Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 84446 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84446 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
That motherfucker…
No.
I had to focus.
“Okay,” she said, voice small.
“Are your teeth alright?” I asked, looking at the bruise.
“Yeah. My head hurts,” she said, shrugging.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “I got something for that,” I said, reaching into the box for a bottle of prescription pain pills.
I wanted her to sleep.
For unselfish reasons. To heal. To not lie awake feeling scared.
But for selfish ones too.
Because I needed to know she was out cold and not needing me.
So I could find this bastard.
She took the pill numbly, swallowing it with a sip of water from the glass on her nightstand.
“He took all I had,” she murmured, seeming to be talking to herself as I cleaned up my mess.
“What was that?” I asked, sure I misheard her as I put the lid back on the plastic container. “Lore?” I pressed when she didn’t answer.
“He took all I had left,” she said. Then, sensing my lack of comprehension, “All my money,” she added.
“All your money?” I repeated, confused for a second.
Before it occurred to me just how much I’d been fucking all this shit up.
All the money she had.
Meaning she had some, likely small, stash of cash she’d brought with her. And she’d been using that to, I dunno, buy her books or whatever she was doing all day long when I wasn’t around.
All the money she had, I repeated to myself, pissed at my own fucking incompetence as I went toward the dresser, opening a drawer, reaching in, pulling out a stack of cash, and putting it down on the top.
Another drawer and stack.
Then another.
And another.
Ten grand? Twenty? I didn’t know.
“This is your money,” I told her, watching as her brows furrowed as she looked at the cash, then at me. “You use it, I replace it. No questions asked. No one will ever take all of your money,” I said. “Ever,” I added. “We’re not getting upset over money,” I said, watching as her lips twitched ever so slightly. Relief? No. It seemed like something sweeter than that, but I couldn’t place it. “Okay?”
“Okay,” she whispered.
“I mean it,” I said, not quite believing her yet. “Spend what you want. As much as you want.”
To that, her lips curved just a little bit more. I had a feeling, if she wasn’t being mindful of her cut, she would be giving me a real smile. Something it seemed like she fucking never shot at me.
“I can spend all that on books?” she asked, a playful edge in her voice.
“You could buy an entire fucking bookstore for all I care. It’s your money,” I added. “All of this,” I said, waving at the apartment in general, “is yours. Got that?”
To that, she nodded.
Though I had a feeling she would still be fretting over each dollar she spent.
“Yeah,” she agreed, a soft look in her eyes.
I moved away from the dresser, reaching toward her jacket, trying to un-snag the fabric, before having to give up and just pull the thing up over her head.
I went for her shoes next, undoing her laces, and pulling her feet free.
“No, mouse,” I said, shaking my head at the heated look growing in her eyes. “You’re hurt,” I added, thinking of her hands and the way she grabbed me when I was inside of her. “What do you want?” I asked. “Instead of that,” I clarified.
Her gaze dropped to her lap. So fucking shy. And I both loved and hated that in equal measure.
“Will you… just sit with me?” she asked, voice such a whisper that I barely made the words out.
“Sit with you?” I asked, confused. “Yeah,” I agreed, not knowing what the fuck she wanted from me, but willing to give it to her.
She scooted up the bed, and I kicked out of my shoes before following her toward the headboard.
Feeling awkward as fuck, like a teenager sitting side-by-side with a chick I had a thing for for the first time, I slid an arm around the back of her shoulders.
I didn’t need to know what to do after that.
Because she curled toward me, curled into me, her head in my neck, her arm resting over my chest.
Fuck, but she was small.
Who the fuck saw someone as tiny as her and decided to hurt them?
Someone who’d be eating through a fucking straw and pissing blood for the next few weeks, that’s who.
“This is never gonna happen again, mouse,” I vowed as my hands slid up and down her spine, then sifted up into her hair, knowing how she made those soft, sweet kitten noises when I lightly ran my fingers over her scalp. “I mean it,” I said.
“Okay,” she said, already starting to sound drowsy from the pain meds.
“No one puts their hands on what’s mine,” I added, hearing a little whimper move through her.
Half an hour later, she was out fucking cold, so I carefully slid out from under her, tucking her into my side of the bed, then making my way out of the bedroom.