Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 103637 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103637 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
She was also the first woman who’d managed to put reins on Mike’s cousin, Kane, which made her a treasure that needed to be protected at all cost.
But she didn’t need anyone’s aid and stood her ground. “Go on. Out. And don’t try anything stupid. We’ve got cameras all over the place.”
The three men went silent, and Mike imagined them sharing uncertain glances. They damn well knew there would be hell to pay if they as much as stepped on Shay’s toes.
He held his breath, listening to the silence hanging in the air just outside the closet.
The most outspoken of the brothers, Eric, raised his voice with no prelude. “A slut like you won’t see we’re only doing this for our sister’s sake! She was untouched until he put his dirty hands on her, and he will marry her, or he’ll dry out in the desert, with a hole in his head!”
Wow. That had escalated quickly.
Shay was unfazed. “I’ll pass on the message.”
One of the brothers huffed like an angry bear, but the short statement was followed by stomping, which meant they were leaving. Mike couldn’t even enjoy Mona’s breasts anymore, itching to get out of the dusty confines.
Finally, after what felt like forever, the door to the closet opened, and Shay gestured at them to come out, adjusting the cup of her bra, which peeked out from under her tank top.
“They’re gone. But you know they’ll be back. Hope Harlyn’s V was worth the unboxing,” she said in her low, raspy voice.
Mike rolled his eyes and opened one of the store’s fridges to pull out a can of beer. It came from a local brewery, and while more expensive than big brands, it was Dad’s favorite, so they always had it in stock. “Hey, I didn’t coerce her into it. That girl is like a pussycat in heat, and I bet the only reason why she’d even want to marry me would be to get the hell out from under her family’s ‘protection’,” he said and took a sip of the cool lager.
The shop belonged to the Heller family as well as the rest of the gas station, the garage, and the Smoke Valley MC clubhouse which housed a private bar and numerous rooms, including Mike’s. He was the oldest of the siblings to still live at the compound, as it was a rite of passage to move out once you started a family. Which meant Mike would stay forever, and he wasn’t complaining. The clubhouse was a constant stream of parties and pussy, with the added perk of being close to family within the safe confines of a tall concrete wall that kept away jealous husbands. What more could a man want?
He winked at his reflection in the glass door of the fridge. At thirty-seven he didn’t look his age, courtesy of avoiding the kind of baggage some of his brothers had saddled themselves with. Kids, a house, and a woman to keep happy. Even Rain, his lesbian sister, for some reason had decided it was time to ‘settle down’, and now her and Mona were mothers to twins. Mike still had a little chip on his shoulder over not being their first choice of sperm donor, but it was only his ego talking, because he didn’t actually want the responsibility. Their brother, Leo, could have it.
He pulled at the blond beard that had become a bit too bushy during the trip. What he did want after two weeks on the road was a visit to the barber’s. Tanned, ripped, with blue eyes that made women pay attention, and Smokey patches on the back of his vest, he could easily live this way into his sixties. Their sergeant at arms, Admiral never ‘settled down’ and it was working out just fine for him.
Mona cleared her throat and poked Mike’s side. “Are you checking yourself out?”
Shay snorted, but before she could have added her own snarky remark, the back door burst open and Kane rushed in, looking around with the eyes of a rabid pitbull. Shirtless, his flaming red hair wet, all the circus-themed ink on show, he was the human equivalent of a comet arriving to smash into anything that could hurt his old lady.
Mike waved him off. “Chill, they’re gone.”
“They shouldn’t have come here to harass my Shay in the first place,” Kane roared, getting into Mike’s face.
Yikes. And this was the guy who used to claim it was his destiny to sow his seeds in any field that needed plowing? He’d really fallen hard. Mike saw this pattern all around. His older brother, Jack, had married his favorite stripper just two years back, and Leo had followed not long after, marrying a man when no girl would accept his ring. The world had turned on its head, and Mike wasn’t joining that crazy train any time soon.