Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 140742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 704(@200wpm)___ 563(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 704(@200wpm)___ 563(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
Finneas Alexander Barlow is a walking thirst trap. Tall, hot, and broody. Tousled brown hair, chiseled jaw, alluring green eyes, perfect teeth, well-groomed beard, broad shoulders, and lips good enough to bite. He’d look like a Disney prince if the prince was a broody ahole.
Four years ago, a fated meeting led to an inevitable hook-up. Just one. It’s his rule. One-time hook-ups, no information exchanges, and no repeats. I knew that even before he established his boundaries, and he kept his promise. I hadn’t seen or heard from him since.
A year ago, when tragedy struck, he came back to town and sought me out. Gone was the disarming grin and the innuendos he’d once used to make my knees go weak. Unfortunately, his ire was equally debilitating. Now he’s back as the face of Fairview’s brand new professional hockey team and he’s looking for answers I don’t have. Finn won’t accept that, though. He’s as determined to uncover my secrets as I am to keep them. He pushes as hard as I pull. It’s only a matter of time before the rope snaps. Now I can only hope I'm the one left standing.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
1
FINN
3 YEARS AGO
Idon’t know who the woman in the hot pink dress is, but I want her screaming my name by the end of the night. My own thoughts give me pause. It’s completely out of character for me to notice, let alone think that about anyone in Fairview. Thanks to my father and his friends, I adopted a “don’t shit where you eat” mentality when it comes to sex. It shouldn’t apply to me since, unlike them, I’m not married or in a relationship, but it’s been years since I hooked up with anyone from Fairview, and up until now, I planned to keep it that way.
Fairview has been growing substantially each year, our social circle is small and incestuous. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone that a friend of yours hasn’t already fucked or tried to fuck. This woman isn’t one of them. She’s talking to my sister, so I assume she’s around the same age. If that’s true, she went to my high school, and would have been a freshman when I was a senior. It’s doubtful that I wouldn’t have seen her around back then.
I wouldn’t have forgotten if I had. Not with a body like that. And that face. Fuck. I want to see it up close. Preferably looking up at me while she’s on her knees. She’s beautiful, but a lot of women are. Yet, something about her demands attention. Maybe it’s the way she smiles like she means it, or the way she throws her head back, unrestrained, when she laughs.
I can’t remember the last time I saw someone act so reckless with their feelings, so free. That’s what emotions are in our world. Reckless. It’s another lesson I learned from a young age, and one I won’t soon forget. Movement catches my attention and I glance over to see Gracie Davis walking over with a determined look on her face. Fuck my life.
“Hey,” she says when she reaches me.
I don’t say anything as I scan the room for my asshole friends who were just here a moment ago. It shouldn’t be hard to spot them, since, unlike most nights, the lights aren’t turned off and this place isn’t at capacity. Pure is a nightclub, but because it’s my sister’s birthday weekend, we’re allowing her to use the first floor of the three-story club.
The first is the general nightclub, the third is the VIP lounge, and the lower level is what my cousin turned into an exclusive speakeasy sex club, which is completely off-limits to Mallory. Before I signed my first professional contract, my cousin roped me into investing money in this place. Much to my financial advisor’s disapproval, I agreed. On paper, I co-own it, but I’ve only stepped foot in here maybe three times, if that. This is Lucas’ baby, and he treats it as such. I’m more of the absent father who only comes around when he has time, which in my case, is never.
My sister thinks I’m here because it’s her birthday—and she definitely went a little extra hard with the guilt trip this time. Unbeknownst to her, I’m only here because some friends are in town and wanted to discuss a lucrative business opportunity. Otherwise, I would have stayed away from Fairview like I have the last two years. Year one in the league, I came home during the summer. Year two, I took the summer off and went to Europe. This year, I’m standing in my own nightclub, trying to avoid conversations with stage-five clingers like Gracie. I finally spot Ella on the other side of the room, and she has the audacity to smirk.
“Are you having fun?” Gracie asks.
“Not particularly.”
She laughs. “Do you ever have fun?”
“Not particularly.”
“We can have fun downstairs.” She sets a hand on my bicep and I cut her a glare that instantly makes her drop it. “It’s just … I haven’t seen you in so long and I know we’d be good together.”
“We wouldn’t be anything together.”
“I think I can change your mind about that.” She arches her back slightly, making her tits, which are nearly spilling out of her top, brush against my arm.
My eyes drop to them briefly before I look away. I could, of course, walk away from her or go upstairs and watch the festivities from the comfort of the private office that overlooks the club. I won’t, though. I promised my sister I’d be here, and I’m staying until my phone buzzes in my pocket to tell me I’ve been here a full hour.
I look around again to see if I can find Hammie. He’s the one she should be talking to. They’ve already fucked, but I have no doubt he’d have another go at her. As I’m scanning the room, I hear a laugh that beckons my attention. The mystery woman. My sister’s smiling at whatever she’s saying. I’m not sure what surprises me more, the fact that I’m drawn in by this stranger or that my sister’s smile is genuine.