Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 119852 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 599(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119852 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 599(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
I glance at Riggs and see that there’s a ticking muscle in his jaw where he’s clenching it so hard. Okay, so Kayla’s crashing out and Riggs is retreating to the safety of Asshole-landia, which means this is all on me. My time to shine.
Priority one, Kayla.
I move up to her side. Following my lead, Riggs is instantly at her other side, and she looks back and forth between us with stormy blue eyes. I can see the fear in their depths. She doesn’t know what to do, what to say. No, she doesn’t know who to be. Her bubble of safety with us, still so fragile and new, has been shattered by Kyle’s presence.
“Be you, Princess. We’ve got your back,” I say quietly, reminding her of who she is—if she chooses to be.
Kyle makes a choking noise. “I’m sorry, did he just call you Princess? What Twilight Zone have I entered? Is this a prank?” He looks around the living room like a camera crew might pop out from behind the couch. “Okay, you can come out now. You got me,” he calls out.
“Or you could do the cold-hearted bitch act you’ve perfected. Of anyone, he fucking deserves it.” Riggs gives her a cocky smirk, lending her some of his bad attitude, and I’m almost certain the breathy sound Kayla makes is a tiny laugh.
“Act?” Kyle mutters. “Do these guys know you at all?”
I swear if he doesn’t shut the fuck up, I’m gonna punch him, which would be a gift as far as I’m concerned, because a hit from me would be a hell of a lot kinder than the one from Riggs he’s basically begging for.
Riggs nods at her and then I do the same, silently supporting however she wants to play this.
She tilts her head, thinking… no, strategizing… and I can nearly see the mantle of authority drop over her. She might be bare-faced, bare-footed, and in nothing more than a T-shirt, but she’s power personified and this is the slaughter I want to see first-hand—Kayla at work.
“Kyle, who I fuck, who I date, who I spend any amount of time with at all, is none of your business, if and until I want it to be. And I just started figuring things out myself so I really don’t want you fucking this up for me. Satisfied?”
With every biting word, she’s taken another step toward him until she’s right in his face, her finger digging into his chest. To his credit, he doesn’t move back but rather, stands his ground, which takes balls.
“Figuring things out?” he parrots, his brow furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean? Like, I know these guys have a reputation for this,” he waves a hand to indicate all three of us, “but are you saying that you’re not just getting Eiffel Towered by them for shits and gigs? You’re what? Actually dating them, both of them?” Kyle seems genuinely confused by the concept as he points at Riggs and me, and I swear he’s counting to three on repeat in his head. One-two-three, one-two-three.
Yep, still three of us, asshole.
“Like you’re really a throuple?” he finally manages to ask.
Waiting for Kayla to say yes is probably the longest two heartbeats of my life. The only thing that makes it bearable is that she moves back between us and puts an arm around our waists. “We haven’t gotten that far, but I am seeing both Riggs and Maddox.”
Okay, it’s not a full-blown declaration of love and adoration, but it’s also not ‘we’re fucking casually’, so I’ll take the win, because it’s a hard statement to stand ten toes down on. This is new for Riggs and me too, something I’ve never had to do either, so I can only imagine how much courage it’s taking to do it before she’s truly ready. Besides, there’s this weird fluttery sensation in my chest, and despite being in peak physical condition, I might be having a heart attack at hearing Kayla say those words so clearly.
Swallowing my own nerves, I place a kiss at her temple and say proudly, “Fuck yeah, you are.”
Light fills Kyle’s eyes and a huge grin blooms on his face. “Two guesses who’s not gonna be the black sheep of the family anymore, and the first one doesn’t count,” he taunts, doing a silly little celebration dance that consists of pumping his fists in the air and shimmying his hips.
The man is not a dancer, that’s for sure, but he’s apparently the black sheep? Kayla didn’t say anything about that when talking about her family. She also didn’t mention that Kyle was a pool guy, though, so I’m sure there’s still lots of important details we don’t know… yet.
“That’s your reaction to my telling you I’ve met someone?” she snaps. “Way to make it about you, asshole.”