Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 55769 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55769 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
He forked up more eggs. “What are you talking about?”
“You toss and turn in your sleep, and sometimes grab me…really hard.”
Fork halfway to his mouth, Eddie froze, eyes to Jet. “Cómo?”
She reacted to his tone, his intensity, he knew it because her voice went soft when she shared, “You don’t hurt me.”
He put his fork down, sat back and gave her his full attention. “Tell me.”
“Since that night, since…Vince, it happens. Not every night. But often enough, and it’s not going away,” she explained. She put her feet down, leaned to him and wrapped her hand on his forearm resting on the table. “Baby, I’m all right.”
“I know you are,” he said shortly. “I grab you? Hard?”
She squeezed his arm while shaking her head. “Like I said, it doesn’t hurt.”
“Why don’t you wake me?”
She looked confused. “Because you have an important job. You need your sleep.”
Christ.
His woman.
“Cariño, I grab you hard and I’m unconscious, you wake me so I don’t hurt you not knowin’ I’m hurtin’ you.”
“You grab me harder when we’re having sex. Obviously, I don’t mind that,” she teased.
Teasing wasn’t going to work.
Not this time.
No fucking way.
“I want you to wake me.”
“I’m not going to wake you.”
“Jet.”
“Eddie.”
“Jet,” he bit off.
“Eddie,” she mimicked him.
“This isn’t funny,” he gritted.
“I know it’s not. I also know he can’t hurt me. He’s dead. If you’re still angry with Lee, work it out with Lee. If you’re angry with me, work it out with me.”
“I’m not angry with you.”
“Do you normally toss and turn in your sleep?”
“I don’t know. I’m sleeping.”
“You didn’t before Vince.”
Eddie pulled from her hold, returned his attention to his plate, picking up his fork, and clipped, “Stop saying his fucking name.”
“Eddie.”
He knew that “Eddie” too. It was, “listen to me, I’m worried about you, Eddie.”
But fuck that.
He tossed his fork on his plate, sat back again, and exploded, “He had your pants undone!”
Jet held his gaze, said nothing, but didn’t back down or away.
“Jesus fucking Christ, he had your pants undone,” he continued. “He had his hands on you. You were scared. Nope. You were terrified.”
She said something to that. “Lee had it contained.”
“I don’t give a fuck,” he returned. “And you didn’t know that at the time, or you wouldn’t have been terrified.”
“I’m fine,” she said quietly.
“I know that,” he barked.
She held his gaze again. A beat passed. Two.
Then she got up, came to him, and he tipped his head to keep his eyes on her.
She put her hands on him, smoothing his hair back, not taking her attention from his face. Eventually, she just held the sides of his head before she bent and touched her lips to his.
When she straightened, she mumbled, “You’ll work it out in your own time.” She let him go, turned, nabbed her coffee cup and asked, “Want more coffee?”
That was when he was up and had her in his arms, her back molded to his front, his face in her neck.
She gave him that, sliding her hands along his arms so she was holding him while he held her.
Then she whispered, “It’s over, honey.”
“Yeah,” he grunted into her neck.
“Do you want more coffee?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you sure you’re not mad about the bathroom?”
He laughed in her skin, kissed her there, and at her ear, repeated, “Yeah.”
She turned her head, he lifted his, and they caught eyes.
“Give me your mug, Eddie.”
I love the fuck out of you, he thought, staring into her eyes.
Same, she thought back, staring into his.
After they shared that, he kissed her mouth, let her go and gave Jet his mug.
Track 3
Rock Chick Redemption
Her Man
* * *
Hank
* * *
Hank woke without woman or dog.
And he didn’t like it.
He opened his eyes, got up on his forearm and listened to the house.
Only then did a smile curve his lips.
They were in the kitchen.
He grabbed the covers, threw them off, snatched his pajama bottoms from the floor and headed to the bathroom. After taking care of business, wearing the bottoms, he was leaving the bathroom just as Roxie and Shamus walked into the bedroom.
She was carrying a tray he’d never seen before. It had little legs on it, and from what he could smell, on the plate on top, there was bacon.
She was also wearing a dark-gray sleep dress that hugged her curves and fell to her ankles. It had long sleeves that fit close and a notch on a collar that dipped down to expose her collarbone.
He had no idea how she managed to make a winter nightdress sexy, but one thing his woman found easy to do: make pretty much anything sexy.
Shamus danced to Hank.
Roxie glared at him. “You’re up!”
He grinned at her and pointed out the obvious. “Yeah.”
“I can’t serve you breakfast in bed when you’re not in the bed,” she informed him.
Fighting a smile, he gave his dog’s head a rubdown before he sauntered to the bed, adjusted the pillows and then reclined, straightening his legs.