Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 26135 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 131(@200wpm)___ 105(@250wpm)___ 87(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26135 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 131(@200wpm)___ 105(@250wpm)___ 87(@300wpm)
“Karina is the sweetest person I know,” I hissed. “She wouldn’t do something like that.”
“Settle down, firecracker. I wasn’t trying to insult your friend.” Finally realizing how cold it was inside the SUV, I shivered and rubbed my hands down my arms. He twisted in his seat and turned on the engine to get the heater going.
“I get that you’re trying to help, but I’m not going to just let you cart me off like this.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “I have a few stipulations, or else I’ll make this hard on you.”
“Hard is right,” he muttered, shifting in his seat to twist around and glare at me. “What’ll it take for you to behave, firecracker?”
“Your name would be a good start,” I suggested.
“Shit, yeah.” He flashed me that sexy smirk again and stretched his arm out toward me. “I’m Benji Madden, but you’ll hear everyone call me by my road name, Grey.”
“I’m Lorelei Hansley.” A shiver raced up my spine as my palm slid against his, so I had to force out my next request. “I need to send Karina a text. She’ll freak out once she realizes I’m not there, so I need to let her know I’m okay.”
“As long as you do it now, you can send her whatever you want.” I pulled my cell out of the zipped pocket inside my jacket, but my head jerked up when he added, “But then you’re gonna need to give me your phone so nobody can use it to track us.”
His warning reminded me of how serious the situation was, and I nodded to let him know I understood. Then I tapped out a quick text to Karina, letting her know that I had a million questions about what the heck was going on, how she felt about it all, and why a sexy biker had practically kidnapped me. I probably should’ve thought about that last part before hitting send because Grey’s lips curved into that smirk again when he took my phone from me and glanced down at the screen before powering it down. But at least he didn’t say anything about me thinking he was sexy as I climbed into the front passenger seat before he backed down the driveway.
3
GREY
I’d taken Lorelei without any of her stuff, so flying was out of the question without her identification. So I sent Cash a text to make sure he had her purse sent to my house as soon as possible. I’d have all her shit at the cabin sent to my house eventually. It made the most sense since I wasn’t ever going to let her leave. We’d move everything else into my place once she was settled.
It was a long-ass drive home, but I wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible. Other than grabbing some dinner along the way, I planned to drive for as long as possible before stopping at a hotel to ensure Lorelei was comfortable for the night—even if it wasn’t until midnight or later.
Lorelei peppered me with questions about Karina’s situation for the first couple hours of the drive. I answered anything that didn’t venture into club business, but I didn't go into any details on how we “handled” things when shit hit the fan.
Normally, I wasn’t much of a talker. I preferred to find the information I wanted through digital means. My computer skills were what helped me go from prospect to patch in the club quicker than many others. However, when Lorelei ran out of steam, I found myself making conversation by asking questions and urging her to tell me about herself. I realized I wanted to know everything about her but didn’t want to read about it. I wanted her to tell me.
And it certainly didn’t hurt that talking helped keep me from pulling over and fucking her in the back seat. The longer we drove with her sweet scent filling my lungs, the closer I came to losing control.
“How far apart in age are you and your brother?”
Lorelei scrunched her face comically, making me chuckle when I glanced over at her. “He’s five years older. But he acts like it’s a twenty-year gap, always treating me like I’m a little kid.”
Hmm. The brother could potentially be an issue if he didn’t recognize that Lorelei was a grown woman old enough to be a man’s old lady, marry him, and have his babies.
She told me about growing up, her hobbies, and how she came to be friends with Karina.
She was quiet for a while, and I thought maybe she’d fallen asleep, but when I glanced over at her, she was studying me.
“Do you have siblings?” she queried.
Since I’d claimed Lorelei—although she didn’t know it—I didn’t intend to have secrets from her. So I didn’t hesitate to answer her question.