Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 39123 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 156(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39123 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 156(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
Our mouths moved together in sync, our kiss soft and slow. It tugged at every single one of my senses and left me reeling, but this moment with him felt as right as every moment I shared with Sophia.
And now that I had the opportunity to have this with him, I wasn’t pushing it away. I wasn’t going to question my feelings or my identity. I almost lost this opportunity. To get a second chance at it… I was lucky as fuck. I wouldn’t take it for granted.
“A part of me thought I’d dreamed of you rescuing me,” I croaked when he pulled back, his dark eyes searching mine.
He chuckled, a small smile tilting his lips, making the corners of his eyes crinkle. My fingers twitched with the urge to touch them, so I did. God, it felt so good to touch him again. To know I hadn’t lost this.
He sighed, like my touch had lifted a huge weight from his back, and closed his eyes, leaning his face into my palm. I rubbed my thumb along his skin, my heart tripping in my chest.
I hadn’t fucking lost this.
There had to be some kind of deity out there. Had to be.
“Nah, babe, it was all real,” he assured me. He took a seat on the edge of my hospital bed, then grabbed my hand in his, holding it on his thigh. Our fingers laced together like it was second nature, his palm warm and calloused against mine.
Trigger was dressed down in a pair of gray sweatpants, and now that I thought about it, I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen him in anything but jeans. Couldn’t deny I liked the look of him in sweats. That dick print was everything.
“Do you remember anything?” Trigger asked me. I blinked at him, bringing myself back to the conversation at hand. “Can you tell me what the fuck happened to you?” He closed his eyes for a moment, sucking in a deep breath. “Chase… you were barely fucking alive when I finally found you.”
I sighed, then grimaced because sighing hurt. “I was run off the road. Got pinned beneath my bike and couldn’t fucking move. They took advantage of that. When I woke up, I was chained to that fucking table you found me on, and it was just…” My lips twisted into a grimace, and even though I was high as fuck on whatever drug the doctor had me on, I could still feel the phantom pain of knives slicing through my skin, of being flipped onto my stomach and raped… “It was a lot of pain from there. I was in and out of consciousness a lot.”
Trigger’s fingers tightened around my hand before he forced himself to loosen his grip at my pained grunt. I glanced toward the IV bag. I was sure I was being administered medication through it. When the hell was I due for more meds again? Because whatever had me on a fluffy cloud when I woke up was quickly fading away, and I wanted that floaty feeling back.
“The Pakhan was there,” I told him quietly. “All I know is they want territory, and it’s ours they want. I’m guessing they wanted Aaliyah, but I’m sure Johnston put her on fucking lockdown.”
Trigger nodded. “The moment he found those pictures and that note on his bike, he kept her close.” He blew out a harsh breath. “Sophia is a fucking mess, Chase. She didn’t handle you going missing well, and when I called to tell her how you were doing…” He swallowed thickly. “I’ll never forget the sound of her screams.”
I flinched, looking away from him. He gently squeezed my hand, reminding me he was there with me. That I wasn’t alone.
I didn’t deserve it. Had I not run, our woman wouldn’t be drowning in her fear of losing me.
“I shouldn’t have fucking run off. I always do that shit. And this time… well, it fucking costed me.” Bitterness coated my words. “I should’ve fucking stayed. I knew you wouldn’t have pressured me for anything and neither would Sophia. But I was having a fucking identity crisis, and it felt like my skin was too goddamn tight.”
“Don’t,” Trigger said, his voice low. “We’re not doing this shit, Chase. Because if we are, then there are things I should’ve and could’ve fucking done, too.” He leaned over me again, those impossibly dark eyes boring into mine again with so much intensity, they stole the breath from my lungs. “The past is the past. What we’re going to focus on instead is getting you healed, back on your bike, and tearing these mother fuckers apart for touching you.”
And then, he sealed that vow with a kiss that settled me in a way only Sophia had ever been capable of doing.
“Just promise me something?” he asked, his voice rough and gravely. He smoothed his lips over mine in another kiss, like he just couldn’t help himself. And honestly, I didn’t want him to fucking stop.