Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 110721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
When she plugged her hands on her hips, his gaze was drawn to those curves. “I didn’t say you could bring him here.”
He slowly lifted his gaze, taking in the rest of her. She was once again dressed in one of those shapeless chef uniforms with her name embroidered over her tit. He’d take how she was dressed this morning any day over that shit.
Especially since, this morning, she hadn’t been wearing a bra. He hated those fucking things. They should be considered false advertising. One minute tits look perfectly perky, then once freed, they become deflated balloons.
“Didn’t say I couldn’t,” he countered around the cigarette tucked between his lips.
“I figured that would be assumed.”
“That was your first mistake.” He took another long drag, inhaling the smoke deep into his lungs before blowing it up and away from her.
“One of many,” she mumbled under her breath and turned back to take in the large room.
While she did so, Stone tried to see it through her eyes. Admittedly, the scene wasn’t good.
Garbage overflowed onto the floor from the few trash cans they did have. Cigarette butts littered the room. Empty pizza boxes, beer bottles, and even bottles of booze covered the tables.
He made a mental note to make sure the cafeteria was on the sweet butts’ cleaning rotation at the next officer’s meeting.
But that mess wasn’t even the half of it.
Some of his brothers sat at a table, stoned as fuck and still scarfing down cold pizza like it tasted better than prime pussy.
Only, that wasn’t the worst of what she was seeing. Wren was happily chirping away a million miles a minute to the sweet butt sitting next to him also coloring with crayons.
Christ.
He didn’t like the taste of shit but he was about to eat some.
“Holy shit,” she whispered as she finished taking in the disaster left behind. “Was a pack of ravenous wolves invited to this pizza party?”
“Sweet butts gonna clean it up.”
“You mean the one coloring next to Wren?”
Again, his safest answer was another grunt.
She sighed her disappointment again. This time a lot louder. “Where’s Sunny?”
At least she wasn’t hauling her kid out of there and moving back to the house she couldn’t afford and needed to unload.
Thank fuck her house was now empty and all of her shit was being stored here on the property. Made it a little more difficult to just up and leave.
Unless she went running to her mother’s.
“Said she’d be up in my room watchin’ television.” His daughter was still bent about him taking her phone this morning, but he had told her to put it away once and once should be all it took.
Now she wouldn’t get it back until the morning. That made his girl cranky, but he was even crankier when she didn’t listen to him. And fuck if he was repeating himself.
“Okay, well. I guess I’ll take him…home.”
Why did her face scrunch up like she was sucking on musty balls when she said “home?”
At least she had a fucking roof over her goddamn head for her and her kid. One where her asshole ex couldn’t find her once he was no longer getting three hots and a cot.
“Are you staying? Do you want me to take Sunny?”
“Yeah. Just know she’s bein’ a total bitch right now ‘cause I took her phone.”
“Yes, well…if you haven’t noticed, she normally isn’t a little ray of sunshine towards me, Stone.”
“Know it. That pissy attitude don’t change, she’s gonna lose her phone ’til it does. And if that ain’t enough, she’s gonna lose TV privileges, too.”
All she’d be getting was one of those coloring books and a box of fucking crayons to keep her occupied.
“Let’s go get her,” he suggested.
Her jaw dropped open and her blue eyes went wide. “You want me to come with you? I can wait here with Wren.”
“Yeah, wanna show you around since this is gonna be Baby Bird’s nest away from home.”
“Uh. I—”
Here came the shit. He cut off the flow by yelling out, “Swallow!”
The sweet butt sitting next to Wren lifted her bleach-blonde head.
“Keep an eye on the kid, yeah?”
“Anything for you, Stone.”
That was what he always wanted to hear. He tipped his face down to Taryn. “That’s Swallow.”
“I heard. Do you call her Big Bird?”
“Her name ain’t got nothin’ to do with a bird.” Stone cocked one eyebrow at her, smothering a grin. “Let’s just say she got no gag reflexes.”
“Oh.” Taryn chewed on her bottom lip as she considered the woman across the room coloring with her son. “I’ll assume you tested that out.”
“Often.” Stone tugged that plump bottom lip down with the pad of his thumb. “How ‘bout you?”
She pulled her head back, freeing herself from his touch. “How about me, what?”
“Askin’ ‘bout your gag reflexes.”
She blinked. And blinked again. “What does that have to do with taking care of your daughter?”