Total pages in book: 194
Estimated words: 187754 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 939(@200wpm)___ 751(@250wpm)___ 626(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 187754 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 939(@200wpm)___ 751(@250wpm)___ 626(@300wpm)
Indeed.
But she’ll have to earn it like everything else.
One of the deputies arrives with some emergency, and Sheriff Kelly excuses himself before leaving the tent.
Seth and I walk over to the salvage pile as soon as he’s gone while Thorin keeps watch. It’s taken our whole lives and nine years stuck in seclusion together to be in sync like this without even saying a word.
“Exactly how long was her uncle planning to keep her exiled?” I gripe ten minutes later while searching through yet another dented trunk full of clothes and shoes. “This is a lot of shit, and barely any of it’s useful out here.”
We’re taking a huge chance that this stuff hasn’t been inventoried yet, so we have to be careful not to take too much so the missing items won’t be noticed.
“Don’t know,” Thorin says with his back to us. “But I think Seth was on to something. Her uncle probably wanted her out of his hair for a while.”
“Or permanently,” Seth mumbles as he studies Aurelia’s flat iron like it’s a foreign object.
“She’ll want that,” I tell him. He nods and stuffs it inside the large duffel bag we’re using to carry her things back. I’m already picturing the look on her face when we show her. Although it’s Aurelia. It’s hard to predict how she’ll react. She’s as likely to chuck the flat iron at Seth’s head than she is to show a little gratitude. “And lay off with the murder plots. You’re just looking for a reason why she can’t go back to him.”
“Don’t need a reason. I’m crazy, remember?”
“Seth, you’re not crazy,” I tell him. “You’re…you.”
“Thanks,” he returns dryly.
“And if you’re crazy, so are we,” Thorin says. “Because we’re not letting anyone take her from us without killing anyone who tries. Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
I’m slower to respond as a smile takes over my face, and I shake my head in awe. No one at home would ever believe that I, Khalil Poverly, was settling down. “Fuck it. If you’re not willing to shed a little blood for your woman, is she even yours? Yes. Hell yes. Agreed.”
“So…who’s going to break it to Aurelia?” Thorin muses.
“Not it,” Seth and I say at the same time.
Thorin glowers at us both.
Finding an unopened box of tampons, I toss it inside the now full duffel bag and zip it closed.
“What’s this?” I look up to see Seth holding a blue, flat, round container. When he opens it, there are tiny pills inside—some white and some pink—in a circular pattern with dates under them. He sniffs them and asks, “Candy?”
“It’s birth control.”
“Birth control?”
“Yeah. You remember I told you how it works.” Seth nods slowly. “Well, Aurelia is supposed to take one of those every day so that she doesn’t get pregnant when we come inside her.”
“Leave it,” Thorin orders tightly.
I raise my brows at him, but when he glares over his shoulder at me, I roll my eyes and take the pills from Seth before tossing them back inside the nearly emptied suitcase where we found her toiletries and makeup.
“But if Sunshine’s taking those pills, it means she doesn’t want to have a baby, right?” Seth asks as we leave the tent with the overstuffed duffel.
It’s going to be tough as hell sneaking out of the camp with Aurelia’s shit without being noticed.
“Yes, but Thorin wants to breed her.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s an idiot.”
“I heard that.”
I shrug as we keep to the edges of the camp, heading for home—for Aurelia. “He thinks she won’t want to leave if she has our baby. And because the perv gets off on it.”
“I can still hear you.”
“Do you think it will work?” Seth asks curiously.
I rock my head from side to side. “It’s not the dumbest idea he’s ever had.”
Thorin sighs loudly.
“But babies complicate shit,” I continue. “I think further dividing the attention of the girl we’re still trying to bond with is a mistake. None of us have ever shared a woman before. We don’t even know if it will work.”
“Well, if you think it’s such a bad idea, why did you leave the pills?” Thorin snaps.
“Because when you fuck up, I get to swoop in and make it better. You know what they say about a shoulder to cry on…” Crudely, I grab my dick. “Also, I’m not helping with late-night feedings and diaper changes. Fuck that. You’ll be one hundred percent on your own.” Winking when Thorin scowls at me, I pick up the pace. All this talk of Aurelia has me eager to get back to her.
Also…the sixth sense that mysteriously materialized with Aurelia’s arrival has been buzzing since we reached the camp. I’m not sure what it means yet—if she’s hurt, upset, or in trouble—but I’m dubbing it the Girlfriend Tingle.
Even though we leave the camp earlier than expected, we still don’t make it home until early evening. The storm Sheriff Kelly warned us about arrived sooner than expected, so flying back to the north side of the valley where we left our Ski-Doos was out of the question. The trek back was hard, but it’s nothing we haven’t done a thousand times.