Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 114647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 573(@200wpm)___ 459(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 573(@200wpm)___ 459(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
“Twenty seven.” I stomped my foot for emphasis.
Sebastian looked startled, and then remorseful. Yeah, that’s right. Sebastian, the one person who never forgets anything, forgot my birthday.
He looked incredibly remorseful. “I’m sorry, ‘Loh. I can’t believe I forgot.”
“That’s okay,” I shrugged.
Everyone else in the room wore a guilty expression as well. James, Cheyenne, and Sam all sat on the couch watching the show. Waiting for the inevitable to happen. Which it did, and now I was on that couch for a fourth night in a row. Hooray.
I was currently standing in the middle of the room while everybody else had seats. Sebastian and I’d been arguing about bodyguards. Then it’d degraded down to ‘You’re not staying in that piece of shit place by yourself.’ Not to mention that they still weren’t happy that I’d left when someone was trying to kill my father, and would use anyone and anything to make that happen.
“Have a seat, Shiloh. We need to go over some things before you start work on Monday.” My father asked.
Left with no other choice, because if I tried to run, they’d probably tackle me to the ground before I even cleared the landing, I did as ordered. Turning on my heels, I stalked towards James side of the couch, and plopped down in the gap between him and Sam.
Both men grunted at the force of my body hitting them, but I wiggled until I was snugly between each of them. “Please, let me move over.” Sam said dryly.
“Thanks.” I smiled at him.
James’ arm went around my shoulder and pulled me closer into his body. Sam’s eyes went hard for a few seconds, but it was gone quickly. I looked away from Sam’s face to my father and raised my eyebrows.
“Zander,” I tensed at the mention of his name. “What did you tell him when you were together?”
My lips thinned, and I pinned them between my upper and lower teeth to keep in the expletive that wanted to pour out of my mouth about him. I would’ve sounded like I had Tourette’s if I’d let it slip. However, I composed myself before asking him to clarify the question.
“I told him a lot of things. How about you give me an example of what you think I told him?” I asked.
What I was hoping was that they didn’t ask me about that night. I’d managed to keep the details from everyone, even Sebastian, the almighty know-it-all. They already thought I was a fucked up mess, there was no reason to confirm it.
“Anything significant. Anything about your brothers, or me.” My father explained.
“I’m not sure what you wanted me to tell them. I didn’t even know about Sam. But Zander was my boyfriend, and I did tell him things. Like the fact that I could possibly have another brother. I would never intentionally share anything that would put anyone in danger if I could help it, though.” I said completely confused.
Why would what I told him matter? I couldn’t explain the relationship I had with my father. My brother was a soldier. That’s what I always told everyone, because there wasn’t anything else to tell. There wasn’t anything to tell about Sam because I’d never even met him before in my life at that moment in time.
“Just tell her!” Cheyenne exclaimed from the other side of Sam.
My father sighed. “Around the time you started digging about Sam, I was in the middle of a deal with one of the largest motorcycle clubs in the country. Glen Larson, the president, mentioned a brother, but it wasn’t until last night at a meeting of the minds that it finally clicked on who the brother was.”
“Well, who the hell was it?” I sighed exasperatingly.
“Zander.” James rumbled.
His chest vibrated with that deep rumbling sound he did when he was unhappy. My eyes closed, and a wave of embarrassment washed through me. God, I am such a fuck-up.
“I’m sorry.” I whispered, devastated.
“He went by all our defenses.” Sebastian said soothingly.
His attempt to exonerate me from my mistakes only upset me more.
“Yeah, but did you let him into your life? Into your bed?” I snapped.
“No. But you also aren’t the one involved in dangerous shit like dad and I am. It’s not your job to worry about whether someone will use you to get back at us. That’s our job, since we’re the reasons they’re doing it in the first fucking place.” Sebastian snapped back.
James’ breath had stopped moving rhythmically at my mention of letting Zander in my bed, and it was then I noticed the clenched fist above his knee, and then the placement of my elbow. Digging in deep where he’d been shot not even a week ago.
“Shit!” I exclaimed and moved myself further away from him.
He hauled me back until I was practically sitting in his lap. “You weren’t hurting me.”
“Well something was!”
I didn’t have time to think when the next moment I found his mouth against mine. His tongue in my mouth, teasing me with short shallow strokes. His large hands holding my head still.
The couch rising from displaced weight made me disentangle my mouth from James’, and then my face flamed when I saw everyone watching the show, and Sam standing on the opposite side of the room from where he was only moments before.
“It’s like nails against a chalkboard to hear about you being with another man. It rubs me the wrong way, and I don’t want to talk about this anymore. However, if you value your privacy, you won’t bring it up in public again. Next time I won’t stop at just a kiss.” James said against my lips again before giving me a quick kiss, and moving me back to the couch next to him.
Clearing my throat, I felt the heat rise in my cheeks, but I told them everything I knew about him. Well, almost everything. My pulsed raced a little when I thought about what I was holding back, but outwardly, I was a rock.
“You’re not telling us something.” James whispered into my ear.