Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 68308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
He’s too alluring to pull away from. This spark of power lights up inside of me that I have Jax in front of me, kissing me as though I’m the air he needs to breathe. He tastes of mint and something that is all him. I can’t place it, but I could almost swear it’s control.
“Oh.”
I gasp, making Jax and me jerk away from each other. I brace my hands on the desk behind me, feeling dazed. My heart is pounding in my chest.
“I guess I should have knocked.” In the doorway is a mini Cosima, smirking. I know I've seen her before. I believe her name is Nix.
"Do you need something?" Jax asks, turning to partially face her, keeping one hand on the desk, my shoulder pressed to his chest.
"Mom said you had a girl up here. I had to see for myself."
"You're not dating. I'm years older than you."
"What! That's not fair. You have a girl in your room with the door closed going at it." She throws her hands up. Yeah, she is a mini Cosima. Only this version is all fired up.
“It’s still a no on you dating,” Jax tells her.
“You can’t control what I do or stop boys from asking me out.” I almost let out a laugh, but I somehow manage to hold it in. I want to tell her that Jax actually can do exactly that. I’m living proof. But I don’t say a word because this is brother-sister stuff.
Silence stretches in the room as the two of them stare each other down.
“I’m Kinsley.” I peek around Jax to formally introduce myself. I’m sure Cosima already filled in most of the details for Nix.
“Hi.” She gives me a quick smile. “Wait, what age did you start dating?” Oh no. I’m not being pulled into this. Thankfully, Jax steps in.
“All right, you’re done. It was the first day at school.” He pushes off the desk, walking toward her. “There isn’t anyone worth your time in there.”
“You don’t know that,” she huffs. Nix has to drop her head back to stare up at her brother. She’s not scared of him in the slightest. “You probably scared them all away.”
She is not wrong, but I keep my mouth firmly shut, which is no easy feat for me. Plus, I’m enjoying this exchange, getting a deeper glimpse into the dynamics of this family.
“I will scare off every douche that tries to get close to you.”
“This isn’t fair.”
“You know—” I chime in. Yeah, I lasted two seconds being quiet. “If your brothers can scare them off, then they aren’t worth having.”
“Exactly.” Jax smirks, his eyes locking with mine. Well, shit. That backfired to a degree, but that doesn’t make what I said wrong. If they won’t fight to be with you, then they’re not worth your time. "Now if you don't mind…"
"I do mind, actually." She folds her arms over her chest.
"Are you done?"
"When I'm ready to be." Nix stands there for another couple of seconds. "Okay, I'm done for now, and I'm leaving because I want to leave and not because you're nudging me out the door."
"Right." Jax's sarcasm can't be missed.
"It was nice meeting you." Nix gives me a little wave, wiggling her fingers. "My rudeness is purely for him."
"I get it." I don't. I grew up alone except for the hired staff, but I want to get it.
"And—" Nix lets out a loud, dramatic sigh. "While he can be annoying, as I'm sure you're aware—"
"I am." Jax only shakes his head again.
"He's a good one. But he's a little crazy. That's just girl to girl."
"Thanks for the heads-up."
"Anytime," she chirps.
"All right, out you go." Jax ushers her out the door, shutting it and flipping the lock. Not sure what that does with a house of Marinos, but okay.
“She’s the crazy one,” Jax says with a smile.
“It’s probably just in the blood.”
“Got us there.” Jax is already clearing the space between us. “Now, where were we?”
“Nope.” I put my hands out, but that doesn’t stop him from coming closer. In fact, he doesn't stop until my hands are pressed to his chest. “Where we need to be is on this story—case. Whatever you call it.” I try to refocus.
“I have one of my cousins checking the footage from the warehouse.”
“I only saw one camera, and it was facing the wrong direction.”
“I know. We don’t have any footage of that timeframe, but we can go back to see who has been driving up and down or walking the road that runs along it. They have to have been lingering before.” That’s not a bad idea at all.
“You have cameras on the streets?”
“Nope, but the city does.”
“Wait, so are you going to reach out to them?” I thought he didn’t want to call the police.
“No, Mac can get the footage.” I know of Mac. She didn’t go to the same prep school as the rest of us, but I have seen her at games there. I heard she's brilliant and was in college by the age of fourteen.