Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 83961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
"Pretty hard?" he asked, head tilting to the side.
"Figured you were still holding back."
"Could break you."
"Is that a challenge?"
"Want it harder, ask," he said simply and I realized with a swelling feeling in my chest, that that was what I liked best about Wolf. It was always that simple. Wolf had no secret expectations, no hidden agenda, no reason to lie or evade or make things difficult. He might have been the least loquacious person I had ever come across, but he was also one of the most self-realized as well.
It was right that second, him still buried inside me, the sweat on our bodies still drying, that I realized he wasn't just under my skin. He had gotten into my heart as well.
Holy shit.
Holy shit.
My body must have tightened because Wolf pulled back. "Gonna cry again?" he teased in a way that managed to actually sound sweet. And for a second, I was genuinely worried I would. Then I pulled my shit together and blinked that nonsense back.
"No," I said, rolling my eyes for good measure.
"Woman..."
"I'm fine."
"Fine is never fine."
"Let it go."
"No."
"Augh!" I growled, shoving at his chest with everything in me. But, well, he was like hitting a brick wall.
"Got all day."
"I like you, alright? Jeez!"
His face softened, his eyes went all liquid. His hand moved up to brush along my cheek. "Like you too, Janie."
My belly fluttered and the gooey thing happened again.
And right then I realized that what I thought was impossible was actually possible.
And for a moment, the Earth started to revolve around the moon.
Unfortunately, it wouldn't last.
Not even through the night.
NINETEEN
Janie
The lights woke me up.
Blue and red, meaning only one thing.
All I could think as I shoved Wolf hard was: thank God I cleaned up all the evidence in the house and truck. That being said, who knows what was left at the scene. While I'm sure Reign and the guys had tried to clean some of it up, they probably weren't quite as good at it as Hailstorm was.
Wolf got up slowly, seeming to take the invasion with the ease he took everything as I fell over my own feet to get my clothes on. By the time they were slamming on the door, Wolf was fully dressed, boots and all, and I was still fumbling to drag a shirt on. Ignoring the knocking, he walked over to me, grabbed the shirt, rolled it up, and slipped it over my head.
"Relax," he said, giving me a look that was both sweet and firm, that said "everything is going to be okay" as well as "pull your shit together". I sucked in a breath, giving him a nod as I put my arms through the holes.
Seeing me fully dressed, he moved toward the door and pulled it open.
And there was a very resigned, tired looking Detective Collings and his new blood Marco who Collings' made no attempt to hide his distaste for. Marco seemed energetic, excited to be at Wolf's door, the testosterone practically stinking up the air. "Wolf Rostov?" Marco said, his voice filled with obnoxious authority from someone who would probably wet himself if someone shot at him. "We have some questions for you regarding the murder of Lex Keith."
Ten minutes later, Wolf was on the way to the station with an apologetic looking Collings and a triumphant looking Marco.
I flew back into the cabin, slipping into my boots, tucking Wolf's giant shirt into my pants, grabbing his cell and the keys to the truck and hitting the road.
Going down the drive, I scrolled through Wolf's contacts and found Cash. "Better be good, Wolf," Cash's groggy voice met my ear.
"Cash it's Janie. Collings and Marco just took Wolf to the station for questioning."
"What!" It wasn't a question, it was an explosion. And, coming from someone as calm and carefree as Cash, it was jarring.
"I don't know if they actually have anything, but I'm on my way there to see."
"Alright, kid. Thanks. I'm gonna call Reign then I'll be there myself."
"Okay, see you then," I said, tossing the phone onto the passenger and slipping on my belt as I pulled onto the main drag. I realized I was driving without my license and laughed humorlessly at the idea of getting myself locked up as well.
I'd been in the police station more than a few times in my life. In fact, most of the times I was inside it, I was in one of those interrogation rooms Wolf was nestled away in. Hailstorm generally managed to stay under the radar most of the time and Lo greased a fair amount of palms to look the other way, but that didn't mean we weren't hauled in on occasion and asked questions to keep up appearances. It was a particular joy of mine to screw with the detectives, their measly interrogation training paling in comparison to my extensive counter-interrogation training.
I sat down on the metal chairs by reception, smiling a little at the thought of how hard it must be to try to interrogate Wolf. Talk about frustrating. He barely spoke when he wanted to. I couldn't imagine the kind of stoic silence he could pull off when he was trying to be quiet.
Cash breezed in twenty minutes later, Reign at his side, both looking fully awake and dressed in jeans, Cash in a white shirt, Reign in black, neither wearing cuts, but still both extremely intimidating with their mouths set in hard lines.
"Hey kid," Cash said, wrapping a arm around my waist and leaning down to plant a kiss on the top of my head.
"Any word?" Reign asked. I shook my head. "Babe, forgot to ask. After you got him showered, did you happen to..."
"It's handled," I said with finality.
"Barbie, baby," Cash called, moving away from me and giving the woman at reception a warm smile. A woman, I might add, whose name tag clearly said Barbara. She was past middle-aged and looked like she had never smiled a day in her life so I imagined Cash's knowledge of her must have come from one too many trips into the station, not because of a friendship or anything more.