Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 148704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 744(@200wpm)___ 595(@250wpm)___ 496(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 148704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 744(@200wpm)___ 595(@250wpm)___ 496(@300wpm)
Frowning, I accept the key, my gaze flicking from one chuckling man to the next as they spin on their feet and book it back toward the water park entrance.
“I don’t…”
A large hand wraps around mine, and I’m jolted forward an inch as a hard chest bumps into my back.
Hot breath fans over my ear, then a harsh exhale follows, and the body behind mine rips away, taking the key with it.
All I can do is stare as Crew digs around in the jeep, coming out with my bag and phone in his hands. He pushes past me, tossing my things into the front seat of his car… that is parked right across from the one I rode here in.
I blink and then I blink some more.
“What the hell just happened here?”
Finally, Crew faces me, his square jaw clenched closed.
Wait, okay. So Layla is fine. Baby girl is still tucked inside…“Why did Willie…” I begin to work through this nonsense, my frown pointed at Crew. “You called the water park?”
His chin lifts.
“Crew, what the hell! Xavier was scared, worried something was wrong. Why did you—”
Oooh. You dumb, dumb girl.
This is about me and the life he cut me out of.
“You’re upset I went with your friends.”
Silence.
Crew’s chest rises and falls in rapid movements, the angles of his face sharp with anger, even more so when his eyes snap to my bathing suit and stay there.
A nauseating sense of unease settles over me, and I shift on my feet, loosely crossing my arms in an attempt to hide my soft body from his critical eyes.
His lips nearly curl, and he jerks forward, but for whatever reason, he halts, his eyes snapping to the left. He walks around, slips into his seat, and slams his door.
Left with no other option, or maybe it’s understanding any other decision likely wouldn’t end well, I climb in beside him, swiftly pulling my cover-up over my head.
I don’t bother powering on my phone, and I don’t look his way the entire forty-five-minute drive home.
The second we pull up, I tear from the car, fly up the walkway and rush into the house.
I race for my room, but Crew is quick, his booming voice echoing in the hall behind me.
“Don’t try to fuck my friends or their friends. It will never happen.”
My jaw clamps closed, and I grind my teeth to keep from screaming. Or crying. Still, I spin to face him, unwilling to give him the satisfaction of my walking away.
The long, dark look we exchange has my temper rising, burning my airway as it forces its way to the surface, threatening to spill from my lips like fire from a dragon.
“Why not, huh?” Well, okay then, here it comes. “You don’t want me to be a part of your new world, we both know I’m only in it now because I bulldozed my way in with a bribe you probably see as blackmail, so why don’t you call on a buddy, ask them to do you a solid and debase your pathetic pain in the ass, so you can send her on her way?”
The way Crew’s head snaps back is unnatural. “That was a joke, right?”
I lift my left shoulder. “From what I understand, some guys have a thing for being the first one in. Maybe you should call one of them over and be done with it.”
Slowly, I’m talking turtle-in-the-mud slow, Crew steps forward. “You want me to ask one of my friends to do me a favor and fuck you?”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I glare. “Don’t make it sound so scandalous. If you want me out of your world so bad, just do it. I’m sure you have friends who have had more one-night stands than they can remember. Hell, some of them probably have babies they don’t even know about running around somewhere!”
“And you want one of them to put their dick, that may or may not have been in a hundred others, inside you?”
“I was willing to take yours inside me, was I not?” I fire back.
Crew’s face falls, but slowly, his expression grows fierce. “Watch yourself.”
I burst forward, anger radiating through my body. “I’d bet someone you know would appreciate the offer and you’d get to be the hero of the story.” I make a mockery of myself. “Pass off a girl they wouldn’t have to waste time wining and dining because she’s a guaran-freaking-tee. They wouldn’t have to butter me up by paying for my dinner or by pretending my ability to recite the periodic table is anything other than nerdy as shit. I don’t need to be let down easy afterward, and they won’t have to worry about hiding if they saw me on the streets when they don’t call. What a blockbuster bargain you can gift over with a grin, don’t you think?”