Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 43689 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 218(@200wpm)___ 175(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43689 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 218(@200wpm)___ 175(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
“She can take care of herself,” Hawk observed. “Girl’s got a mouth on her.”
“Yeah, she does,” I agreed, remembering the taste of it, soft and warm under mine. I shifted my weight, suddenly uncomfortable.
One by one, the single members of the club made their way to Ellie, offering drinks, compliments, and probably propositions I couldn’t hear. She deflected them all with that humor of hers, her eyes occasionally flicking toward where I stood, though she never quite looked directly at me.
“Ten bucks says she goes home with Ranger tonight,” Gunnar said, nudging Knuckles.
“Fuck that, she’s got better taste. My money’s on Griffin,” Knuckles replied.
“Never happen.”
“Might want to keep an eye on Knight there.” Hawk nudged Gunnar’s shoulder. All of them ignored me now. “Creepy as that fucker is, he has this whole cinnamon roll thing goin’ on chicks dig.”
The casual way they bet on her, like she was some prize to be won, made something snap inside me. My vision narrowed, blood pounding in my ears. “Shut the fuck up,” I snarled, surprising even myself with the venom in my voice.
“Well, damn,” Knuckles said with a grin. “It’s like that, huh?”
Before I could answer, movement across the room caught my attention. Noose had sidled up to Ellie. Unlike the others, he didn’t bother with a drink offering. Instead, he went straight for contact, his hand sliding possessively over her arm as he leaned in close to her ear.
I saw her stiffen, then she smiled up at him like he was the only person in her world. Something primitive and violent surged through me. The bottle slipped from my fingers, shattering on the floor as I pushed off from the wall. I was moving before I’d consciously decided to, shoving through bodies that suddenly felt like obstacles in my path.
The music seemed to warp and stretch, the laughter around me dying as I closed the distance. All I could see was Noose’s hand on Ellie’s arm and the way she gave him one of her beautiful smiles that should be all fucking mine.
I grabbed him by the collar, yanking him backward with enough force that he stumbled. Before he could regain his balance, I slammed him against the nearest table, my forearm across his throat.
“She’s mine,” I roared, the words tearing from somewhere deep and primal inside me. They echoed off the metal surfaces of the clubhouse, bouncing back at me in the sudden silence that had fallen. My chest heaved with each breath, adrenaline coursing through me like wildfire. Noose struggled briefly against my hold, then went still, looking up at me with an expression I couldn’t read.
Then, to my surprise, he smirked. His hand came up to clap me on the shoulder.
“‘Bout fuckin’ time,” he wheezed around the pressure on his throat. “Now the rest of these fuckers can pay up cause they each owe me a hundred bucks for winnin’ the fuckin’ bet.”
I blinked, the red haze of rage slowly receding. “What bet?”
Noose’s grin widened. “How long it’d take you to claim your woman. I said within the week. Everyone else thought you’d pussy out for at least a month.”
I released him slowly, awareness of my surroundings returning in pieces. The entire club was roaring in laughter, even as the guys reached for their wallets.
“You set me up,” I said, the realization dawning.
“Had to.” Noose shrugged, straightening his cut. “You were driving everyone crazy with the brooding and the staring. Something had to give. We also wanted to feel Elvira out. See if she wanted you or if one of us could coax her into givin’ us a chance.”
“She didn’t know?”
“Hell no.” Noose waved my question off. “Had to keep it fair. If you didn’t know, she didn’t know.”
I turned to find Ellie standing a few feet away, her eyes wide and cheeks flushed. I couldn’t read her expression, couldn’t tell if she was angry or amused or something else entirely. But as our eyes locked across the short distance, I knew one thing for certain. I hadn’t lied. She was mine. Had been since the moment she’d stood up to me about those damn cats. And now everyone knew it, including her.
The question was, what the hell was I going to do about it?
I didn’t wait for the rest of the club to start collecting their bets. With my heart still pounding in my ears, I crossed the remaining distance to Ellie and took her hand. Her fingers were cold against my palm, but she didn’t pull away. “Come with me,” I said, my voice rough even to my own ears. Without waiting for an answer, I led her through the crowd, ignoring the knowing looks and wolf whistles that followed us. I needed somewhere quiet, somewhere we could talk without an audience of grinning idiots watching our every move.