Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 80902 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80902 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
It’s like a weird family scene.
I spot movement and see Sledge raise his arm over to the side where he and Phoenix are playing pool. “Um… hi.”
“Everything good with Mia?” Phoenix asks. He puts his cue up on a wall rack, but he’s eyeing me curiously.
I try to keep my voice steady, like we’re just talking. We are just talking. “Yeah. I can’t tell if I should be annoyed that she’s having such a good time or not. I’m glad she’s not scared, but she’s acting like she’s at summer camp.” I lick my lips, feeling a little shy all of a sudden. “Alessa said I could sleep over there if I wanted, but…”
Our conversation at the plateau has been spinning in my brain since the ride, and there’s an electric current in the air, just waiting to spark. My stomach flutters with want and possibilities, but I don’t know how or even what to ask for yet.
Sledge’s eyes flash when he realizes what I’m talking about. Phoenix’s too. Did he and Sledge talk?
“How about we take this to my room,” Sledge suggests.
Phoenix nods, his dark eyes tracking me like a fox watching a particularly tasty hen. They definitely talked. There’s no way he’d be looking at me like that if they haven’t. He’s never been shy about checking me out, but there’s a whole new intensity there, like he knows that now there’s a real possibility.
God, am I really doing this? Letting both of them…
On the way there, they keep finding excuses to touch me. Taking my hand. Putting a palm against my back. Brushing the hair off my shoulder. Each touch makes my heartbeat race a little faster. It’s a good thing it’s not far, or I might explode on the way.
Sledge's room looks a lot like Havoc's, at least in layout. The couch is leather, there are shelves with books and carefully organized stones and small mechanical parts that have been polished to shine. The kitchenette and bed look much the same though. On a side table next to the couch are some pictures in frames. An old woman who is probably his grandmother. A pair of men that share enough of a resemblance to probably be his brothers.
His bed is really big.
“Could I talk to her for a sec?” Phoenix asks.
Sledge looks between us, a little uncertain, but then he nods. “Sure. I’ll be back in a few.”
Phoenix was the first of the three to insert himself into my life when this all started, but since then it feels like he’s been holding himself back. Havoc is straightforward, a handsome protector. Sledge is a little more complicated. He looks like he’d be hard. A bruiser. And I’m sure he is, but under the surface he’s a sensitive soul.
But Phoenix? He’s tall, dark and deadly. His dangerous good looks are as much of a weapon as the gun I slipped from his belt.
My gut says I can trust him, and more than that, Mia adores him. She took one look and that was it. But this is still a little awkward. Like I have no idea how we start this.
He clears his throat. “No beating around the fucking bush, Shel. I’m not a good man. I’ve done some things that… well, I get it if that’s not for you. If all you want is Havoc and Sledge, and I’m just along for the ride… it’s fine. It’s not gonna get in between us. No one’s gonna fucking force you to do anything, or make you choose, and you’re not gonna fucking break us up over a woman.” He lets that hang, but unspoken is the fire in his eyes that promises a very, very good ride. A greedy need. “But if that’s not enough to scare you off…”
“Will you hurt me? Mia?”
There’s no faking the look of utter repugnance that flashes across his face when I ask. “What? Fuck no. Never.”
There’s a difference between bad men, and good men who have done bad things. No matter what he thinks of himself, I’ve seen him with me, with Mia. The way he got when Mia was taken. Maybe I’m naive, but I think he’s the second kind. And I’m sure enough to risk it. “Two weeks ago I thought I was done with bikers. Let’s just take this as it goes, okay? Give things a chance.”
He looks surprised. “Yeah? I’m good with that.”
“Um… but I’m not sure how to begin.” My laugh is a little nervous.
I think we just move back into familiar territory for him, because the little uncertainty he had morphs into a confident smirk as he steps right up to me and slips a finger under my chin. His touch is so hot. He tilts my head towards him. “How about we start like this?”
His lips touch mine, and they're soft, softer than I expect. The first touch is almost just a peck, but the next one, his tongue slips along my lips. I part mine to let him in. I put a hand on his broad chest to feel his powerful heart beating strong and fast underneath. It's comforting that his pulse is racing too, that I'm not the only one excited about this.