Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 77422 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77422 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
He moved quickly up to his hands and knees, and I fell back into the bed in my haste to back away from him.
I got my hands underneath me and my feet flat on the bed when he was suddenly just there, all six foot five, two hundred and forty pounds of pissed off him, preparing to pounce on me.
“Say again?” He stalked across the bed toward me.
I kicked off and tried to roll to my back, but he grabbed my foot before I could get purchase and yanked me back to him.
My breath left me as I saw the seriousness in his eyes and tears started to form.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I’m just so tired of hurting, of constantly being in so much pain.”
“I won’t leave you,” he promised instantly.
I blinked, opened my mouth to argue with him and was interrupted by his declaration once again.
“I. Won’t. Leave. You,” he reiterated. “End of story. I won’t fucking leave you. Unless you decide to shoot me and then I’ll only be gone for as long as the hospitalization lasts. Then I’ll be right back here in your bed, waiting for your next shot.”
I laughed, a hiccupy, watery laugh as the tears slowed to a stop.
“My cat hates you,” I informed him. “If you don’t make friends with him, he might attack you in your sleep, but that’s the only way you’ll ever be hurt by something that belongs to me.”
He grinned and leaned down, pressing his lips to mine before he was up once again, slipping his feet into his boots without another word.
Bending at the waist, I crossed my legs and stared at him and his muscles working as he finished dressing.
I hesitantly lifted my finger and ran it down the length of his spine, stopping when I met the top of his pants where a holster, sans gun, was tucked into the back of his pants.
“That’s new,” I said to him softly. Hesitantly.
He looked over his shoulder at me, nodded once and stood. Then, surprising the absolute shit out of me, he reached under the pillow I’d been laying on with him all night and pulled out the biggest black handgun I’d ever seen.
Tucking it into the holster at the small of his back, he reached for his phone and keys and stared at me once they were tucked into his pocket.
“When I come back tomorrow morning, are you going to turn cold and ignore me?” he asked bluntly.
I hesitantly shook my head.
“No,” I whispered.
He stared at me, those deep, soulful brown eyes practically caressing me even from six feet away.
“Breakfast tomorrow?” he hoped.
I paused, testing that on my tongue. “Breakfast?”
He nodded.
“Will Alexa be there?” I asked.
A small smile tilted up the corner of his mouth.
“Alexa’s going to be a problem, isn’t she?” he asked.
I nodded.
He held his hand out to me.
“Walk me out as we finish this conversation,” he said.
I took his hand and followed him out the door to my room, paused to slip my feet into my cowboy boots by the door, and followed him out into the shared breezeway I shared with six other tenants.
Four of which opened their doors the moment mine opened.
My stomach knotted.
The men spotted Dean, eyed him for a quick second, and slammed their doors shut.
“What the fuck was that?” he barked.
I bit my lip.
“That would be my fan club,” I explained carefully.
His mouth tightened and the muscle at his jaw started to tick.
“You’re not walking me down to the truck,” he insisted. “Not in that.”
I bit my lip, looking up at him like he was something I’d never seen before.
“I’ll be okay, Dean,” I said. “I’ve been living here for a while now. I’m used to dealing with it.”
He gave me an annoyed look.
“That’s not comforting information, July,” he relayed to me.
He sighed, and I chose to stay silent in case he had any other anger that he hadn’t expressed already.
“As for Alexa,” he said, pulling me in until my chest was flattened against his belly. “Alexa’s never going to be you. She knows that. I know that. You know that. She hates that, and she knows I don’t return the feelings she so obviously feels for me. You have nothing to fear from Alexa.”
“I was being serious about breakfast. If she’s going to be there, I won’t. It’s not me trying to be petty. I just flat out don’t like her, not a single bit. Please don’t try to force it. It’s unlikely that we’ll ever be friends. You’ll be lucky if I’m cordial to her if I see her in a grocery store.”
He chuckled underneath his breath.
“Okay,” he said. “She won’t be going to breakfast anymore. Or lunch. Or anything. If I have to choose, you or her, it’s going to be you every single time. Do you want me to completely stop talking to her altogether?”