Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 108768 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108768 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
As if enjoying my reaction to him savoring the strawberry, a wicked smile spread across his face. “Wolves.”
I leaned forward and lowered my voice. “You better behave. We're not doing another Meatball Gate situation.”
“I'm supposed to give you back your panties.”
Shock almost knocked me off the throne. “What?”
“Blue panties. Silky. Damp. Cute lace on the outline. And the scent. . .” Duck raised his hand to his mouth, pressed his thumb and forefinger together and pressed his lips against the tips. “Chef's kiss.”
“Why do you have my panties?”
He leaned his head to the side. “Lei didn't tell you?”
I blinked. “What the fuck? Lei knows you have my panties?”
“We fought about it.” Duck considered that fact and then nodded. “Aww. But then he returned to the tent and fought Rowe Street Mob. I guess he didn't get a chance to tell you about the panties.”
“Can we go back to why you have my panties?”
“They were just lying there by the river with your clothes and his.”
“And you thought it was a good idea to pick them up?”
“I wanted to throw everything in the river.”
“Excuse me?”
“I get jealous easy.” Duck shrugged. “But I shouldn't. I love Lei, and. . .he deserves to find some sense of relief after everything that happened to him this month.”
“So. . .you pocketed the panties?”
“Something like that.” He pointed to his pocket. “I can give them to you now.”
“No.” I looked around. “I'm going to knock you out, if you do that.”
A dark chuckle left him.
The last thing I needed was all these people around us, witnessing that ridiculous act.
I returned to the glass of wine and took another gulp.
Of course, people around the party lifted their glasses in the air and drank too.
Jesus Christ.
I put my focus back on Duck. “So. . .”
He quirked his brows. “So?”
“You can keep the panties.”
“Oh really?”
“Yes but understand this.” I pointed to him. “I don't date cousins nor brothers or best friends. It's all less messy that way.”
He laughed.
“What's so funny?”
He smirked. “You think you have some sort of choice in this?”
“Yes, Duck. I do.”
Duck's smirk disappeared from his face as he pointed to the empty throne next to me. “I didn't like the way Lei left without saying goodbye.”
I sighed.
“I know more than anyone how obsessed Lei was with Chanel. I was one of the few that had to stand outside damn near every night with him in the cold as he gazed up at her bedroom window while she slept.”
I blinked. “Say what now?”
“Always freezing my balls off—”
“Standing outside the window?”
“And then there were the ghosts. I really couldn't see them, but I could fucking feel them. Cold and sad.” Duck shook his head as if sensing ghosts around him. “While I'm also depressed that Chanel passed, I'm a little happy that I don't have to help him with stalking her.”
“Ghosts. . .stalking. . .” I took another gulp of wine.
“Never forget, Monique. We're wolves.” Duck winked. “Sharp fangs. Bloodied claws.”
I continued to hold the wine, knowing I would be finishing that glass and getting more. “Okay. . .let's just get back to one of these. . .other topics.”
Duck tilted his head to the side. “How about let's return to the panties?”
“Yes.”
“I can keep them?”
“Yes, because the whole situation is weird. Throw them away or whatever but—”
“Oh, I'm definitely not throwing them away—”
“Well, whatever you do with them, don't tell me about it—”
“Because you want visuals. Video or photos?”
I shrieked. “No.”
Duck chuckled.
“You're not funny.”
He touched his chest. “Many women find me hilarious.”
“It's probably due to your corkscrewed penis.”
He chuckled again. “That could be it.”
Shaking my head, I took a sip of the wine and then set the glass down. “You're fun, Duck. A fucking blast actually. And. . .I really do consider you as a new friend.”
A neutral expression fell over his face.
“But I'm serious. I don't date brothers, cousins, best friends, etc. Which means that I would love for us to be good friends and nothing more.”
“And if Lei discovers that he no longer wants to spend time with you?”
Tension gathered in my shoulders.
He gestured back to the empty throne. “You do know that he's going to spend the rest of this night, searching for Chanel's body.”
My gut twisted into knots.
“And if Lei doesn't find her corpse, he may not return to the mountain at all.” Duck frowned. “And. . .if he does find her corpse. . .he still may not return. Do you know why?”
Sadness rose in my chest.
“Because Lei has spent all of his life focused on Chanel and with Yan taking the body, my cousin may start to feel guilty and return to his obsession simply due to loyalty for what he lost.”
I gritted my teeth.
“What will you do then?”
“Then. . .I will go home.”
“And where is home, Monique?”
“I'm still figuring that part out.”
“You now own Lotus Blossom.”