Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 74670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
She swallowed and opened her mouth again. I gave her a little more this time.
“That’s my girl,” I whispered.
She smiled so damn sweet. Images of other things I’d like to do to her and praise her about to get that reaction began to play out in my head, and I had to shut it down. Getting a boner in front of Mal and her brothers wasn’t going to help the situation.
I dropped my gaze to the potato skin. “One last bite. I’d rather you eat it. I want the wings.”
When I lifted my eyes back up to hers, she nodded her head and opened her mouth. I placed the last bite between her full lips, and when she closed, I wanted to groan and grab my damn cock. It was suddenly very interested in her open mouth.
Picking up a hot wing, I tore my eyes off her and took a bite, then turned to see the other three in the room staring at us silently.
“She ate, didn’t she?” I asked, then smirked at the lot of them and took another bite of my wing.
“It’s, uh, good to see you eat, Lace,” Mal said, breaking their silence.
Fuckers were making it awkward.
“If you offered her something other than fried cheesy shit, she’d have more options,” I told him, dropping the bone onto the plate and taking the other wing.
“I’m sorry, Lace. If you will make a list of things you like to eat, I can make sure we have it at every meal. I only knew about breakfast.”
But she hasn’t been eating that breakfast, has she, Mal?
Because I wasn’t here.
“That’s not necessary,” Lace replied. “You have plenty to choose from.”
“Except you don’t ever eat anything,” Gathe pointed out obnoxiously.
The way Lace tensed beside me only heightened the protective reaction she alone seemed to trigger.
“What she eats isn’t your fucking concern,” I snapped.
“Yeah, uh, Gathe, why don’t you go see if Gwen is almost done?” Mal suggested.
“Why me?” he asked, not moving.
“Because you can’t control your damn mouth,” Locke said, speaking for the first time since I’d arrived.
Gathe sighed and stood up. “I was just glad she was eating.”
“Kitchen, Gathe,” Mal cut him off before he said anything more.
I turned my head back to Lace, who seemed nervous again. She fidgeted with her cast as she stared down at it, resting in her lap. I laid a hand over her busy fingers and gently squeezed.
“It’s fine. Everyone here cares about you. That’s all,” I reassured her.
The way she looked at me, as if she wanted to memorize my face, was just about to do me in. Why had she left me? She wasn’t comfortable here. They might be her family, but she was better with me.
Thirty-One
Lace
He was here. He’d come to see me. I was almost positive it was because Mal was worried that I hadn’t been eating. But I didn’t care. He’d come. He cared. I wanted to wrap my arms around his neck and not let go. There was a thrill at the sight of him and happiness that came from him sitting so close to me, looking at me, talking to me.
I listened quietly, soaking in the sound of his voice as he talked to Locke and Gathe about whatever game it was they were watching. It sounded as if there was heavy betting around it. When Mal announced that dinner was ready, the men all stood up, Gathe being the first one to shoot to his feet.
Luther glanced back down at me. “You coming?” he asked with a teasing glint in his eyes.
Standing, I nodded, sure I’d go anywhere he asked me to. However, he didn’t begin to move toward the door like the others had, and I waited with him. Once they all left, he turned his gaze back to mine.
“Now, see, if you hadn’t left me, you’d be eating and sleeping properly.” His tone was husky as he spoke in a low voice.
With the pad of his thumb, he brushed the area below my eyes. “Don’t like seeing these dark circles.”
I shivered from the touch, and he stilled. His eyes seemed to study me before drifting down to my mouth. For a moment, I thought…I thought he might kiss me. I held my breath, thinking if he did, I might possibly faint. God, I hoped not.
Then his hand was gone, and he nodded his head toward the door. “Better get in there before Mal comes storming back into the room, bitching.”
He motioned for me to go first, and I did, reluctantly. I wanted to stay in here alone with him. I’d missed him, and seeing him again was only going to make that ache worse when he left.
His words replayed in my head. “…if you hadn’t left me, you’d be eating and sleeping properly.”
And I stopped, then turned back to look at him. Did he think I wanted to leave him? If he did, then I had to clear that up.