Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 91937 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91937 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
“Thanks for coming, Charlie,” I say to him when he heads toward his truck. He nods at me as he gets into the pickup, but he doesn’t leave until we walk up the steps to Brady’s house.
“Welcome to my home,” Brady invites, trying to sound cheerful like he didn’t just rip my ex off me. “There are four bedrooms upstairs.” He walks straight to the staircase on the side. “You guys can pick whatever room you want.”
“Which one is yours?” I ask when we get to the top of the stairs, and he points to the room at the end of the hallway.
“Go pick which one you want,” I urge Wyatt as he lets go of Brady’s hand.
“Brady,” I say his name in almost a whisper.
“Not now.” He avoids even looking at me, and all I can do is close my eyes. “Right now, you have to get your boy in bed.” He stops with his shoulder touching mine. “And I have to go downstairs and take a shot of something and remind myself why it wouldn’t be a good idea to find Winston and break all his fucking teeth.” I gasp, and he walks back down the steps. “Sleep tight, Wyatt,” Brady tells him before he walks down the steps.
“I’m going to sleep in this one,” Wyatt says from the room, and I walk over and see that it’s fully furnished—the big queen-sized bed in the middle of the room with a night table on each side.
He kicks off his shoes and climbs into bed, and I walk to him, not sure what to do. “Are you okay?” I ask, sitting on the corner of the bed, and he nods.
“Yeah,” he mumbles as his eyes start to close. I rub his hair with my hand, waiting until he’s snoring softly before getting up and walking out of the room. I look down the hallway, seeing the door to Brady’s room open, but then hearing noise coming from downstairs.
I walk down the steps and find him in the kitchen, the bottle of whiskey in front of him with an empty shot glass. His hand is outstretched at his side on top of the counter, his head hanging. “Hey,” I say, and he looks up, and I see his face looks like it’s being ravaged.
“He out?” he asks me as my feet move on their own toward him.
“Yeah,” I confirm, stopping beside him.
“I need to take pictures of your arm,” he states, his voice sounding like it’s going to crack, “for evidence.”
“Brady.” I put my hand on his arm, and he shakes his head so my hand falls away.
“He put his hands on you.” Every single word he says feels like he’s being tortured. “So hard I heard you cry out in pain from inside your house.” He turns to face me. “I ran there so fast, and when I saw him, I saw black.” I close my eyes, and my hands move to his face. “I should have—”
“You should have done none of that,” I counter softly. “If you had, then he would win.” I look into his eyes. “I’m tired of him winning, Brady.” I step even closer to him. “I’m tired of him winning.”
“He’s not going to win this time.” His gruff voice sends shivers down my spine.
“When I saw you, I knew I would be okay,” I admit to him. “I knew that you would take care of me.” I swallow down the lump. “I…” I trail off. “I…” I get on my tippy-toes. “I feel safe with you,” I say right before my lips find his.
CHAPTER 17
Brady
She steps toward me, and my body suddenly becomes alive. “When I saw you, I knew I would be okay.” I can see her eyes in the dimmed room; the light over the stove is the only light on. “I knew that you would take care of me.” She swallows, and I see her hands shaking as she takes a step toward me. “I…” She trails off. “I…” I close my eyes for a second to push down the rage I feel thinking about the scene I walked into. Seeing his hands on her, hearing her cry out in pain and fear. It’s a sound I don’t think I’ll ever forget in my whole life. It’s a sound even five shots of whiskey couldn’t cancel out. “I feel safe with you.” It’s the last thing she says, and her mouth comes to mine. Finally, is all I can think when I wrap my arms around her as her mouth opens for my tongue.
Pulling her flush to me, I relax with her in my arms. The kiss starts out slow, each of us taking our time. I waited too long for this kiss. My hand moves up her side to her hair. I bury it in it, and as soon as I fist her hair, she groans into my mouth, pushing her tits into my chest. The kiss that started out slow is now going into overdrive. Our tongues fight with each other. One of her hands on my chest grips my T-shirt in her palm while the other moves up to go into my hair. I wrap my arm around her waist, picking her up, and place her ass on the counter. Her legs open for me to stand between them.