Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 124(@200wpm)___ 99(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 124(@200wpm)___ 99(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
“Then what?” she asks, practically holding her breath.
I pull from her hold, smiling. “Then I’m going to take you for a ride.”
8
LEXI
This isn’t exactly the ride I thought he meant, but I lean into his back and enjoy it. After flipping off Gunner and asking Alice to cancel the rest of his appointments for today, I thought we’d be going back to the Exiled Guardians Clubhouse. Instead he turned north, away from Whiskey Run, and we’re on the stretch of highway that leads to Jasper.
I don’t ask questions, and I’m not going to complain. I lean into him, my hands tight against his abdomen, and rest a cheek on his back. We ride for awhile, and he stops at a diner that I’ve never been to before.
He orders us burgers and fries, and I’m patting my hair as he smiles at me. “My hair is a mess.”
He just shakes his head, looking at me intently. “You look beautiful.”
I look around the half empty restaurant. “What are we doing here, Boss?”
“Eating.”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, I get that, but what are we doing here? I thought you were taking me…”
I let my voice trail off, and he leans toward me with a challenge. “You thought what?”
I point my finger around the restaurant. “You don’t have to do all this. I know what this is, and you don’t have to dress it up and make it pretty.”
He fists his hands on top of the table and leans toward me. “What do you mean, dress it up and make it pretty?”
I shrug. “I mean, I’m not expecting you to wine me and dine me. Like I said, I know what this is.”
He growls and shakes his head. “You should make this a little harder, Lexi.”
I sit back in my seat with a jerk, unable to hide the hurt from my voice. “Do you think I’m a slut?”
“What? No, I—”
I lean in and whisper to him, “I’m not a slut, Ben Dalton. I’ve slept with one man. It’s not like I go around throwing myself at random men or anything, but one thing you should know about me is that I know who I am, and I go after what I want. I want you. I know you don’t want more than…” I pull my shoulders back and spit the rest out before I lose the nerve. “I feel like if I don’t do this… if I don’t…”
“What?” He grunts. “If you don’t do this, what?”
I avert my eyes, looking anywhere but him. He reaches across the table and wraps his hand around mine. His voice is deep and gruff. “You feel like if you don’t do this then you’d be missing out on the best experience of your life. Like the attraction between us is combustible, and your body is practically vibrating from the need to have me?”
My body has betrayed me again. “How did you know?”
He blinks at me. He’s not happy as he says the words. “Because I feel the exact same way, Lex. I feel like I might die if I don’t have you, but then I also know that if I do, my life will never be the same. I’m fighting this battle because I know that what I am, who I am, doesn’t deserve you. Can you see that I’m trying to save you here?”
I jut my chin at him. “I don’t need to be saved. I need someone to hold me. I need to feel alive. I need to feel like I mean something to someone.”
The door to the restaurant opens, and Ben pulls his hand back from mine, his head on a swivel as he looks toward the door. Instantly, I turn to look, but it’s just an older couple coming in to have dinner. “What’s wrong?” I ask him.
He shakes his head, not answering.
The server brings our food, and we eat in silence. The longer we sit here, the more on edge I feel. Am I completely making a fool of myself? When the meal is over, Boss pays and then walks with me outside. I get onto his bike and am feeling somewhat deflated now. He rides back toward Whiskey Run, and when he puts on the turn signal to pull into Heat & Ink, I grip him tighter without thinking. He’s dropping me off at my car. We’re not doing this.
Just as I’ve told myself it’s okay, that I’m going to be okay, he surprises me by not stopping in the parking lot. He drives around to the back of the store and then down a long driveway. I’m watching over his shoulder, and a small cabin comes into sight. He stops in front of it and parks. His body is taut, and I can feel him take a deep breath. “You sure about this, Lexi?”