Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 115186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 576(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 576(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
His volume cranked up a notch. “You sayin’ I put up with all that goddamn bullshit for nothin’?”
“Did they make you sweat?” she asked calmly.
“Not up there.”
Not up there. That was a strange answer. One that made the fine hairs on the back of her neck rise.
“Then where?” When he didn’t answer, she prodded, “Where, Rome? Did Shade do something? Tell me the truth. Are you being forced in some way?”
“God-fuckin’-damnit,” he muttered under his breath before saying more loudly, “No, woman. Ain’t bein’ forced to do shit.” He closed his eyes, visibly pulled in a breath, and when he reopened them, they met hers. His intense gaze never wavered when he went on with, “Came to Manning Grove willingly. Asked you to wear my cut willingly. Went upstairs willingly. If I didn’t want you bein’ my ol’ lady, never woulda came up here at all. Woulda been happy you skipped town without a fuckin’ word. We coulda went our separate ways and none of them woulda known anythin’ happened between us. Both of us coulda moved on and lived our damn lives. But here I am…”
“Wow. I’m finding you very hard to resist when that was one of the most romantic speeches I ever heard.”
Romeo sucked his teeth.
“Tell me. Why do you want me to be your ol’ lady, Rome? I haven’t heard a good argument for that yet.”
“Ain’t obvious?”
“Honestly, no.”
He scraped fingers down his bearded jaw. “Maybe ‘cause this is all fuckin’ new to me, Maddie. Not sure how to act. Not sure what to do. Not sure even what to fuckin’ say. Already pissed you the fuck off when I had words with your asshole boss. Tryin’ not to step in shit again.”
“The answer doesn’t have to be complicated.”
“Not complicated? Sure fuckin’ feels like it to me.”
“You mean, figuring out what to say to me?”
“No, this… relationship shit. It’s worse when you’re makin’ it pretty damn clear you don’t feel the same ‘bout me.”
Her head jerked back. “What? How do you know how I feel?”
“Guessin’, ‘cause you ain’t said shit.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Have you asked?”
He pressed his lips together so tightly they became a slash.
She sighed. “Yes, I was pissed at you, Rome. But deep down if I didn’t feel anything for you, we both wouldn’t be sitting here right now having this discussion. No one—and I mean no one—could railroad either of us into doing something we don’t want to do. Do you agree?”
“You kept mentionin’ me bein’ forced.”
“Because this is my future we’re talking about. Yours, too. I want to be sure this is what you want.”
“But you’re sure now.” Funny how he didn’t form that as a question.
She laughed softly. “Look, this whole… situation has been confusing. For me as well as you. All I know is, despite me being hurt and angry at you, I still missed you.” Surprisingly enough, it was a load off her shoulders to reveal that.
“You ran off.”
“My heart ached for you,” she admitted next.
“You blocked my goddamn number.”
She shrugged. “Then, I guess I did us a favor by making us both realize what our lives would be like without each other.”
“Truth? Didn’t fuckin’ like it. Also don’t like needin’ anyone as much as I need you.”
Holy shit. He really did want this.
Romeo. The infamous womanizer.
The man known for bouncing from bed to bed his whole adult life had stopped doing that after the chance meeting they had at a hamburger stand.
She had witnessed other bikers clean up their hound dog ways after meeting “the one.” Was she “the one” for Romeo?
An awkward laugh slipped from between her lips. “We’re a mess.”
“Ain’t gonna argue that.”
“Will this even work?” She still had some doubts. Actually, more than some. He’d been set in his ways for a long damn time.
“Not sure.”
At least he was honest about that. “Is it worth trying?”
He hesitated before admitting, “Ain’t gonna be easy.”
It sure wasn’t. “Our lives will be completely changed,” she warned.
“Not completely. But it’s for fuck sure gonna be different.”
Again, he wasn’t lying.
“If we build a strong foundation, we can grow from there.” Holy crap, were they really doing this? Would Romeo become her ol’ man? Would she be his ol’ lady?
Something neither of them wanted.
Until now.
“Maddie…” He lifted her chin and forced her to look him directly in the eyes. “Wanna make this fuckin’ clear, then we need to move the fuck on. Doin’ this for one reason and that one reason is you. Ain’t doin’ it ‘cause I’m forced to, doin’ it ‘cause I want to. Can’t see myself with anyone other than you anymore. Thought those motherfuckers scrambled my brain when they knocked me in the head, but the truth is, it made me see shit more clearly.”
She stared at the man with only inches separating them. The man she gave her virginity to so long ago. The man she gave her heart to more recently.