Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 24931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
“We’re over, Roxy. I’ve told you too many times.” My words come out harsher than I intended, but I can’t let Roxy fuck things up for me. Not now. Not when I’ve just claimed Tammy. Not with everything changing.
Roxy’s eyes flare. She’s not backing down. Of course she’s not. It’s not in her nature. “Oh, you think I haven’t heard you?” she asks, her sharp tone hiding something deeper, possibly threatening. “I heard you, Saxon. But I also know you’re full of shit.”
“Don’t start, Roxy–”
“You want to act like this little girl means something to you?” she spits out, pointing a threatening finger at Tammy. My protective instincts flare. This can’t continue. “Fine. Go ahead. But I know who you really are, Saxon. What you’re really like.”
Every one of her words strikes a nerve in me, and I feel the pain of our past like a knife to my spine. I shouldn’t ask her this, but I can’t help myself and snap back, “Yeah? And what’s that?”
She smiles triumphantly.
Shit. I played right into her game like an idiot.
I’m off my game now, and it’s all because of Tammy. It’s like I’m morphing into a whole new man.
“You’re in love with me,” Roxy replies smugly. I scoff, coughing out a laugh. “You broke up with me because you don’t want to admit it, but it’s okay, bubby. You can come back to Momma whenever you want. I’ll be here.”
I hear Tammy shift beneath the sheets behind me and reach back and place a hand on her waist. “Don’t listen to her,” I whisper. “She’s just trying to cause problems.”
I’m pretty sure I see her nod, but I can’t imagine the confusion and pain she’s feeling now. This is beyond awkward for both of us. I’m used to dealing with Roxy, though. She isn’t.
When I turn back, I see Roxy smiling at us with a dark, calculating gaze, her red lips twisting into an amused smile. “I think I’ll get going now,” she says, hamming it up with an overload of phony sweetness.
She turns and walks out, shaking her hips on the way like she used to do when we were together. I look away, just wanting her to get the fuck out of here, and when the door closes behind her, I take a deep breath and sit back down on the bed.
I run my fingers through Tammy’s hair, but her body stiffens at my touch. When she rolls over to face me, I see a look in her eyes that I can’t quite read. So I lean in and press my lips to her forehead, praying she won’t pull away or just grab her clothes and get the hell out of here.
Thankfully, she doesn’t move.
In fact, I’m pretty sure I hear her take a deep, happy breath as I kiss her.
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper, feeling like the world’s biggest asshole. I should have taken that key back ages ago. I never should have let this happen. “Roxy and I have…history. But she’s nothing to me now. I don’t want her, Tammy. I only want you.”
She doesn’t respond right away. She just looks up at me with these big, innocent, doe eyes, like she’s analyzing me–trying to read my mind. My heart goes tense when I see the gleam from the hint of tears. The pain there that I caused with the mess from my past.
But she doesn’t look away.
After a long moment, she reaches out and offers her hand. I take it, clasping it between both of mine.
“I believe you,” she says softly, drenching me in the warmth of relief. Her voice is somewhat hesitant but solid. And as I look down at her, I make a promise to myself that I will never let Roxy, or anyone else, get in the way of building a life with Tammy. “I’m not going anywhere, Saxon.”
“Good.” I smile, my voice still rough. I kiss her again, this time with a promise of commitment. With the pledge of something deep and real.
My hands move across her body, caressing every naked curve, every silky-smooth inch. She quivers, and as I harden, I lay my body down on top of hers and slide inside. She lets out a soft, tiny gasp as I begin to rut inside her, slow and deliberate, like we’re making passionate love.
But as euphoric as I am, I know this isn’t over. Roxy’s still out there, and unless I’m wrong, she’s planning something. And if I don’t watch out, she’ll ruin everything.
5
TAMMY
The air is thick with the scent of stale beer and spilled whiskey, tinged with the scattered curls of smoke emanating from the ashtrays in the corner tables. Yeah, this is a bar where people still smoke. I doubt anyone in here even knows what a vape is.
The dull hum of conversation and the clinking of glasses is just a faded murmur in the back of my mind as I wipe a wet rag across the countertop. Jayne’s bar may be a place where people come to forget their troubles and lose themselves in the murk of alcohol–a place where I can think of nothing as I go about my job. But tonight is different. Tonight, my mind is somewhere else.