Total pages in book: 176
Estimated words: 167257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 558(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 167257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 558(@300wpm)
He stood in front of me now, so he took the gun from my hands and secured it in the holster strapped to his ankle before rising to his full height again and taking my hips in his hands. “You won’t lose me. I’m hard to kill.”
I sighed and laid my head against his chest, taking comfort in his steady heartbeat. “Because you’re crazy?”
“Something like that.”
I closed my eyes as he rocked us back and forth. We stayed like that for a minute or two before I finally found the courage to ask, “Did they take anything?”
“I don’t think so.” He kissed my forehead before pulling away. “Come on. Grab your stuff so we can go.”
Understanding it would be safer to stay in another room, I quickly did as he said, and luckily, I hadn’t brought much with me from my old life, so I was done packing in under ten minutes. Rowdy grabbed all my bags, shaking his head when I offered to help, so I quietly followed him out the door.
My heart skipped a beat when he started toward his car with all my shit in tow instead of the front office.
“The office is this way.” I pointed over my shoulder as I called out to him.
“Bring your ass on, Atlas,” he commanded without looking back at me. Rowdy popped the trunk and threw all my shit inside like an asshole before locking it with his key.
“I can’t leave, Owen. I already paid them for the week,” I lied.
He sent me an impatient look. “Nice try. They only take payment by the hour since you’re the only guest here not selling ass. Now get in.”
“But what about my car?” A flimsy excuse, but the only play I had left to make.
“I’ll have someone pick it up and bring it to you. Let’s go, Atlas.”
“Fine!” I stormed to the Hellcat, got in, and slammed the door. I realized my behavior was a little childish, but I was not sure many people could relate to being ordered around by a sexy psychopath to judge me.
Rowdy chose not to remark on it as he dropped into the driver’s seat, started the car, and drove away. I watched the motel through the side-view mirror, and my belly flipped when it disappeared—like it knew I wouldn’t be back.
“Where are we going?” I started to panic after he turned a couple of corners before hopping on the interstate. “There’s another motel a couple of blocks from here.”
“And?”
“I can’t afford anything else, Owen.”
He didn’t respond, and neither of us spoke again until we pulled into a developing cul-de-sac, nestled between Maryle and King’s Cross, twenty minutes later. Both sides of the street were lined with beautiful homes—most of them still being built—and I swear I even spotted one with a white-picket fence and a dog house with the name Spike painted on the front.
I was even more in awe when he pulled into the driveway of the largest one at the end. It wasn’t a mansion or anything, but it looked like one of those Mediterranean-style homes you’d find in Spain with its tiled roofs, white stucco, and beautiful stonework. It even had a garage and driveway large enough to fit two cars. The L shape of the house even offered some privacy, hiding the front door and lawn from the street.
“Where are we?”
“My crib.”
I sucked in a breath. “Well, then, why am I here?”
“Because it’s late, and I’m tired as fuck. I haven’t slept in two days,” he said, making me wonder why, “and I’m not going to get much of it tonight if I spend it worrying about someone kicking in your door.”
I twiddled my thumbs as I responded quietly, “I would have been fine at another motel.”
“And you’ll be even safer with me, so come on.” He climbed out of the car, leaving me no chance to argue. He had my bags unloaded and his front door unlocked by the time I talked myself into getting out and following him inside.
“Okay,” I said as I walked inside his home. “But only for tonight.”
Rowdy smirked at me before slamming the door closed behind me. Immediately, his scent, which was all over his home, enveloped me, and my muscles began to relax. That lasted until I heard the sound of the lock turning, and my belly sank. “If you say so,” he teased before disappearing into the first room on the left.
Silly me. I followed.
I had another blunt lit and a glass of Hennessy poured by the time Atlas tiptoed into the den after me.
You’d think I’d kidnapped her the way she was acting all skittish.
I guess I kind of had since that break-in had been one-hundred-percent staged. While Atlas was spilling her guts to me over dinner, I’d sent Britain and his crew to ransack her room so that I could bring her sexy ass home with me without all the kicking and screaming of actually kidnapping her.