Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 47714 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 239(@200wpm)___ 191(@250wpm)___ 159(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47714 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 239(@200wpm)___ 191(@250wpm)___ 159(@300wpm)
He laughed, the sound rough, as though it had been a while since he’d let himself. “Guess you do.”
“There’s no guessing about it.”
“Doesn’t mean you don’t need another demonstration.” Chance’s hand slipped beneath the hem of the shirt, his palm rough and warm against my skin. When his thumb brushed the underside of my breast, I couldn’t hold back the soft sound that escaped me.
He caught it with another kiss, stealing my breath until nothing was left but the heat between us.
Then the front door opened.
“What the fuck?”
Jaxton’s voice. Disbelieving and deadly.
Oh shit. I froze. Chance stiffened instantly, every muscle in his body going rigid before he lifted me off the counter and set me on my feet. Then he moved in front of me, his body the only thing between me and the explosion building in the doorway.
The door slammed shut behind Kane and my brother, the sound ricocheting through the house.
I peeked around Chance’s side to stare at Jaxton. He stood there, his chest heaving. Shock flickered in his eyes first, then betrayal. And finally, pure fury.
Behind him, Kane’s presence filled the space, steady and immovable. His expression was harder to read, but his jaw was tight, and his eyes carried that same unspoken warning I’d seen too many times in my brother’s gaze.
“Jax.” Kane stepped forward like he meant to contain the blast before it happened.
“Don’t.” Jaxton’s glare never left Chance. “He’s got his hands all over my little sister—”
“My woman,” Chance cut in, his voice dangerous in a way that made the air go still. “Watch your tone.”
“You were supposed to be protecting her!” Jaxton accused.
“Stop it.” My voice trembled, but I forced the word out anyway. “Please, just stop.”
Kane finally stepped between them, his tone edged with command. “Take a breath, both of you. This isn’t helping her.”
Jaxton’s nostrils flared, but he took half a step back. His gaze cut to me, the anger in it laced with something far worse—hurt. “Alanna…”
I swallowed hard, my throat burning. “I’m fine, Jaxton.”
“Doesn’t look that way.”
“Outside,” Chance growled, jerking his chin toward the door.
Kane’s gaze shifted between the two men before he wrapped his hand around my brother’s bicep. “He’s right. We’re not doing this in here.”
A muscle jumped in Jaxton’s jaw, and he gave a jerky nod.
Chance reached behind him, his fingers brushing mine in a wordless reassurance before he instructed, “Stay in here, Alanna.”
Something in his voice made me obey. I stayed where I was as he followed Kane and Jaxton out the door.
But it didn’t take long for me to decide that I couldn’t just stand there and listen from the safety of the house. The door hadn’t even closed before I was moving.
By the time I reached the porch, Chance stood a few feet from my brother, the two of them locked in a standoff with both refusing to yield.
He didn’t flinch when Jaxton got in his face, and I knew it was only his loyalty that held Chance back. And he didn’t back down even when my brother’s hands curled into fists. He just stood there, solid and unmovable, protecting me even when it meant standing against his best friend.
And that realization hit me harder than any shouted word could’ve.
“Jaxton, stop!” My voice came out sharper than I expected.
All three of them turned at once.
My brother’s gaze dropped to the shirt I was wearing. Chance’s shirt.
His expression shifted from furious to murderous in a single heartbeat.
He took a step toward me, his expression tight. “Alanna.”
Before he could say more, Chance moved—a deliberate step in front of me, his arm half extended like a shield. “Go back inside, Alanna.”
“No.” My pulse hammered so loudly, I could hear it in my ears. “I’m not hiding while you two—”
“Please.”
That one word broke something in me. It wasn’t an order or a demand. It was a plea. His voice cracked, the sound carrying more weight than any fight could.
My throat ached as I nodded and stepped back toward the door.
When it closed behind me, the last thing I saw through the glass was Chance—his shoulders squared and head high, facing down my brother like a man ready to fight for more than just his life.
17
DRIFT
The door clicked shut behind Alanna, sealing her inside before the storm outside broke loose. I stepped off the porch, the boards creaking under my feet, and Jax’s fist slammed into my jaw.
The hit snapped my head to the side, and I tasted copper instantly. It rolled over my tongue, sharp and metallic. I didn’t move for a second—just let the shock of it settle, my jaw tight and my eyes fixed on the man who’d thrown the punch.
The air between us pulsed with fury, heavy as the humidity rolling off the ocean.
Jax’s chest heaved under his black tee, his shoulders squared and muscles rigid. His expression was fury carved in stone—eyes narrowed and teeth bared. The veins in his neck stood out like cords under his skin. He looked like a man seconds away from breaking every rule he’d ever lived by.