Total pages in book: 21
Estimated words: 19107 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 96(@200wpm)___ 76(@250wpm)___ 64(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 19107 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 96(@200wpm)___ 76(@250wpm)___ 64(@300wpm)
I tipped my head back and met his gaze, and for a second, we shared a silent understanding. “I know I am.”
Though I had left everything behind, letting my fear control me instead of trying to work things out, Knox had always been at the forefront of my mind.
The world felt like it was crumbling before I made the decision to come home, but right here, right now, I felt like I was whole and that everything would be fine.
2
KELSIE
The Reaper’s Scythe clubhouse looked different in the daylight. The previous night’s party was scattered everywhere, a reminder of how the club had let loose. I’d spent all day cleaning everything up, and as afternoon turned to evening, I knew the members would start trickling in for food and drinks.
It had been three days since I walked through those doors, and in that time, Carter had done what he always did—taken control. Being an enforcer in an MC meant he couldn’t take shit from anyone.
And he didn’t. And that included from me. So my sassy attitude and mouth got me a lot of irritated gruffs and cursing under his breath.
He knew I was stubborn enough to stay at the clubhouse, so instead of trying to force me out, he made sure I was never alone so no drunken member could bother me. Not that they would’ve, but drinking made good men do stupid things.
So here I was, getting things cleaned and organized so I could serve drinks to the boys in the evenings.
I wasn’t mad about being assigned this task. The club paid me well, and I got to be in the company of all the men I’d grown up around—all the men who’d watched over me.
It was easy money, and it kept me under my brother’s watchful eye. I wasn’t stupid. I knew that was his ultimate plan when he gave me the job. He assumed the worst when it came to why I came back. But always having Carter nearby meant so was Knox.
Always watching me like I was about to start trouble… the kind of trouble he lived for, if we were both being honest.
And I hated how much I liked that.
I wiped off the counter and unloaded the crate of beer in the fridge. Men had been coming in for the past ten minutes, and the clubhouse was already buzzing with activity.
The scent of whiskey, leather, and cigarette smoke filled the air, and I smiled, as it all felt like… home.
I looked around the vast space, the guys getting rowdier, but they didn’t bother me. It was just the way they were. This was their time to let loose after a hard day and tough business.
My gaze wandered to where Knox and Carter sat with the president. They were all locked in a serious-looking conversation, but as if Knox felt my attention on him, he cocked his head to the side and stared at me.
His dark and heavy gaze raced along my spine as we locked eyes from across the room. He leaned back, his expression void of any kind of emotion. I took that moment to just stare at him, to let my focus trace along his big, hard body.
His cut hung open over a plain white T-shirt, his club patch stitched to the worn leather. He relaxed his legs, those muscular thighs falling open slightly as he threw his arms over the back of the couch, and his biceps flexed as he watched me.
He said so much without saying a word.
I forced myself to hold his gaze, but I had to divert my focus when men came up for drinks. The president of the club gestured for some beers, and I grabbed the bottles and made my way around the bar. I walked past Knox, setting a beer down in front of him as I went, feeling my skin prickling under the weight of his attention. And damn, ignoring Knox was hard.
I was back behind the bar and doing my job only moments later, refusing to look at him again. His presence was just too consuming, and I couldn’t think straight.
I bent down to grab some glasses, but the second I stood and turned back around, a looming wall was in my way. I barely had time to stop before I crashed into Knox’s chest, and immediately, the smell of leather and motor oil wrapped around me.
I sucked in a breath as my heart slammed against my ribs, our gazes locked, the smell and sight of him almost my undoing. But a type of survival and irritation slammed into me, and I straightened my shoulders and tipped my chin up defiantly. That drew a smirk from his savagely beautiful but cruel lips.
“Need something, Knox?” I asked, forcing my voice to stay even. I didn’t want to feel these things. I didn’t want the past and what we shared to continue to be so intense and powerful. But I knew I still loved this man. I always would.