Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 79504 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79504 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
My mood fractionally lifts as the guys chatter around me. I’ve missed the sense of brotherhood while trying to acclimate to being the leader. I’ve kept my distance, creating a barrier between my men and myself, the same way a CEO of a major corporation would. It’s not working for me, and telling by the gleam in their eyes as I joke right along with them, it hasn’t been working for them either.
“It’s good to have you back, Prez,” Briar whispers when the other guys at the table get distracted by two blondes walking in the front door.
I nod.
“Glad to be back.”
Chapter 32
Candi
Hearing that the guys were leaving for an extended period when we got back from the mall a week ago was the only thing that kept me from rushing upstairs and packing my shit. Since I have nowhere to go, Lynch’s absence was a blessing. The roar of motorcycles a few minutes ago, however, had me sprinting through the clubhouse to his house.
“What are you doing?” Molly asks, standing in her doorway. She’s breathing hard, and her cheeks are flushed like mine, making it clear she rushed after me.
“I need to get out of here. I can’t be here anymore.” I stuff clothes, the very ones I left behind at school that magically reappeared one day, into a trash bag.
“You aren’t going anywhere.”
My eyes snap up at the husky voice. For Lynch to be standing here this quickly, he must’ve jumped off his bike before the damn thing stopped rolling.
“We need to talk,” he adds when I don’t say anything.
“Don’t,” I beg when Molly turns to leave.
She holds her hands up, looking between her brother and me. “Work this shit out.”
Her command is directed at her brother as she walks past and leaves me alone with the devil himself.
I’m trembling, my hands twisting the fabric of my favorite shirt as he just stands there watching me. Does he know about the visit from my dad? Is he here to hurt me? To make me pay for betraying him?
“I want to talk about last week.”
“I don’t want your apologies.” Just the idea of rehashing all that shit has me snapping back into action. I continue to shove clothes in the bag, not wasting time to see if they are mine or Molly’s.
“I’m not here to apologize.”
I snort. Of course, he isn’t. The man does no wrong and doesn’t have a single fucking thing to apologize for.
“I’d like for us to go back and erase all of it.” My eyes snap up to his. “I’ll forget about Ronan, if you forget about Cherry.”
He’s lost his damn mind. The redhead, Cherry as he calls her, sucked her way through the entire clubhouse. It shouldn’t bother me, but it’s bothered the other girls. She had no loyalty, hadn’t even tried to be friends with any of the other women here. In fact, she went out of her way to try to pit us against each other. She only lasted four days before she was given her walking papers. She upset the clubhouse so much, even the guys didn’t get bent out of shape when she left.
“I saw the real you,” I remind him as I continue packing. “I don’t imagine that’s going to change anytime soon.”
“You aren’t leaving,” he snaps, walking up to me and pulling clothes out of my hands.
“Fine,” I huff as I angrily shove the half-empty bag to the ground before staring up into his green eyes.
If he were a dragon, he’d be breathing fire right now.
His head leans in, short breaths puffing from flared nostrils. “And if you touch one of my guys, I’ll kill them in front of you.”
There’s the Lynch I’ve come to know. His threats seemed empty before, but after the run-in with my dad and the fire blazing in his eyes, they seem all too real. His warning strikes a chord.
“That’s the difference,” I tell him, taking a step back to create a little distance. The manly scent rolling off him is intoxicating, and I’ve vowed to not put myself in a position where I wouldn’t be able to resist him. “You’re the only one I’ve ever wanted.”
His eyes soften, and the bricks around my heart threaten to implode.
“Can you say the same?”
He doesn’t answer. His lips don’t move. His hands don’t reach for me. He remains statue-like and immobile.
“Exactly,” I hiss before shoving past him and heading down the stairs.
“Didn’t expect to see you so soon,” Molly says, pointing the remote control at the huge TV in the den. “I was just turning up the volume to drown out the sex noises.”
I cringe, sitting down on the sofa beside her. We don’t spend much time in here. All of the action is at the clubhouse, but we know what’s happening. The girls are taking care of the guys that just got back home and won’t be available to hang out for the next couple of hours. Yet, Lynch is here, still upstairs, rather than fucking or getting sucked off by some chick next door. Refusing to let my mind wonder what we’d be doing if I’d accepted his offer, I chuckle at my friend.