Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 102929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Not giving it a chance to confuse me further, I pushed off him. The song was one of my favorites, and I didn’t give a shit who was watching. I began to dance, getting lost in this instead. Kraven leaned against the truck, folding his arms over his chest, watching me make a fool out of myself.
The alcohol acted as the liquid courage, and I swayed my body to the beat of the music. I danced alone all the time, putting on my headphones and getting raptured by the melody that took the pain away.
Shutting my eyes like I did when I was alone, I lifted my hair off my neck, continuing to move my hips in a slow, steady rhythm. It was cold, but I was hot.
Burning from the inside out.
I danced as if I were by myself.
As if it were the last dance when it really was the first.
With a gust of wind, I felt a strong hand grab my stomach, tugging me back against his hard chest. Kraven rocked us slowly together in sync with the music's rhythm. This was the first time I’d danced with anyone, and I couldn’t help but think about who it was that I was experiencing this with. The liquor made it easy to follow his movements.
He was steady.
Tough.
Soothing.
He began humming the tune in my ear, stirring tingles to course up and down my skin. Little by little, he began to strum his fingers on the sides of my stomach and the front of my legs like he was playing his piano. I recognized the thrum of his fingers, feeling his warmth against my back, heating my flesh from the cold.
“You smell really fucking good. You know that?” He gripped my chin, tilting my head up, causing me to look at him through my thick, long lashes. His eyes were dilated, and Caribbean blue stared back at me. In seconds, his expression turned heady, and I couldn’t look away from him.
As much as I wanted to.
As much as I should have.
I was locked in his stare.
Lost in his gaze.
Consumed by his touch.
It was madness.
Pure insanity.
Absolute destruction.
But he was still the first to try to stomp out the fire between us, snapping, “Careful, I’m not my brother.”
I sucked in a breath.
Confused.
Hurt.
Angry.
With him.
Julius.
Myself.
It was a wave of emotions.
A commotion of thoughts.
Leaving behind one hell of a landslide.
You see, where silence was comfortable between Julius and me, it was unsettling for Kraven and me. I never felt the need to talk to Julius, but with Kraven, there wasn’t a need…
There was only a desire.
I learned right then that where Julius helped me with my problems, Kraven helped me forget them. Only until he triggered them.
In the snap of a finger, it all came crashing down on our heads when someone yelled, “Look what we have here! If it isn’t dumpster trash, Kraven Knightly!”
I was hit with an awareness that nothing but trouble awaited us.
I jolted, trying to pull away, but Kraven held me firmer, not allowing me to move an inch. I searched for who had shouted and what was going on, when Kraven unexpectedly and protectively secured me behind him with one hand on my hip as I looked out in front of us. I had a face-to-face with the guy who was suddenly standing there.
“Walk away, Justin,” Kraven gritted through a clenched jaw, squeezing my hip. “Not now.”
I glanced up toward the side of Kraven’s face and saw his murderous stare aimed right at Justin. From the way they were both glaring at each other, I knew there had to be something brewing between them, and it hadn’t started tonight.
This went back months, maybe years. There was definitely history there, that much was crystal clear.
Justin angled his head to the side, ready for anything. “Walk away?” he mocked in a condescending tone. “Now, where would the fun be in that?”
Kraven’s grip tightened further at my side.
Justin didn’t stand down. “Does she know about your dumpster trash family?” he snidely replied. “Probably not. I mean, it’s not anything I’d go bragging about. Especially if I’m trying to get my dick wet from some fine-ass pussy.”
My stomach was in knots, tossing and turning as my gaze shifted to the side of Kraven’s face again. His concentrated scowl hadn’t moved from Justin’s devious stance. Everything about him screamed trouble with a capital T. Guys like him always ended up having something to prove and someone to bully, but Kraven didn’t strike me as the one to take on.
In a sarcastic chuckle, Justin spewed, “How old were you when your mommy abandoned you? Even she couldn’t stand your face! She left your ass and never looked back!”
Each slur from his mouth felt as if it were a threat, and I could feel Kraven’s pulse quicken. My heart was breaking for him. It was one thing to hear it from Julius or Kraven, but it was a whole other one to hear it from this bastard who had it out for him.