Total pages in book: 206
Estimated words: 192184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 961(@200wpm)___ 769(@250wpm)___ 641(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 192184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 961(@200wpm)___ 769(@250wpm)___ 641(@300wpm)
I was. Of course, I was; I was standing here in his space. Not just his space, his bedroom.
“Come; I’ll drive you.”
He stepped back and opened the door with a sweep of his hand, motioning for me to go on ahead of him. Confused, I walked out. When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I saw my purse on a table beside a big brass bowl with multiple sets of keys in it. He grabbed a set of keys and passed me my purse. He reached into his front pants pocket and pulled out my phone and passed it to me, his finger brushing my hand as he did. He gave me a little smile, eyes sparkling with what looked like mischief. I swallowed hard.
Once outside, he hit a button on his keychain and one of four garage doors opened. He put his hand on the small of my back and led me toward it. I flinched at the contact, but let him lead me there. He opened the passenger door to a black convertible sports car for me and closed it after I was in and then got into the driver’s seat and proceeded to back out of the garage, turning around and then driving forward down the driveway, through the now opened gate.
Talk about uncomfortable! He was so nonchalant, and I knew this wasn’t a situation that called for nonchalance. The brother had locked me up, took my phone, treated me like a prisoner. The father had threatened me. I’d been surrounded by burly goons up until now. But Ice Cream Parlor Hottie, err Tommy, was being the exact opposite. Even still, I was more uncomfortable than even before because this was him. This was the guy who’s going to decide my fate. And he was going to mess with my head; I knew it. He’d already come into my work and flirted with me, which was obviously no coincidence, and now he was here, with all the power, and dropping me off at my house with my phone, like it was nothing, like it was no big deal.
I just sat, frozen, with my hands in my lap, absorbing the fact that control over my own life had been snatched away from me. He was inches away from me, of course, and I could smell his cologne, which smelled leathery, spicy, a bit musky. He smelled good, not like the guys I knew who practically bathed in Axe. This man wore just enough. He had this presence, this masculinity and authority I couldn’t even put into words. I had no idea what to say, where to even start. So, I just sat there.
Around fifteen minutes later, when we were in front of Rose and Cal’s, he finally broke the silence.
“Say nothing about any of this to the Crenshaws or anyone else,” he said, leaning over close, uncomfortably close, looking in my eyes. “I’ll pick you up here in three hours. And so you know, Tia, obedience is rewarded; defiance is punished. Remember that.” He winked at me and flashed his watch at me, showing me the time.
I’m sure I must’ve looked at him like he’d lost his mind. I didn’t know what to say, so I got out of the car, feeling like something slowly crawled up my spine. I felt his eyes on me, watching me, until I entered the house. I looked back before entering and the way he was staring at me made my blood run cold. Gorgeous or not, he was obviously a very dangerous man, and I had no frame of reference for this situation. I needed to think.
How would I get a chance to think, though? I had three hours in a house bustling with activity, people everywhere. Kids that live here, graduating kids, their family members, Rose, Cal, the grandparents. I heard Ruby shouting my name. I couldn’t tell any of them what was going on with me, no way.
“Where were you?” she cried out, running to me, her dark ringlets bouncing. Rose was behind her, looking expectantly and cautiously at me.
“I’m sorry, I…” I didn’t know how to finish; I almost started to cry.
Rose rushed over and threw her arms around me. “It’s okay darling, come; let’s get something to eat.” She directed me to the dining room table, which was covered with dishes of food, people swarming it. She probably just assumed my father had disappointed me. She didn’t push for answers.
God, but I loved this family. I didn’t know what to say. I had no idea what awaited me in three hours’ time, but I knew one thing for sure – fear. I was afraid.
Mia bounded over to us. “Did you find your hottie and take off on us for a romp?”
She and Bethany laughed but Ruby was eyeing me suspiciously. If they only knew.