Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 127390 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127390 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
My makeup was soft, in contrast with everything else harsh about my outfit. A lot of blush to make my cheeks extra rosy. Clear lip-gloss. The kind that was designed by witches because it didn’t smear through even the most intense of make out sessions. My friends had all done the research. A little perfume, but not much.
I looked good. Hopefully not like I was trying too hard.
Of course, there was an audience for my arrival. There was no such thing as privacy in this place. The various garage bays were filled with cars and mechanics working on them. Most of the mechanics working there were patched in to the club, but there were also a handful that weren’t. The Sons kept up their reputation around town, protecting the residents, making sure drugs weren’t dealt or cooked within town limits, helping out with pretty much anything that veered slightly outside the law.
And they also employed talented young men and women who hadn’t had a chance anywhere else.
So the ones without the patches paid little attention to me, beyond the respectful chin lifts reserved for Old Ladies.
But the men in patches, yeah, they paid attention.
Lucky helpfully pointed to the last bay with a wink. I gave him a weak smile. I’d gotten over the fear that these men would somehow respect me less for taking up with another member. They had done everything but throw a damn party since Kace and I’d gone public. In fact, Lucky had suggested a party, but I’d bugged out my eyes, and Bex had quickly taken care of that.
Having an audience was uncomfortable even in a best-case scenario. It could be humiliating in the worst case.
The Rolling Stones played softly over the sound system Cade had installed throughout the garage. There was a chart on the wall by the office with shifts of who was in control of the music throughout the day. Before that, there’d been fistfights.
Kace was closing the hood on the car he was working on when I made it to the end bay. His eyes found mine immediately. Something moved in them, something slight, but the rest of his usually expressive face stayed blank.
My blood chilled, but I continued forward.
Kace wiped his hands on a rag as I approached.
I stopped a few feet away from him, feeling awkward with the space between us. The second we became... a thing, he was not about space. He was about touch. Presence. Always.
He made no attempt to cross the distance I’d put between us, and that made things even worse.
“Hey,” I said in a small voice.
“Hey,” he replied evenly.
I swallowed. Hadn’t I rehearsed what I was going to say in my mind? Where was all of that now?
“I’ve missed you,” I said.
Kace jerked. Ever so slightly, but it was a change. Whatever mask he had been clinging to fell.
“You did?”
There was something different about the way he spoke. More vulnerability.
It clicked then. The mask. The radio silence.
He was scared. Afraid that the letter had changed something in me. Changed my feelings for him.
Once again, I’d been so caught up in my own feelings, so convinced that Kace was this take charge, alpha kind of guy, that I’d forgotten he was human. He was scared.
So instead of waiting for him to cross the distance, to make a move, I did it. He stayed in place as I approached him, as I wrapped my hands around his neck and yanked my mouth to his. Then he moved, and the kiss was everything. Filled with all the words I’d been afraid to say.
Kace’s hands went to my ass, slipping under my dress to squeeze my bare ass. He let out a hiss at the same time I moaned into his mouth.
If he hadn’t stopped the kiss, I would’ve let him fuck me on the hood of the car, regardless of our audience.
“As much as I want to be inside you right now, Lizzie, not gonna let anyone else have the privilege of seeing your face when you’re full of my cock,” he growled, his hand giving my ass one last squeeze before he righted my dress. He didn’t let me go, though.
“I love you,” I said in response, my voice breathy.
He froze then, his eyes on me, hands flexing around me. “What did you just say?”
I smiled. Warmth spread through my bones. “I know you heard me, being much younger and having that superior hearing. But I’ll repeat it. I love you, Kace. I’ve been too scared to admit it. Too scared to let you in. But you got in anyway. And now I can’t escape you. What I feel for you.” I stroked his cheek. “I don’t want to. I don’t ever want to escape you.”
His mouth was on mine again. Quick, hard. “In case you hadn’t caught on, being much older and all, I love you too, baby.” His eyes met mine. “I’m so in awe of your bravery.”