Series: Cobalt Empire Series by Krista Ritchie
Total pages in book: 234
Estimated words: 226965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1135(@200wpm)___ 908(@250wpm)___ 757(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 226965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1135(@200wpm)___ 908(@250wpm)___ 757(@300wpm)
On Friday, I spend the night again, and I learn that Ben is strong. Made evident by the steamy minutes in the bathroom where he bounces me on his dick. While standing. A climax ripples through my whole body. I see stars. And I discover that our first time wasn’t a fluke. Sex with Ben is an emotional, physical, mental exhilaration I can’t fathom might end.
I stop believing it will.
On Saturday, I’m seriously buzzing when he invites me to his place again. Even after our long shift at the End of the World, I want nothing more than to curl into Ben’s embrace. I’ve noticed his brothers are big night owls. Charlie, Beckett, and Tom are up and wired at 3 a.m. while I’m about to pass out.
So I vaguely listen to their conversation while I lie against Ben, his hand stroking my hair. That coupled with the lights they dimmed in the living room are lulling me to sleep. They’ve congregated around the pull-out, nursing waters since they all drank tonight except Ben.
Beckett and Charlie are on the swivel chairs. And Tom—he’s lying on the bottom of the mattress like he’s about to be fed grapes. Thankfully I’m short enough that he’s not fucking with my feet. I’m pretty sure I hear Ben warn him not to mess with me.
They’re discussing what to get for their niece’s first birthday.
“I vote we let Beckett Joyce pick out the gifts,” Tom says.
It’s the last thing I hear before I doze off. Then I’m startled awake to a heavy slam. I jolt against Ben. He holds me tighter, his hand cupping my head.
“It’s okay,” he murmurs against my ear. “You’re okay. Eliot just came home.”
I swallow the brief surge of alarm, but I don’t untense. Ben’s muscles contract in taut bands. As I register my surroundings, I realize Charlie and Beckett are still awake.
They’re on their feet when Eliot stumbles into the apartment, his arm slung around a gorgeous brunette. “Brooothers!” Eliot grins a magnetic, wily grin.
“Baby,” the girl coos to him. “I want to see your room.”
He pays less attention to her as he walks farther inside. His playful behavior contains extra flair as he bops Charlie and Beckett on the nose back and forth. “Fancy. Seeing. You. Here.” Charlie smacks his hand away.
“You smell like a distillery,” Beckett says.
“The distillery smells like me,” Eliot bops him again.
He’s not slurring, but by Beckett and Charlie’s unamused demeanor, this must be Eliot very, very drunk. Even Ben shifts to an upright sitting position.
“We’re just going to bed,” the girl says, maintaining effortless balance in her four-inch heels. “We’ll be out of your way. Come on, baby.” She tugs him in the wrong direction of his room. Which means she’s never been here before.
My sleepy haze totally wears off when Beckett says, “He’s going to bed alone. We’ll call you a cab—”
“Uh, no, no. Baby.” She squeezes Eliot’s hand. He’s gripping onto the kitchen island like he might keel over without the support. “I’ll put him to bed.”
“You’re not staying,” Charlie sneers, taking a much meaner approach. “Leave.”
She scoffs. “You have to be joking.” Her gaze roams the apartment and lands on…me? “Oh so she can stay but I can’t?”
I recoil with a glare. Leave me out of this. A weird feeling tosses my stomach until Ben tucks me closer to his chest.
“There are things called boundaries. And doors.” Charlie points to the exit. “Do yourself a favor and walk out of it.”
“Really?”
“No, I’m joking,” he says irritably. “This is so much fun for me.” He points again. “Go. And no, I will not call you a cab. Get one yourself.”
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Right now, you.”
“Eliot,” Beckett calls out.
“Brooother,” Eliot grins again, wrapping his arms around his older brother in a bear-hug and abandoning the girl. It allows Beckett to start guiding him to bed.
“Ben,” Beckett asks for his help as he reaches the pull-out.
Ben checks on me first, sending a fucking flutter to my chest before he leaps over the couch. Eliot bops his head and ruffles his hair. “MY BROTHERS!” he bellows, curving his arms around them. But really, they’re basically carting his full weight into the bedroom.
Charlie blocks the girl from following.
She gives him a lengthy once-over, her arms crossing. “Charlie Cobalt, right? You think you’re a god. I bet you’re a knockoff version of your dad. I bet you aren’t even half his size.” Her gaze is firmly on his dick.
I’m on my knees, about to climb off the mattress, like maybe he needs some assistance. But what the hell am I going to do? I grab a pillow. Great, Harriet, let’s have a fucking pillow fight.
Charlie wears a lethal expression. He walks forward, forcing her to take a couple steps backward toward the door. She’s cackling like it’s a game. He looms over her, and when he yanks the door open behind her, she grabs a fistful of his crotch.