Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 133213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 666(@200wpm)___ 533(@250wpm)___ 444(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 666(@200wpm)___ 533(@250wpm)___ 444(@300wpm)
“She wants the fight,” Tristan insisted. “She needs it tonight. She needs to hit me and hard. Go on, Car. Poke at me until you wake up the predator that’s always right here in my gut. I keep him tightly leashed. I know how to be a gentleman. I learned all the rules and codes my fathers trained into me. But they also taught me there’s a time and a place to let it go. Is it time, Carys?”
“I’ve been taking care of her.” Aidan’s jaw tightened.
“Yes, you’ve given her what she needs from you,” Tris acknowledged. “Now she needs something else. Tonight, she doesn’t need to be a beloved girlfriend or an equal partner. Tonight, she needs to be prey. She needs us to take her down physically so she can find her way out of whatever room inside her head she’s locked herself in. You believe in good guys and bad guys, A. You think not every man is a closet predator. In your world there are black hats and white hats, but she needs a little gray today.”
He was wrong about one thing. “I assure you I think you’re the bad guy, Tris.”
He shrugged like he wasn’t about to argue with her. “I’m whatever you need me to be, and I didn’t fuck for intel. Never. I assure you while I was putting my body on the line my dick remained perfectly and pristinely pure. I tell you that because you should understand what’s about to happen. I won’t be able to be sweet and caring. You need me to be the bad guy who makes you cry? I can do it, but I’ll get what I need, too.”
“And you need to hurt me?” Carys asked.
“No,” Aidan argued.
“Stop it or leave the damn room,” Tristan hissed as he turned to his partner. “Normally we would sit down and discuss a scene we were about to play out. We can’t tonight because the minute we leave, the door in her head locks and she builds walls. Has she cried?”
Aidan seemed to think about the question, and then his eyes closed. “No.”
“She’s been through this whole shitty day without shedding a tear or having an emotion beyond icy anger,” Tristan pointed out. “Are you the good guy who wants to do some very bad things to the woman who is acting all calm and composed? What are your instincts telling you about her? Don’t bring yourself into it. Don’t bring your fear into it. This is about her. What does she need?”
She fucking hated the way Tris could see right through her. Hated it. Craved it. Needed it so badly.
The moment Aidan’s gaze went hard, she knew she was about to get the fight she wanted. “She’s wound so tight she can’t breathe. She’s held it together because she can’t fall apart in front of anyone else. She might not want to break down in front of us, but it’s acceptable. She wants to tear us up, to have us hold her down and force her to feel because if she doesn’t, she worries she might never feel anything again.”
Tristan cocked a brow his partner’s way, firmly in bad-boy mode at this point. “So do you want to clutch your pearls or help me top her?”
Aidan calmly pulled his shirt over his head, tossing it to the side. He moved from his everyday persona to the one he put on for her. He might not need the dominance the way Tris did, but he could play the role. He was actually much harder when Tris was around. In every way. “Are you scared, Carys?”
A thrill went through her, and she could feel her damn nipples tighten. “Why would I be afraid, A? Of you? Should I be afraid because your boss is back? You going to do what Tristan tells you to do?”
Tristan sighed even as he was pulling his own shirt off. “See, it’s a form of therapy, too.”
“You want to take a piece of me?” Aidan asked, his hands in fists on his hips. “You feel the need to tear me up, baby? Am I the reason for all the bad shit that happened today?”
“If you were working with him, then yes,” she shot back, but there was something in Aidan’s eyes…some rage of his own, and it was directed at her.
Tristan chuckled as he pulled the belt from his jeans. “You’re always so careful with sweet Aidan. Is it because you worry you’ll hurt his tender feelings, or are you afraid he can tear you up, too? I’m intrigued. I’d love to see the two of you go at it because once you unleash Aidan’s beast, there won’t be any shutting that cage again.”
Her breath rose fast and hard, and she felt adrenaline flood her system. She’d thought she didn’t chase that particular drug, but damn it was heady.