Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 34426 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 172(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34426 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 172(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
“You need the help. And it happens to be a skill set I possess and excel at. Simple as that.”
Liar.
“Oh.”
They fell quiet again, and when he thought she might have finally fallen asleep, she whispered, “Thank you.”
He didn’t respond, careful to remain still. Hopefully, she’d assume he’d fallen asleep and do so herself. He was done talking. These whispers in the dark while lying in bed fucked with his head. They were too personal.
Too intimate.
Too nice.
Long minutes passed where he could not shut off his damn mind, the night replaying in his head over and over. At least Daisy stayed quiet now.
The bed shifted, and Daisy slid closer.
What the hell was she doing?
She kept scooting until she was close enough to rest her head on his shoulder.
Which is exactly what she did.
Even though she was under the covers, he could feel the length of her body pressed along his side.
Did she know he was awake? Probably not.
He kept still, not reacting in any way.
She sighed, but it wasn’t heavy. It was a comfortable, satisfied sound.
And then she went lax, and her breathing evened.
She passed out snuggled against him.
If anyone had asked him his thoughts on sleeping with a woman, he’d have laughed and told them to fuck off. Had he ever slept next to a woman? Not that he could recall. He fucked them when he got the urge, usually in a bar bathroom or bent over his bike in the back of a dark parking lot, then he moved on.
The sensation of sleeping beside Daisy wasn’t a bad one.
In fact, it felt good.
So good he shut his eyes and drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.
CHAPTER FOUR
“IT’S CUTE.”
Daisy laughed. “Cute? Is that the first time you’ve ever said that word?”
The big man beside her grunted, and she couldn’t hide her smile. Those grunts were growing on her.
God, she was tired today. It’d taken her so long to fall asleep, even after she alleviated her guilt by inviting Moose into his bed. Having him so close amplified her feelings of loneliness tenfold. There he’d been, a huge, sexy man who’d saved her from a horrible fate, was grumpy as hell but kind, and he was miles out of reach.
She was alone as always.
After he appeared to have drifted off, she’d hit her limit of solitude and scooted closer. With her head on his shoulder, she’d finally been able to get some rest. Luckily, she’d woken before him with enough time to return to her side of the bed, so he never had to know she’d cuddled him.
While he ran across to the diner to grab coffee for them, she had tried to tame her hair. She’d have killed for some makeup, but that was all in her house, so she was forced to go out in public with a black eye and scabbed cheek. At least the swelling had gone down, so it no longer felt like she had a bubble on her eye.
Now they were about to grab some things from her home so she could be comfortable while she stayed with him, and he would work his magic to get rid of her brother’s debt.
What had happened to her life over the past twenty-four hours?
She hated to doubt the man, but Buster and Pete wouldn’t let the money her brother owed slide. Ricky had stolen from them, and they wanted it back. She might hate those two and what they stood for and did for work, but she understood not wanting your money stolen.
Who would?
Damn Ricky for getting her caught in the crossfire of his shitty choices.
“This was my grandmother’s house. She passed a few years ago when I was twenty and left the house to me. She’d been sick for a while, so the place was in pretty rough shape. I’ve slowly fixed things up. Lots of DIY projects.”
Moose’s forehead wrinkled. “DIY?”
“Do it yourself. I sure can’t afford to hire a professional.”
“Ah. How’d your brother feel about you getting the house?”
She shrugged. “I don’t think he cared much. I let him crash whenever he wants, and he has none of the responsibility of owning a home. Responsibility isn’t really his thing.”
Moose grunted. “I get that.”
“Really?” She looked away from the wheel to the big man stuffed into the passenger seat of her old Toyota Camry. “You don’t seem irresponsible to me.” She chuckled. “Especially not when I compare you to my brother.”
“I’m not. I just don’t like being tied to anything.”
“So you don’t own a house?”
He grunted, and this time she didn’t disguise her smile.
“I don’t own anything.”
Daisy frowned. “What do you mean?”
He cast her a side-eyed glance. “I’ve got my bike and the shit that fits in my saddlebags. That’s it.”
She straightened. “Wait, what? Really? Where do you live?”
“Wherever I decide to lay my head for the night.”