Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 67757 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 339(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67757 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 339(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
“Through this whole time, Lucky has been here with us, Coco. He didn’t even like me before, and now, he’s protecting both of us.” I scratch Coco’s head absently.
I thought about the times he held me when I cried, kissing my temple, and using soothing words to calm me.
“What are we going to do, Coco?”
Coco yaps in response, shaking his tiny body as if to tell me everything’s okay.
I laugh at his energetic response, smiling as he spins in circles before collapsing in the same spot beside me, resting his small body against my leg, silently begging for more affection.
“Daddy would never approve of Lucky.” That much is absolutely certain. Daddy barely approved of the guys I dated, even when they were sons of his stupid friends.
Coco barks and nudges my knee with his head.
“You’re right, of course.” I have no fucking clue who Daddy even is. That’s not even his real name, and what I know about Steven Morgan Jefferson couldn’t fill a fucking shot glass. So really, does it even matter what Daddy thinks about anything? He’s been lying to me my whole damn life. And days after he was taken into custody, has he checked in with the daughter he sheltered for more than two decades?
No. A big fat fucking no.
So I guess it doesn’t matter what Daddy thinks about Lucky or about me dating Lucky, but what does matter is what Lucky thinks. I worry that this semi-relationship is just a hot fuck fest born out of intense emotions and proximity.
Will Lucky forget about me when the Reckless Souls’ business with Morgan International is over? Is he just biding his time while I’m sitting here thinking that this thing with him, whatever it is, feels like more than a few hot orgasms?
“This is so fucking confusing, Coco.”
He growls as if he really does understand, and I give him a very energetic belly rub.
I sit and stew in my confusion over my feelings about Lucky and the man previously known as Geoffrey Morgan. I can’t do anything about Daddy until or if the feds release him. But Lucky? I know how I feel about him and what I want from him. The hardest part is figuring out how to tell him.
“Ugh,” I groan and fling myself backward on the bed. What the fuck does that even look like? Telling the man I’ve been a raging bitch to for weeks now, who I wouldn’t even let inside my home, that I now have heart eyes for him? “He’ll laugh in my face.” And I’m not in the headspace for that kind of humiliation right now.
“Who’ll laugh in your face?”
I didn’t hear the door opening or Lucky as he stepped inside the room. I scramble up and take a long look at my bodyguard. Now that I’ve admitted my feelings for him to myself, I notice everything about him. The first thing I notice is that he looks exhausted. Utterly fucking spent.
“No one.” I frown and push up onto my knees. “Are you okay?”
He flashes a smile that doesn’t quite meet his eyes, and his lips twist into a half-grin. He doesn’t say anything for a long time, but I can see it written all over his face. There’s fear and concern in his eyes. The hint of a scowl still furrows his brow.
Instantly, I’m off the bed and standing in front of him, running my hands all over his body the way I should have done the minute that asshole ran from the mansion.
“Are you all right? Talk to me, Lucky.” I slip my hands under his t-shirt, searching for any sign that the guy who broke into the mansion had hurt him.
“I’m not hurt, Princess.” He grabs both of my wrists to stop my hands from roaming all over his big, hard body. “And I’m not fucking fine, but I will be. I learned a lot today.”
“I can relate to that.” It’s a stupid thing to say, but I don’t care. I want to do or say something to make him feel better, to provide him with the same level of comfort he’s given to me. “I’m guessing it’s something bad?”
“Yes and no. It’s just…a lot, Aria.”
“You want to talk about it?”
He gives one firm shake of his head, and my heart sinks. He doesn’t want to share the burden with me because I’m not that important to him. This is all about sex, and sex only. “I can’t. Not yet.”
I clench my lips and nod that I understand, but it feels like he’s tossing me a bone to make me feel better. “It’s fine. You don’t owe me any explanations. Just tell me if it’s safe to go back home?”
His gaze locks with mine, and his brows dip in the center.
“No, Aria. It’s not safe for you to go back home. Birmingham got away, and those two bullets were meant for you. We don’t know who else is out there, either. So, we’re staying here for the foreseeable future.”