Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 97426 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97426 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Now, here I am. I’m married to Anthony Blake Knight. My dad is probably going to kill me.
Oh well.
Ant inhales deeply and lifts an arm to wrap around me. I snuggle closer to his side, loving having his big arm around me. He smells so good, even in his sleep.
“Are you going to sit up and watch me all night?”
“No, I’m just admiring the view for a bit.”
He cracks an eye open. I can’t help it. I lean in and peck his lips. He rolls me onto my back and smiles down at me.
Gah, this man is huge. I love how safe he always makes me feel. He settles between my legs while staring into my eyes.
I wrap my legs around his waist and reach to brush my thumb across his brows. His lashes are so thick and long. He grins down at me as his eyes sparkle.
“You’re so fucking handsome, babe. You know that?”
“I was just thinking about how gorgeous you are. You know, I almost let you walk away that day at the track,” he murmurs and frowns.
“Who would have thought? I walked up on my future husband stalking his brother and now look at us.”
He pecks my lips. “Why are you always calling me a stalker?”
I laugh and wiggle beneath him. “You’re going to have to get that under control, you know? They’re not with that crap in New York. I don’t want to have to be in those streets fighting over you,” I tease.
He looks away. My heart stops. I lift onto my elbows. “Anthony?”
He rolls onto his back and stares up at the ceiling. I move to straddle his waist. Giving him a side glance, I cup his face and force him to look me in my eyes.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
“I can’t go to New York. Not right now,” he murmurs.
“Then what are we supposed to do? My family is bound to find out about us if we stay here.”
“Then tell them about us.”
“I can’t.”
“You can’t, or you don’t want to?”
“Both.”
“So it’s cool for you to ride my dick every night, but telling your family about me is a problem? Get off me, Alexis.”
“Anthony,” I grind out.
He lifts me and places me on the bed beside him before tossing the covers off and standing up to pace. I run a hand through my braids in frustration.
“Babe, I know you have a lot on your plate, so I’m going to ignore you acting like an ass. We do, however, need to figure this out. We were supposed to move. I could work on writing music, and you were going to bartend.
“My friend is still holding that job for you. We have to figure this out.”
“Come with me to see Uncle Blake tomorrow. No more hiding. I want him to meet you.” He stops his pacing to look me in the eyes.
“Okay, but, babe, my family is complicated. There’s a reason I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to tell them about us. Good things tend to go to shit around them.”
“You’re my wife, Alexis. I love you. If you love me, you should want to introduce me to your family.”
I look down into my palms. When he asked me to marry him, I said yes because we talked about moving away from here. For once, I want to live a normal life.
I have a gig waiting for me in New York. I write songs and they hand over the brown paper bag. That was the plan.
We’d start fresh, start our own thing and leave Vander and its drama behind. Once again, my dad has some bullshit going on. I can tell by the way he’s moving.
I always keep those I care about away from him. Heck, I don’t have to see Bridge Lake for the rest of my life, as far as I’m concerned. I had planned to give Anthony all the love he’s been longing for.
Lester Smith doesn’t fit into that equation, my dad ruins things. He ruined the only family I knew. I won’t let him next to Anthony.
I’ve never known the true story behind my two cousins’ kidnapping. I was in the house using the bathroom, otherwise, I would have been taken with them. Nothing has been the same since that day.
Shawn and Ven became tighter, and I became the outsider. It’s why I understand Ant so much. I, too, lost people I cared about. First my mother left, then I lost my grandparents, and it was like everything else fell apart from there. Money can’t fix everything. Trust me, I know.
“I do love you,” I whisper. “I need you to trust me. My dad has been acting off. I don’t think this is the time to spring this on him.”
“Okay, so explain why I haven’t met Jenny or Ven and Shawn.”