Total pages in book: 218
Estimated words: 215412 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1077(@200wpm)___ 862(@250wpm)___ 718(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 215412 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1077(@200wpm)___ 862(@250wpm)___ 718(@300wpm)
“Stepbrother.” Jag’s amber-gold eyes aren’t warm like honey or whiskey. They’re cold and threatening, like a predator watching from the tree line, deciding whether to pounce.
“We grew up together, you sick fuck.” She lowers the gun, her shoulders collapsing as whatever this is sinks into her bones. “You were my guardian.”
I hover at her side, completely enthralled, waiting to see if they’ll unpack their shit or let it simmer.
“So that’s it?” She flings out a hand. “You passed me off like I’m someone else’s problem. Didn’t even have the decency to tell me yourself.”
Jag says nothing.
She nods as if expecting that. “Gavin decided an hour before our wedding to tell me he was in love with you. Imagine my surprise when he said your name. I didn’t even know he knew you!” Betrayal blotches her pretty face. “Did you pay him to marry me? Tell me the truth.”
My brain spins to keep up. Gavin? The fiancé? In love with Jag? I glance between them, searching for clarification. This is some toxic, kinky family drama, and I’m here for it.
“Gavin and I had a fling.” Jag lifts a shoulder. “It was short and meaningless.”
He says this after she confesses that Gavin is in love with him?
Harsh.
“You fucked your sister’s fiancé.” I raise an eyebrow at Jag. “Then fled town and skipped out on her wedding? Bruh. That’s weak.”
“Sorry, who are you?” Dove turns to me, giving me her full attention.
“I’m Wolf, official member of Team Dove.” I grin in the glow of her honeyed glare. “You’re doing great, princess.”
She furrows her brows.
Jag’s face remains indifferent, but a shadow flashes in his eyes. Annoyance? Homicidal rage? Hard to tell. I file it away for later.
“You’re not telling me everything.” She scowls at Jag. “Gavin said you paid him to date me. To marry me. He needed the money, so he agreed, but all this time, he’s been in love with you.”
“Gavin’s feelings aren’t my problem.”
“You’re a real piece of shit.”
“Yet here you are, following me to Alaska like a lost puppy.”
That does it. Fury detonates in her eyes as she grips the gun tighter. “You always do this! You fuck my boyfriends. And my girlfriends. You ruin lives and walk away like nothing happened. The only person you care about is yourself!”
Rage steams off her as she trains the gun and starts to squeeze the trigger.
That’s my cue.
I launch forward, grabbing her before she does something she’ll regret.
She’s small and fragile compared to my brothers whom I fought my entire life. Taking her down is easy. Too easy. My arms wrap around her, and for a brief second, I register the warmth of her body and the velvety satin of her dress pressing against my skin. She smells soft and dreamlike.
My fingers dig into her arms, pinning her. She thrashes, seething, snarling, her fury vibrating against me.
This isn’t what I expected tonight, but hell if I let her throw her life away.
I shouldn’t be thinking about how beautiful she is, but I am. I’m obsessed with the beauty mark on her collarbone, the adorable little dot just begging to be kissed. She’s all sequins, satin, and rage, a fairy tale princess turned warrior, and I don’t want to let go.
She wrenches free, twisting from my grasp, and bolts for the door.
Jag shifts to go after her.
“Not a chance.” I step into his path.
“Move.”
“You’re not going near her.” My low tone delivers a steady command. Primal. Feral. Do not fuck with me.
That old familiar feeling rushes through me, swelling and heating, like I’m standing in the Arctic again, face-to-face with a bear, knowing there’s no room for fear, only instinct.
My muscles coil, every inch of me alert and ready. I’ve fought for my life so many times, and I’ll do it again.
Jag opens his mouth, but whatever he sees in my eyes makes his jaw snap shut.
That surprises me.
Most people don’t take me seriously. They see the punk clothes, makeup, and theatrics. They don’t know what lurks beneath the facade.
There’s a wild animal inside me. An unpredictable, unflinching killer who spent hours cutting up a man and didn’t feel a thing.
But Jag sees me. He looks past the fake smile and sees what others miss.
His eyes widen just a fraction, and he takes a slow step back. He’s bigger and stronger but smart enough to recognize a madman when he sees one.
I don’t break my stance. I don’t blink. I just watch him back off, feeling the savagery inside me settle. For now.
Then I turn and chase after the princess for a second time tonight.
I yank on the stupid wedding gown, tripping over the ripped hem as I dart out of the tattoo shop. A hateful gust of cold air slaps my face, and I suck in a breath, missing the California sun.
I need to return to the pier.