Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 75450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
“Will I have to talk to him? About, you know, everything?”
That was a good question.
“I’m probably going to have to tell him. He might have some questions. But Fallon is a good guy. He’s not gonna hurt you. He might be a little brusque at times, but just because he wants to get to the bottom of things.”
“Okay.”
“I would be there too.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. We’re in this shit together. Before Spike gets back, though, you okay with coming into my room so I can check your ribs and anything else that might be hurt under your clothes?”
Despite everything, I could have sworn I saw a flash of heat before she banked it back down again.
“Yeah, okay.”
“Okay.” I got to my feet and offered her my hand. Judging by the way she winced and hissed and let me help pull her straight, I had a feeling she was a lot more hurt under there than I first realized.
I slid my hand into her good one and led her toward my room.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Carmen
I was so focused on, well, killing Rune the last time I was in the clubhouse that I hadn’t really taken much of it in.
But as Spike was inspecting me, I was looking around to try to distract myself from the pain.
It was manly, with its dark colors, the giant bar, the pool table, darts, poker table, and various gaming consoles underneath the massive TV mounted to the wall. But everything was spotless and well-organized.
The men were all pretty nice too. Spike, especially.
And I hadn’t missed Rune’s twin brother hanging around either. They were almost identical, though to me, I would always be able to tell them apart. There was something a little harder about Rune, which I preferred. It made that dimpled smile of his all the more brilliant when it appeared.
“Fair warning, the room is windowless,” Rune said as he led me into a hallway full of doors. “And still a work in progress.”
There was no need for the warning. It might have been the nicest bedroom I’d ever seen in my life. I didn’t even notice the lack of windows.
He’d done extensive woodwork accents on the ceiling and the wall—with golden accent light hidden below each strip of wood. And the parts of the room that weren’t done in warm wooden accents were in a soft, flat black.
The bed was central in the space with charcoal bedding, flanked by nightstands in the same wood stain, but different styles.
Across from the bed was a TV above a dresser.
Next to that was an open door to a bathroom.
“Wow. This is really nice.”
“Yeah?” he asked, shooting me a look that was unexpectedly vulnerable. Clearly, the guy had been putting a lot of work into the room.
“Yeah. It’s so… warm and cozy. But also masculine, which is a hard balance.”
“I’m about to ruin it with the big light,” he told me as he closed the door and flicked on the ceiling fan light, blanketing the whole room in harsh white light.
“That’s unfortunate. If your room looks this harsh, I can’t imagine how awful I look.”
“It’ll help me check out your ribs better, though.”
He reached for the hem of my shirt, but paused, giving me a ‘Is this okay?’ look.
I gave him a nod.
The shirt lifted, but he paused, gathering the material just under my breasts so he didn’t expose me completely.
“Bad?” I asked when he hissed.
“Surprised you’re not favoring this side more.” His flat hand pressed lightly to my ribs. It was a barely-there touch, but it made me jolt. “Your breathing is alright?”
“Yeah. I mean, if I take too deep a breath, it hurts. And crying hurt too, but I don’t feel out of breath.”
“That’s a good sign.” He prodded around and there was pain, but nothing that had Rune especially worried. “These bruises will likely get worse before they get better. And any twisting movements would be a bad idea. But some elastic bandages could help that.”
“Okay.”
“If you have any sudden sharp feelings or trouble breathing, you need to tell me right away.”
“I will.”
“Just want to check out your hips too,” he said, tugging my shorts and panties downward a few inches. “Ouch.”
His fingers were soft on my skin, and the barely-there touch had a shiver working down my spine.
“You’re gonna be sore as fuck for a few days,” he warned me, pulling my shorts back into place, then checking out the bruises on my knees. “But, aside from your hand, I think it’s all pretty superficial.”
“Good. I mean the hand is really, really not good. How am I gonna work?”
“Could your girls cover for you? For just a few weeks?”
“Maybe? But one of them is very pregnant, so there’s no one to cover for me and her when she needs to take some time off.”
“Well, we can figure all that out. But that’s not tonight’s problem.”