Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 105709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
“O—kay? But, I need to sort out the bakery if I’m staying longer.”
He kisses my forehead. “That's being handled, don't worry your pretty little head about that. Soon, you'll be able to go back and our boys won't have to fight with Karian every time they follow her.”
I choke on a laugh. “She's fighting with them?”
“Yeah, pretty hard too,” he chuckles. “But they ain't bothered.”
“Sorry,” I wince. “I should have warned you, her kid's father was a biker. Fucked her up pretty good before ditching. She has a code of no bikers and all that.”
He shrugs. “So that's a yes? You're bringing your stubborn ass with me? I don't need to pull any caveman bullshit with you?”
I glare. “I'm coming.”
“Thank FUCK for that!” Overly dramatic but okay!
I hurl the pillow at his face but he snatches it mid-air, his eyes turning to slits. “Did you just...?” The mock outrage in his glare has my stomach flipping. He tosses the pillow across the room and launches himself at the bed.
Fuck, here we go.
His weight crashes into me, driving me back into the mattress. A squeal rips from my throat—embarrassing as hell, but I can't stop it.
“Come here!”
His mouth finds my neck and I'm yelling again as he blows raspberries against my skin like we're fucking twelve. My hands shove at his shoulders but I'm laughing too hard to put any real force behind it. The vibration against my throat sends stupid tingles down my spine, and just like that—our clothes disappear.
Twenty-Seven
Hella
Ihand Melissa the helmet, watching her swing onto the back of my bike like she's done it a thousand times. Her thighs press against mine, arms wrapping around my waist without hesitation. No awkward fumbling or nervous chatter. Just settles in like she belongs there.
Because she fucking does.
“Hold tight.”
The engine roars to life beneath us, vibrating through our bodies as I kick us into gear. We leave Jada’s house behind, taking the single dirt road that cuts through the property's dense woods. Dust kicks up behind us as we navigate the winding path, branches creating a canopy overhead that filters the afternoon light.
Her grip tightens around my ribs when I lean into a sharp curve, her body moving with mine instinctively. No fear. Just trust. Something I'm not used to from anyone, let alone a woman who should know better by now.
The trees break apart as we near the stream, revealing my cabin through the gaps. Beast's old man hammered every beam and joint himself—solid log construction that looks like it could survive anything. Floor-to-ceiling windows face the water, modern shit where it counts, but the whole thing still feels raw. Natural. The small garage hides off to the side, swallowed by pines.
I cut the engine. Melissa's grip around my waist goes slack, her warmth pulling away as she dismounts. The helmet comes off, blonde hair spilling free. Those green eyes scan everything—the cabin, the stream carving through granite, sunlight fracturing across the current.
“This is yours?”
Her voice carries something I can't place. Not quite awe. Not quite suspicion.
“Yeah.” I swing off the bike, shoving the keys deep in my pocket. The leather protests as I move. “All mine.”
She walks toward the stream, drawn to the sound of water moving over stones. Her fingers trail along the wooden railing of the small deck that extends over the bank. The place looks different with her here. Less like a hideout and more like... something else. Something I don't have words for yet.
Something I don't want to explore either.
“It's beautiful.”
She turns back to me, that look in her eyes again. The one that makes my chest tight and my hands itch to touch her. Like she sees something in this place, in me, that I'm not sure exists.
“Come on.” I nod toward the cabin. “Let me show you inside.”
I don't know if it's her, me, her at this house, or Beast's words earlier, but keeping the secret from her that I know feels worse the more that time clicks on.
MELISSA
“If you're thinking of marrying me and running away with all my money, you'd be mistaken,” he says with a smirk, his eyes tracking my expression as I continue my visual feast. “I paid for it with cash. Seventy percent dirty, thirty percent clean.”
Water washes against the sandy shoreline where trees spread their branches over the current. There's a small bridge that connects the two sides, twisted with tiny fairy lights that connect and thread through the tree. This isn't a stream. It's a damn current in a pool.
I look back at Hella with fresh eyes. “It's beautiful here.”
He smiles. “It's not bad. The lights were Garret's idea. He likes bringing his little shithead friends out here some weekends. I don't mind as much. It gets him off the fucking iPad and out climbing trees and building shit.”