Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 127146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
She frowns at me and crosses her arms over her chest, her hair looking more like a halo now. I want my fingers in it, to tug it tight and watch her mouth part. She belongs to me, and I won't be leaving this carnival without her. Stewart laughs between sending glares my way. Sebastian hands him another three balls, and I yawn and bounce my foot, waiting.
He tries two more times and misses both times. Pathetic, and he calls himself a basketball player? Bel steps up beside him and takes his last ball. He bows like he's conceding a prize and steps out of her way.
What are you up to, flower…
I keep my eyes locked on hers while she raises her arms and lines up the shot. I exhale and count back from ten, watching her. Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. The ball leaves her hand and smashes against the target, sending me ass first into the water. I almost inhale a gallon of water from the smile that pulls at my lips and rise to the surface, coughing. Laughter cuts through the sloshing of the tank when I reach the surface, but I discover everyone except Bel is laughing. Instead, she casts a guilty glance my way and follows Stewart the fucking dick, away from the booth to another one. Not fucking happening.
“I’m done for the night,” I announce while climbing out of the tank. I grab the duffel bag of dry clothes I had Sebastian stash for me earlier.
“I have you on for four hours,” Sebastian replies.
“Sounds like a you problem.”
My only priority at the moment is making sure Maybel learns her place. If she thinks I’m going to sit here and let her be paraded around this place by another man, she’s out of her fucking mind. I keep my eyes trained on her back as I dry off and pull on a clean T-shirt.
“That girl’s got an arm on her.” Aries walks up, crossing his thick arms over his chest. He’s wearing his usual perma-scowl, though his tone is curious.
Before I can say anything to him, Sebastian interjects in a menacing whisper, “Didn’t our conversation at the library mean anything to you?”
I slip into the self-made changing booth, swap out my boxers for dry ones, pull on a shirt and tug on a pair of jeans. I shove my feet into my boots and exit the changing room, coming face-to-face with Sebastian. His expression is unreadable, but I don’t give a fuck about what he thinks. Not right now at least. “Your opinion doesn't mean shit to me, Seb. She’s mine, and I will do whatever the fuck I want with her. Get off my back about it, or we'll have problems. You're one of my best friends, but you don’t get to tell me what to do.” I lean in so my mouth is near his ear. “Not even if my father is paying you to make sure it stays otherwise.”
I don’t give him the opportunity to respond. Time is being wasted as it is. Back at the front of the booth, Lee mocks the gawkers with lewd comments while handing out tickets in Sebastian's place. They love it, and he is so much better at this than I am. Unease coats my insides. I scan the crowd, looking for Bel and her...date.
If Bel wants to play games, then we can play games, but she should know better than anyone else that I don’t play fair, and when I get my hands on her, there will be hell to pay. I thought I’d made it clear that she belongs to me, but I guess I’ll have to do something drastic to show her otherwise.
“Aries! Lee! Follow me.”
CHAPTER 20
BEL
I know I shouldn't feel so pleased with myself about dunking him, but the smirk on his face when I grabbed that ball just pissed me off. As usual, he underestimated me.
He'll make me pay for it when he gets out of the tank and off volunteer duty, but for now, I feel a little like I've won. And I really need a win, both in life and against Drew.
Part of me thinks he sees me as a scared little rabbit, and that's the only reason he continues to mess with me. Maybe that's true. He certainly hasn't said anything besides you belong to me a whole damn lot, so I don't know what's going on in his head.
Maybe that's it. He has a concussion, and this obsession he seems to have will pass once his head is straight again. Either way, he won't appreciate me dunking him, so I want to put as much distance as I can get between us.
I turn to Stewart and point toward a water gun game. "Do you want to try this one?"