Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 71908 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71908 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
That I understand more. It sounds odd, relaxing, and content even.
“We are to marry, but we’re not in love,” I remind them.
“What do you feel for him?” Bonte asks.
“Possession,” Eros says before I can. “Obsession.” He gives me a cocky smirk, knowing what he’s talking about.
“I will knock that off your face.”
“You can try,” he challenges.
“This is a nice hotel,” Mac butts in. “You’re not wrestling, so get it out of your minds.”
“We don’t wrestle; we spar,” I clarify.
“I spar.” Eros points at himself. “You’re a fucking honey badger.”
“I bit you one time.” I will never hear the end of this. “But I got out of your hold.” You do what you must. Paxton understands that.
“So who’s going to bring up Paxton and Naomi necking in the hallway first?” Mac asks, wiggling her brows.
“I was going to ease into it,” Bonte hisses.
“Naomi doesn’t need to be eased into anything.”
“It was—” I cut myself off before I can say anything because that’s not right. It was everything.
“It was,” Mac prompts, trying to get me to continue.
“I don’t know if I want to share these things.” I never understood when people would get so bashful about sex. It’s natural and human nature. “Besides, he could be using me, for all I know—”
Bonte and Mac start coughing to alert me that Paxton has returned, but I already knew that. Not because I heard or saw it. No, my body goes on alert when he’s near, but not in the way I’m used to.
“What do you know, Sunshine?”
“What your endgame is.” I have no problem telling him these things.
“I already told you, but I have no issue proving it.”
“I mean, does it really matter?” Eros asks.“He steps out of line and we kill him.”
I jerk back around to face my cousin. “He’s mine.” Eros holds his hands up. I fight down a range of emotions that flood through me, a war raging inside of me, starting to feel unconquerable. I fist my hands at my side, the air in the room turning thick.
“Okay, everyone take a breath. Only Naomi can kill Paxton.” Mac steps forward, right into the path between Eros and me.
“No one is going to kill me.” Paxton comes to me, hooking his arm around my waist. “You need to eat.” He tugs me toward the table. His touch quickly calms me. I glance at him, and as always, he’s got one of those easy smiles. The emotions and actions Paxton invokes in me should worry me, but I see there is a strength in it.
He was right when he spoke about how powerful my mother is.
“I will not take kindly to threats,” I tell them as Paxton sits and then tugs me right into his lap.
“A threat to Paxton is a threat to you, then?”
“That’s what I said.”
“Well.” Bonte snorts a laugh, kind of. Mac only glances between Eros and me, the three of us knowing this is far more important and serious than Bonte knows. Eros gives a small dip of his chin in acknowledgment, and I hear Mac release a breath.
“I can’t sit in your lap,” I tell Paxton.
“Why?” He pulls a plate toward me, taking the lid off, revealing French toast. “It’s only us.” His hands slide around my stomach, and he tugs me back a little. “Besides, a queen should sit upon her throne.” I turn to look at him over my shoulder, a small smile pulling at my lips.
“When I sit on Eros’s face, I call it my throne.”
“Ahh!” Mac bursts into laughter. Paxton slightly laughs, shaking me, while Eros merrily shrugs.
“Broke the tension,” Bonte says smugly, dropping down on the couch next to Eros.
“Eat; we need to leave soon,” Paxton encourages.
“What’s happening?”
“One of my warehouses in Charleston was hit last night.”
“What?” I try to stand, but he doesn’t let me. “Those warehouses are under our protection. Who would dare?” I turn slightly to face Paxton. Paxton is so calm.
“Once we’re married, that will be true. Right now, I’m fair game.”
That doesn’t sit well with me, not one bit.
Chapter Seventeen
PAXTON
Ihave always been in awe of Naomi, but getting a front-row seat to watching her work is something else. I press my palm firmly down against my cock, trying to get it to go down, but it’s pointless. I fucked my hand twice last night with Naomi’s taste in my mouth, and it hadn’t taken off the edge.
Naomi was quick to eat and get on the move after I’d informed her of what happened. She wanted to be in Charleston sooner rather than later. My girl is not only protective of me but now also of our territory.
She’s moved from beside me over to Mac, who has been clicking away on her computer since we got in the air. All of them wanted to come along to see what was going on for themselves. It’s not surprising. Mac, Eros and Naomi have always stuck close to each other.