Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 113272 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 566(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113272 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 566(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
“N-no. I did it l-lifting the boxes i-inside,” she said through chattering teeth.
“Lifting the boxes?” He stilled, turning to her.
“Bathroom is o-over t-there.” She waved her hand further down the hall, obviously thinking that he’d stopped because he was lost.
“You lifted those boxes inside yourself?” he asked incredulously as he continued to move down to the bathroom. Walking in, he turned on the shower, then he turned to her. “Why? The delivery guys should have done that.”
“I g-got home and they’d b-been left out f-front. I couldn’t leave t-them there with the storm c-coming.” She shrugged then winced as that obviously hurt her back.
“I can’t believe they did that. I’m going to need the name of the company that delivered them.”
She eyed him. “No.”
Eli folded his arms over his chest. He knew he could easily get those details. They were probably on the boxes themselves. But was she seriously telling him no?
“No?” he asked
“Yeah. No.”
“Why not?” he asked
“Because it’s not any of your business.”
His first instinct was to tell her that anything she did was his business.
But that wasn’t exactly true, was it?
Another shiver ran through her and he realized he was standing here arguing when he should be getting her into the shower.
He tested the temperature of the water in the shower before turning back to her. “Let’s get you out of those clothes.”
She slapped at his hands and he stared at her in shock. He didn’t expect that. “No! Bad Eli!”
Did she just scold him? Like he was a dog?
“Out!” She pointed at the door.
“Excuse me?” he drawled
“Yes, excuse you. You cannot b-barge into my h-house, order me a-around, and then undress me. Too far.”
Shit.
He took a deep breath in, letting it out. “What if you can’t get undressed because of your sore back?”
“I will be fine. I took some muscle relaxers. They’ll help. Out!”
Knowing he was bordering on obsessed, he turned and walked out. “I’m going, but leave the door open so I can hear you if you need help.”
“I don’t need help and you need to leave my house.”
Yeah. That wasn’t happening. What he needed to do was figure out how to build this furniture with some old, crappy-looking tools.
Getting out his phone, he noticed it was nearly dead. Shit. He quickly messaged Kellan.
Eli: Need you to get Duncan’s tools and bring them to me at Arabella’s place.
Kellan: His tools?
Eli: She has some furniture that needs to be built and her tools are older than the hills.
Kellan: Oh those sorts of tools. Wait. Furniture? Was the house not furnished?
Eli: Just get the tools for me? I’ll explain when you get here. And my phone is going flat.
Kellan: You owe me.
Whatever. Eli was pretty certain that Kellan was just as obsessed over her as Eli was but he was in denial.
Was it smart? Maybe not.
Was it good timing? Hmm, it was debatable that there was never a good time.
Was the fact she lived here a bonus? Definitely not. Although the one good thing was that he could be pushy about her safety and protection without her calling the cops on him.
But even if the timing, location, and logistics of it all were crap, that didn’t stop the fact that he was quickly becoming obsessed with her. Hell. He’d rushed over here because he thought she might be scared of storms.
And Eli had caught Kellan watching her. Kellan was indifferent to most people unless they were family, he knew them well . . . or they were this girl.
All Eli had to do was make sure that Kellan didn’t repress his feelings and push her away.
Because Eli knew he couldn’t and wouldn’t do this without his brother. They were meant to share a girl. Like they did everything else in their life.
Together.
He started opening boxes while Horse watched him suspiciously from a fluffy dog bed.
“That looks comfy,” he told the dog. “Seems like she isn’t expecting your owners to come for you.”
Horse just stared at him.
“I know you’re not my biggest fan,” he added as he kept an ear out for any cries of pain. “But I’m not going to hurt her.”
Was it his imagination or did Horse seem a bit happier?
Yeah. Maybe he was losing it.
“If anything, I want to help her. Okay? You and me can take care of her. Because part of me thinks she’s had some bad things happen to her. She seems sad . . . a bit like you. I guess maybe that’s why the two of you found each other, huh? Kindred spirits.”
Horse tilted his head to the side.
“Yeah, you know what I’m saying, don’t you? You understand that you’ve hit the jackpot with her and you’re not going to let anything happen to her. I admire that about you. Plus, you smell a whole lot better now. And no farting? That’s good. Smart. That will help you in life. No one likes a farter, man.”