Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 122242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
"Can we go now?"
"Yeah, we can go," I say, battling back the frustration seething through me as she walks down the front steps. I engage the alarm and lock the front door before jogging down to meet her. I stick close to her side as we walk the short distance across the yard to Roman's. Every time I close the distance between us, she edges over a couple of inches, until she's walking in the grass to avoid touching me. It's wet with dew and sticks to the bottoms of her pant legs.
Luke's Durango is parked beside Roman's truck in the driveway.
"Not that way," I say, stopping her when she heads toward the front door.
She looks over at me.
"We'll go in through the back," I explain, following the footpath around to the gate and then into the backyard. His front door is on the opposite side of his house. The door to the kitchen is closer.
Like my house, Roman's is a single-story ranch with a large fenced yard and an in-ground pool.
"Do you swim?" I ask Faith.
She turns wide eyes on me and shakes her head.
"I'll teach you."
Her eyes narrow with suspicion.
I pretend not to notice and rap on the door.
"It's open!" Roman yells from inside, making Faith jump.
"Easy, conejita," I croon, reaching out to touch her hand. "It's okay. I'm right here."
She shoves her hands in the pockets of her hoodie, not responding.
I bite back a frustrated curse. Maybe dragging her into my bed last night was too much. I wanted to help, but instead, I think I may have eroded a little more of the trust between us. Every time I touch her now, she moves away like she can't stand feeling my hands on her.
It's driving me fucking crazy. Especially because all I want is to keep my hands on her. I barely slept all night. I was too goddamn hard to sleep. Does she know? Is that why she's trying like hell to avoid me this morning?
Cristo, I hope not.
I push the door open, holding it for her.
She ducks under my arm, her hair partially obscuring her face.
Luke, Roman, and Mila are seated at the table, platters of food spread across the top. They all turn to us, Mila and Roman smiling in welcome. Even though he's seated, it's hard not to notice how massive Roman is, especially compared to his fiancée. Mila's a short, curvy blonde with an obvious baby bump. It's also hard to miss the enamored way Roman looks at her. His penetrating blue eyes soften when they fall on her, making him look like a tamed wild animal. The love they share is written across their faces for anyone to see. Every time she looks at him, her green eyes light up and she smiles. His lips curve upward in response, like he can't help but smile back at her.
Luke is more reserved, his expression stoic. He's about my size, with dark hair and green eyes. From what little I know about him, women love him, but he doesn't have a reputation for sleeping around like a lot of cops. Like me, he's dedicated to his job. He's dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, one elbow on the table. He meets my gaze and jerks his chin in a nod before his eyes run over Faith. There's something wild in him, some darkness he keeps carefully caged. When he looks at Faith though, his expression softens. He doesn't look at her with desire, but like he recognizes that she needs to be handled with care.
Faith stays glued to my side as we walk forward to greet them.
"Luke, Mila, this is Faith," I murmur, introducing her. "Faith, this is Luke Santiago and Mila Lawson, Roman's fiancée."
"Hi, Faith," Mila says, her soft voice full of genuine welcome.
"It's nice to see you again, Faith," Roman murmurs like he's trying to put her at ease.
"Hi," she mumbles and then her gaze bounces to Luke. I see her do a head-to-toe sweep before she looks up at me, her eyes wide. "Are all your friends giants?" she asks.
The corner of my lip tilts upward in amusement. Compared to her, I guess we probably do look like giants. She's maybe five-three and severely underweight thanks to the pricks who starved her. Luke is as big as I am, and Roman is colossal by anyone's standards.
Roman chuckles, which makes Faith flush with embarrassment.
"I ask Roman the same thing all the time, but they're not as scary as they look," Mila promises her, smiling in encouragement. "These three are gentle giants."
Faith's gaze bounces around the room again. "If you say so," she says, doubt clear as bells in that lilting voice. She locks her fingers together like she's nervous, and then forcibly stops herself. Her shoulders go back, her chin coming up. She blinks and her uncertain expression falls away, replaced with careful blankness.