crew. I love you too much.”
I push her drink back toward her and she takes another sip. “I don’t want you feeling like I’m backing you into a corner,” I tell her. “But it’s time for you to know that there’s no more drawing lines in the sand when it comes to you and me. When I walk into work every morning, I’m going to grab you, and I’m going to kiss you until you’re falling to pieces, but I also know that when Viper walks in, he’s going to try the same thing, and I’m okay with the fact that, for now, that’s going to excite you. Hell, fuck him if you need to work him out of your system, but you should know, baby, once Viper has a taste of you, he’s going to sink his claws in and never let you go.”
“I know,” she murmurs. “But he’s never going to treat me like you would. I’d be property to him.”
I nod, relieved that she understands that. “You still need to be wary of him. There’ll come a time where he gets tired of asking, and then he’ll just take what he wants from you.”
“The same way you’re taking what you want?”
“Not even close,” I tell her. “The difference is, I take only what I know you’re able to give, but Viper will rob you blind.”
She visibly swallows before averting her gaze to her drink, watching the condensation roll down her near-empty glass. “Does it make me an idiot for wanting to see what it’d be like with him?”
“No,” I say, shaking my head despite the way her words pierce straight through my chest. “It makes you human, but you know that if you do go there and he makes you uncomfortable in any way, I’ll come for you, Ky. I’ll always fucking come for you.”
“Even if it kills you?”
“Even then.”
“Shit,” she says, blowing out a heavy breath.
“Couldn’t agree more.”
We sit and drink for the next few hours, talking shit about life and the shop until she starts swaying on her chair. Then all too aware that she still needs to function tomorrow and put art on somebody’s skin, I close out my tab and lead her out of the bar and back down the street.
Kyah chills out a lot when she’s been drinking, and I’m not surprised when she slips her hand into mine and laces our fingers together. I loop our joined hands over her shoulder and pull her into my side, feeling so fucking right when she tilts her head against my shoulder. “So, what happens now?” she asks.
“What do you mean?”
“With you,” she says, laughing to herself at some kind of silent joke that I’m not privy to. “Are you just going to mope around after me until I pull my head out of my ass and decide I’m ready for something more?”
I scoff. “Do I strike you as the type to mope around while watching you fuck your way through Brooklyn?”
“No, I guess not,” she says, sounding a little defeated. “I don’t like the idea of you sticking your dick into every available hole and then expecting me to put out too.”
“I don’t expect you to put out, but when those little boys you’ve been playing with can’t get you off, you’re gonna come looking for me whether I’ve been fucking random women or not. You can’t resist, Ky.”
She lets out a heavy breath, and I continue. “Do you really expect me to save myself for you when you’re not doing the same for me? That’s not me, Ky. I like sex. Hell, I fucking need it, and when I want it, I’m going to get it. It’s up to you if it’s your door I’m knocking at.”
“Uggghhhh,” she groans. “Don’t put that kind of pressure on me.”