Total pages in book: 13
Estimated words: 12073 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 60(@200wpm)___ 48(@250wpm)___ 40(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 12073 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 60(@200wpm)___ 48(@250wpm)___ 40(@300wpm)
Brick shrugs his shoulders confidently. “We’ll be ready.”
When Brick walks out of the room, I go back to the couch and sit down on the coffee table looking at her. She’s young. Really young. Right now, I’m praying that she’s at least legal because the thoughts going through my head could get me put into prison if not.
Hours go by and she’s still asleep. I tried to get some work done but I kept finding myself over next to her. Now, I’m sitting at the end of the couch with her feet in my lap. I discarded her shoes a while ago and the sight of her pretty pink toes has my lower belly pulling in need.
She stretches, her arms over her head, pulling her shirt up and baring her midriff to me. Her feet press into my lap and when they glide by my cock, I’m instantly hard from the contact.
I can’t take my eyes off of her. All of a sudden she jerks and raises her head to look around. Looking back at me are the greenest eyes I’ve ever seen. I had wondered while she was sleeping what color they would be.
She sits up on the couch and slides her feet underneath her, burying herself against the other end.
I hold my hands up in front of myself, palms facing her. “It’s okay. I’m Sniper… I’m Jeremy. I won’t hurt you.”
“You’re Jeremy Johnson?” she stutters.
I nod my head at her, still trying not to make any sudden movements.
“Yes, they said you were here to see me,” I tell her in a quiet voice.
She jumps off the couch. “Yeah, yeah, that’s right, but I’ve made a mistake. I’m just going to go now.”
I stand up to my full height and she lays her head back to look up at me. “It’s okay, precious. No one is going to hurt you here.”
She laughs, more of a scared giggle. “Yeah, right, I’ve already been manhandled by your gate keeper. I think it’s probably best if I leave now.”
“Blade is not a member of the club. He was a prospect and he has already been removed. He won’t bother you again. You won’t even have to see him.”
She turns her head to the side. “You fired him? Or killed him? What does that mean exactly… Forget it, I don’t want to know.”
She starts walking toward the door and I don’t want to grab her and scare her. I move in front of her. “Honey, normally I would tell you that’s club business, but I’ll make an exception for you today. We didn’t kill him. We kicked him out. If he treated you like that, we don’t want him here. That’s not what we’re about.” She moves to the side and I step in front of her again. “Now, listen, I’m not letting you leave until I know you’re going to be okay. You came asking around for me. How do you know me?”
“I don’t,” she confesses. She brushes her hair off her shoulders and I see the handprints around her neck for the first time. “My brother knows you—well, he did.”
I take a step closer to her. “Okay. Three questions. One, who’s your brother?” I run my hand down the side of her face. “Two, who did this to you? And three, what’s your name?”
Chapter 3
Avery
I should run. I know I should. He’s a big man, not as big as the one that carried me in here, but big enough that I know if he wanted to hurt me, he could. Of course, with the gentle touch of his hand on my cheek, it doesn’t feel like he wants to hurt me. But even I know that doesn’t mean he won’t.
He’s looking straight at me and I can see the anger on his face. I take a step back out of reach.
“I’m not going to talk to you when you’re already pissed off at me. Can I just go? Please?” I ask him as I try to walk around him again.
He stops me again, takes a deep breath and rolls his shoulders backwards like he’s trying to relax. “I’m not pissed at you. I’m pissed at whoever put those marks on your face and neck.”
“What if I deserved it?” I almost scream at him. I know I didn’t deserve it—hell, I haven’t deserved any of the beatings I’ve gotten.
He eyes me speculatively. I want to look away from him, but I don’t let myself. I’m stronger than that. “You don’t believe that. Honey, there’s nothing a woman can do to deserve that.”
I take a deep breath at his answer. Maybe I’m trying to get a rise out of him or maybe I’m just trying to find out exactly where he stands on the issue of a man beating on a woman.
I nod at him. We seem to have come to some kind of silent agreement. “My name is Avery. My brother is Allen Cooper.” And then I shrug my shoulders and look down at the ground. “And, well, uh my husband did this to me.”