Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 30055 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30055 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
I reach over and put my hand on hers. “I’m sure he will. I know he loves you very much.”
“Yes. He does. I miss him so.” She looks wistfully around the place, her face changing like she’s suddenly remembering something, then she gets a blank look and I glance at Wrath, who gives me a patient smile.
“Mom.” He says, crouching down in front of her, and her eyes drift back to him and then she sits up straight, a smile brimming on her red lips as she claps her hands together, her perfectly manicured red nails on the tips of crooked fingers.
“Henry!”
From there it’s like another entire celebration. Wrath’s father was in the Navy and when he returned, Wrath was conceived that same night from the story Irene told me.
We held hands and she treated me like I’d been her daughter forever. She cried happy tears, saying she’d dreamed Henry would find a nice girl and settle down someday. She worries about him so, he’s always found his own way, and she ended our visit saying she could die happy, knowing her son had found the kind of love she and her husband had.
Wrath was quiet as we left. Mounting us back on the bike and heading into downtown Remington where there are hotels and high-end shops. We passed Chanel, Jimmy Choo and then pulled into the The Regency, roaring into the parking lot and raising eyebrows all around.
Wrath marches us inside, where the marble floors gleam and a fountain nearly ten feet tall sprays water up before it falls down into an enormous koi pond, sprinkled with silver and copper coins thrown in as many a wish was made.
“Can I help you?” A surly old white fart greets us at the reception desk, giving Wrath the stink eye and me not much better.
That is not the way to start things off with Wrath.
“Checking in.”
“We don’t take walk in’s.” He replies, sounding bored and irritated. “Reservations are required and we do not have any open rooms.”
Wrath turns to me and I give him a sympathetic smile, knowing he was trying to do something special for us but our wedding was so last minute I know he didn’t have time to make arrangements.
“It’s okay.” I grab his arm and give it a squeeze. “We can find somewhere else.”
He leans down, kisses me hard, then reaches in his back pocket, pulls me next to him then slams his palm down on the marble counter, making the guy jump and the lobby goes quiet.
“Reservation for Henry Phillips.” He lifts his hand up. “This should cover it?” Laying on the counter is a neat stack of hundred-dollar bills, still wrapped in the bank wrapping with $5,000 printed on the white paper that holds the bills together. “You wanna start tapping on that keyboard? Or you want me to come behind there and do it for you?”
“Yes...” The man flusters and taps, then takes a deep breath and looks at me with a tight smile then back to Wrath. “Yes, Mrs. Phillips. Everything is ready. Two keys?”
Wrath nods. “Yep.”
From there, we are directed to a private elevator with all eyes on us as we walk through the lobby and disappear behind the brass doors.
“Ready to start your life with me?” Wrath turns to me, pushes the button to stop the elevator, and I wonder what he’s doing.
“Of course.” I hold up my hand with the engagement and wedding band on my ring finger. “I thought we sort of agreed to that already.”
“Yeah, we did. But, you see how things are? I’m me.” He pinches his vest where it’s hanging open and pulls it apart a few inches, then lets it go. “You see how that guy acted? I’m not going to change. You’re going to have to realize, I’ll take care of us, I’ll be the husband you need and the father our children deserve, but society isn’t going to look at me that way. I’m always going to be on the outside of a lot of things. Looked down at by a lot of people.”
“Do you care about those people? About those things?”
He screws up his face, shaking his head. “Fuck no. If I have you, I have my family, Heartlands and otherwise. All I need.”
“Then let’s get started.” I move forward, pressing myself against him, running my hands down his chest and letting one go lower until I feel the steel length of his cock on my palm and give it a squeeze. “Looks like someone is getting started without us.”
“Yeah, that motherfucker’s been out of his fucking mind for a year. Since the first day I saw you I lost all control of little Henry.”
I burst out with a laugh. “Little Henry!” I giggle as he reaches over and punches the button and the elevator ascends again. “He ain’t that little.”