Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
“What?”
She’s whispering. “My handler. He’s…” She turns, facing the wall to her left. “He’s possessive and expects full submission.”
“Wow. They really did a number on you, didn’t they?”
She scoffs, her voice normal again. “Look who’s talking. You’re here and you actually think it’s a second chance. They’ve got a hold of your mind, Shep. You’re a puppet.”
“Bitch, you just told me that your handler chokes you out as part of your compliance protocol. I threatened you, and all it did was get your panties wet. So let’s definitely have that conversation about who’s a puppet and who’s not.”
Her smile is smarmy now. I’m concentrating on that because she’s actually really pretty when she’s all worked up like this, and the next thing I know, she’s got her hand between my legs. “OK. Let’s see who’s the puppet, Shep.”
“Don’t start something you can’t finish.”
Her fingers dig into my jeans, squeezing me. And I’ve been hard this whole time, so all it feels is… good.
Then next thing I know, I’ve got her pressed up against the wall, my hand back on her throat, and we’re kissing. Sloppy, open-mouth fucking kissing. I’m pressing against her neck and she’s grinding on me like she’s about to come any second now. And her fingertips are pulling my shirt up, tantalizingly flitting against my stomach as she tries to work the button on my jeans and—
The door slams closed out in the hallway and she and I break apart.
But not before Amon fucking Parrish enters the feed room.
He looks at her.
He looks at me.
He looks back at her. “What the fuck is going on here?”
Olive smiles. “Uh… Amon, right?”
“Don’t play games with me, Olive. I’m in a bad mood.”
She smiles bigger, then shrugs a shoulder, nodding her head towards me. “He’s…” She looks down at my hard-on, which makes Amon look down at my hard-on, and then she says, in a sugar-sweet voice, “Fun. And I’m a grown-up, so… maybe you should just mind your own fuckin’ business?”
I swear to God, Amon almost loses his shit. I watch in real time as he struggles to hold it in, growling back at her in a dangerously low voice that was honed to terrorize. “Get the fuck out of my kennel, Olive. Right now.”
She squints her eyes at him. And for a moment, I don’t think she’s gonna go. But when I glance at Amon, she and I see the same thing.
Malice.
We see a man who has killed many people.
Olive sucks in a breath, gives me a final look, then squares her shoulders and pushes past him. “I’ll see you later, Shep. We can finish our conversation then.”
The door slams closed one more time, and she’s gone.
Amon turns to me. “What the fuck are you doing? Do you have any idea who that is?”
“Oh, trust me,” I say. “I know exactly who she is.”
Amon’s eyes go narrow. “Do you… do you know each other?”
“Know each other? No. But we’ve met.”
Amon lowers his voice to almost a whisper. “Did you fuck Collin’s baby sister?”
“Not yet.” And then, even though I know what’s coming, I laugh. And it’s still coming out when I’m hitting the floor.
Amon turns, shaking his hand, his knuckles all bloody. “Pack your shit and get out.”
“No,” I say, getting up and spitting out the blood. “No. I’m not packing my shit. She came on to me. She’s the one you should be pissed off at. So no, Amon. I’ve got a contract and I’m not packing my shit just because Collin’s little sister likes…” I almost say it. I mean, I’m very fucking close to saying what that girl likes. But it’s a touch too far, so I don’t.
“Likes what?” Amon prods.
“Me. That’s what. It’s not my fault she likes me. And I didn’t know who she was when we met. It was in some bar.” I don’t add that she was whoring herself out because I figure that’s really not my story to tell. “I didn’t know who she was until last weekend. And I thought she was lying until I saw her walking down the damn driveway this morning. I came in here to work and she followed me. The next thing I know, she’s grabbing my dick, OK? And… yeah. I let her. That’s it. That’s what happened. So fuck you. It really is none of your business.”
Then I leave, spitting out some more blood on the concrete floor as I grab my puppy from his kennel and take him outside to work.
16 - Olive
Outside the sun is bright and confusing. Add in the fact that I’m new here, there are strange people everywhere, and the barking dogs are making noise akin to a deafening thunderstorm, and it’s more than confusing, it’s disorienting. My vision blurs, my body swaying a little like the earth is moving under my feet, and for a moment I think I might fall over.