Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 91979 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91979 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Meanwhile, I was having a near nervous breakdown at the table.
He just had to bring up kissing.
And I just had to be a few feet away from where we’d had our makeout sessions last night.
I couldn’t lose control again.
But he’d felt so right.
So damn sexy that I just wanted to pretend that we didn’t have this chasm of rage and mistrust between us.
I didn’t expect him to kiss me back.
But boy, did he!
I felt that kiss in my soul.
For the first time in years, I was absolutely terrified, because it would be so easy to give him what was left of me.
And I knew he would break it again.
“Why don’t you say things like that?” Claire nudged Ash.
Ash shook his head at Junior. “Thanks, man.”
“Any time.” A grin slid across his face.
I had to look away from that mouth before I launched myself across the table and took his head between my hands and begged.
“Normal,” Ash repeated. “You want normal?”
She nodded.
“With normal people?”
“Hey, I’m normal!” I said defensively, not realizing I was holding my knife in my right hand since I liked always having it on me.
Ash and Junior both looked at the knife then at me.
Ash spoke first. “You literally killed someone with a fucking poison dart you keep in your heels, Serena, so…”
“I’m gonna give you a hard no,” Junior agreed. “Nice try, killer, but please carry on, I think you missed a spot of blood on the tip.”
I made a face at both of them.
“Yes.” Claire bounced in her seat.
“Fine.” Ash jerked his head toward me. “Think we can have some people over?”
“Ah, inviting them into the lair, nice.” I grinned. “Yeah, we know where all the weapons are just in case, and it’s not a secret where we live. Mom and Dad went out for the day, but we have around fifteen suits walking around bored out of their minds.”
“Right.” Ash let out a rough exhale and cupped Claire’s face between his hands. “We have them over, watch some movies, drink some wine, talk about whatever the hell normal people talk about and then, we go home, and you stop going off on your own because you think you’re strong enough to kill someone in cold blood when we both know you aren’t.”
She wrapped her arms around him as Ash pulled her into his lap so she straddled him, and then he started kissing her.
“Yeah, that’s our cue.” I grabbed my knife and stood.
Claire laughed and pulled back. “Should I text them to come over in an hour?”
“Sounds good.” I yawned and then left them to go grab clothes from my bedroom.
I pushed my bathroom door open and dropped my clothes to the floor. “Get out!”
Junior gave me a blank stare as he continued brushing his teeth. “No.” His mouth was full of foam.
“This house has five bathrooms, pick one!”
He spat out his toothpaste. “Your father specifically said to use this one because as of today, your mom’s decided that she’s gutting the other three, thus the reason for part of their outing; I think Home Depot is in the plan. Besides, why would I bring all my shit to a new bathroom only to have to move it back? Use your head, Serena.”
I clenched my teeth. “You’re going to force me to make us a schedule, aren’t you?”
His grin was sexy, devouring me as he leaned against the counter. “Depends. Are we talking more of like a sticker chart schedule? Because I could really go for some positive…” His eyes freely roamed up and down my body like the teal monstrosities had a right to. “…reinforcement.”
I grinned and took two steps toward him, then smacked him on the back of his head. “Consider yourself positively reinforced.”
When I pulled my hand away, he struck, snatching my wrist and gripping it firmly, his expression amused. “Come on, Serena, be an adult about this, you can shower all you want while I’m in here getting ready. I won’t look.”
I gaped. “You’re such a liar!” I shoved at his chest. “The shower’s glass! You can see right through!”
“Right, and as shocking as it may sound, I do possess self-control.”
I crossed my arms. “It’s not about self-control; it’s about reward versus punishment. Why should I reward you with a free show when you deserve to be punished?”
He leaned forward and tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear. I tried not to focus on his aqua eyes and stellar jawline. Everything about him screamed dangerous perfection. “Trust me, sweetheart, you naked, mere feet away from me when I know you’re off-limits isn’t a reward; it’s pure hell.”
With that, he walked out of the bathroom.
I was too confused and stunned to do anything but slowly strip out of my clothes and get into the shower and try to forget about how close his lips had been to mine.