Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 100608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
As Cato busies himself passing out the nomination slips, I cut my eyes over to Jax, who’s watching me with an unreadable expression. He does a helluva better job than I do when it comes to hiding his feelings. I can barely look at him without imagining his husky groans or the salty taste of his cum or the pine scent I love to inhale when my nose is pressed to his neck.
His eyes are telling—a brief flash of hunger—but the rest of him is stoic and serious. It’s a reminder that I’m his secret.
His secret that was supposed to last the weekend.
But here we are a month later, fucking every chance we can get. It’s an addiction I can’t seem to break myself of.
I don’t do relationships.
Toby made sure of that.
Yet, despite that mantra always playing in my head, it’s exactly what Jax and I are doing. It’s a secret relationship, but it’s more than just a weekend fuck fest. We spend most nights wrapped up in bed together. We eat meals together. We text all hours of the day. No matter how much I try to deny that I don’t do relationships, I’m in one, and it terrifies me.
Being with Jax feels real…
But it’s not.
I’m powerless to stop it, but if I don’t, it has the potential to shred me like Toby did. With Toby, he decided he didn’t love me anymore, certainly not enough to marry me. With Jax, I’ll eventually want more. To be seen in public together for one. To tell my siblings about the guy I care about is another. My dumb ass agreed to this, though. That I’d keep his secret. We could be fuckbuddies behind closed doors.
It. Was. Supposed. To. End. Already.
As if in tune with my thoughts, Jax’s penetrating stare bores into me. I’m forced to meet his dark eyes. Wordlessly, he asks me if I’m okay. It should alarm me he can read me so well, but I like it.
Someone asks me about the progress of the B&B, which has me dragging my attention from the hot cop at the head of the table back to the Chamber meeting. My phone buzzes in my pocket, and based on the raised eyebrow on Jax’s face, I know who it’s from. Once the attention is off me, I pull out my phone.
Jax: You okay?
Me: Just thinking about your dick.
Jax: Liar. Was it what Ned said? I hate that fucking guy.
Me: Nah. It’s nothing.
Jax: Zak works tonight at the bowling alley. Come over after five and I’ll cook you dinner.
Me: A date?
Jax: Hell yeah. We can watch a movie too.
Me: And then?
Jax: And then I want you in my bed where you belong.
The back door is unlocked, waiting for my arrival. I step over Ox, who’s sprawled out in the middle of the floor snoring. Jax is in the kitchen, shirtless in a pair of low-cut jeans, looking better than any dinner he can offer me.
“Honey, I’m home,” I tease as I stride into the kitchen where he’s at the stove, stirring.
He glances over his shoulder, a brilliant grin on his handsome face. “Finally.”
I step behind him, kissing his shoulder before taking a peek at what he’s making.
“Stir fry,” he says, leaning against me. “It’s nothing exciting, but it’s one of the better dishes I make. The wine’s on the counter if you want to pop the cork.”
I give his ass a pinch before I pull a couple of wineglasses from the cabinet. Once I’ve poured us each a glass of red, I take a sip, admiring his solid back muscles.
“How was work?” he asks, setting his spatula down and turning toward me.
I hand him his glass, admiring the way his pants hang low enough to show the band of his boxers. Jax is so completely lickable right now. I’m tempted to skip dinner and get right to the good part. Him.
“Work was fine. We have most of the construction complete inside, so it’s been a mad dash to get decorations ordered. The gazebo has been erected outside but needs to be painted and we’ve put a new roof on the barn. It’ll be ready for paint soon. At first I worried we might not get done by spring, but it’s looking better and better each day. Hans really is good at making shit happen.”
Jax sips his wine, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows. My eyes track the movement of his tongue as he licks away the wetness of the wine from his lips.
“This afternoon, I got a lead on the Rainbow Vigilante,” he says with a triumphant grin. “A witness who was leaving Blur late last night ran into a hooded person. A guy. When they bumped into each other, the guy fell on his ass and a can hit the pavement.”