Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 43402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 217(@200wpm)___ 174(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 217(@200wpm)___ 174(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
I groan. “Ayi …”
She keeps going anyway. “You reminded me that I was already miserable. That if being with Bear made me feel better, I should try. You told me to just see where it went—because he was as broken as I was.” She smiles tenderly. “I did—and here we are.”
“Yeah, but Blade isn’t broken.” My voice is small. “He deserves someone who’s whole—like he is.”
“Maybe you should let him decide that, sweetie.”
The oven dings, sharp and welcoming, making me laugh. “Saved by the bell.”
“For now,” she teases. “Grab the salad from the fridge. We’re eating on the deck.”
I open the refrigerator and pull out the bowl, forcing a smile as I follow her toward the back door. The sound of laughter drifts in from outside—Blade and Bear trading jokes as the grill hisses. It should make me feel warm. Safe. Instead, my chest tightens.
Ayita doesn’t understand. She can’t.
I’m lost and way too broken for someone like Blade Aetos. Besides, my brother would never let me be happy. He’d find some way to destroy everything. That thought nearly kills me, but I paste a smile on my lips and step out onto the deck, pretending everything is fine.
When it never will be.
6 BLADE
Rain changed from a promise to a reality, so we moved from the deck to indoors. With dinner over, we wandered into the basement—the area Bear called his man-cave. It was complete with worn couches, a huge-ass television mounted on the wall and a pool table. That’s what seemed to beckon us. There’s a single hanging lamp glowing overhead, shining down on the green felt. Everyone walks over and Bear suggests a game. We all agree, but I can see Olivia is nervous. She’s probably never played pool in her life. The thought makes me smile. This has been the best night I can remember ever having with a woman. Each second I spend with Olivia is one that captures me more. I want her so much that I can taste it. If I can end the night leaning over her, teaching her how to shoot pool? Fuck, that’s almost heaven. The only thing better would be having her agree to move into the bedroom down here and making love to her all night long. It doesn’t even scare me that I know that sex with Olivia would be different from anything I’ve shared with another woman. That was fucking. Olivia, she’s special. I want to take my time with her. Hell, I want to wake up the next morning in her bed.
That’s making love.
Olivia slides behind the cue rack and says, “I don’t really play pool,” she mumbles, her cheeks slightly red.
Ayita grins, grabbing a cue like it’s an extension of her arm. “You can be my partner,” she says without missing a beat. “Old school—girls against the boys.”
I frown. I was hoping to be Olivia’s partner so I could help her with her technique—which is code for keep her in my arms and tease her. Before I can argue, however, Bear shrugs and tosses the rack to the side. “Okay. You girls break first.”
Ayita nudges Olivia with her hip and asks, “You want to break, Livy?”
Olivia bites her lower lip, looks at the balls like they’re a math problem she didn’t study for. “How do you break?”
I can’t stop it. A laugh comes out before I can swallow it down. “Bear, maybe I should be Livy’s partner, so this is fair,” I suggest, hoping Livy agrees immediately.
Bear waves a hand. “Nah. She’ll catch on quickly. She’s too stubborn not to. Ayi, sweetheart, you break.”
Ayita chalks, leans in, and winks at Olivia just before she lines up. The wink is deliberate. She’s obviously fairly confident the two of them will win. Maybe she thinks she can get most of the balls and set up easy shots for Olivia. My competitive spirit begins firing, especially when I see Olivia watching Ayita’s choices closely.
“Okay,” Ayita says, softly. “Just watch me, Olivia.” She breaks like she’s breaking through a brick wall—all muscle. The balls scatter, one of the solids drifts and drops into the corner like it was always supposed to go there. Ayita smiles at Olivia and winks at her again. Olivia’s cheeks color and her smile makes my entire evening. I would’ve just liked to be the one to cause it.
When it’s Olivia’s turn she mutters, half to herself, “Darn it, I hope I get this right.”
Ayita snorts, and then Olivia takes her cue like she’s taking a breath. She does something I didn’t expect—lines up a bank shot that would make most players stop and mutter “no way.” She hits the cue ball so that it kisses the long rail, then the object ball glances off two rails and disappears into the corner pocket, an old-school bank-shot combination that’s one of the hardest basic shots in any pool player’s book. Damn.