Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 151097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 755(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 504(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 755(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 504(@300wpm)
“But if you could…” I urged.
“Three million,” Hunter blurted. “Per year.” When I raised a brow at the amount, Hunter shrugged, ready to go to bat for her friend. “I assume Coby will become accustomed to a different quality of life while you’re married, so think of it as alimony.”
Teasing her, I whistled. “Still, six million dollars a year for five years. That’s a lot of cheddar.”
Hunter frowned at me. “But I said three million.”
“Coby may have convinced me to sweeten the deal this morning.”
“How?”
“She wants me to pay you the same for every year you’re apart, and I also promised to forgive her brother’s debt and sign over my ownership of the club.”
“Why would Coby do that for Roshaun after he—” Hunter’s eyes widened, and she hopped up from the bed. “You haven’t told her yet?” she shouted.
“Would she believe me after last night?”
“Probably not, but that’s your problem, not mine,” Hunter said as she paced.
“I disagree. I think it’s our problem.”
Hunter paused and then faced me, planting her hands on those wide hips that got me hard every time. “Excuse me?”
“I recall you asking to help me kill him and deal with the Coby aftermath.”
“And I recall you saying you didn’t need my help.”
I folded my arms behind my head and grinned. “What if I promised you the honor of killing Roshaun yourself?”
“It sounds like a setup to make me take all the blame and have Coby hate me forever. I’m sure that would make your life much sweeter.”
“It’s definitely something I would do,” I admitted, more than a little impressed that she’d read me so easily. “But that’s not my intention, Hunter. And you have no idea of what I’m thinking will make my life sweeter.” I stared at her hard and meaningfully, and then quickly pushed past the subject when I saw her getting ready to dig. “We both have the same goal—to keep Coby safe and happy.” I paused, wondering if it was wise to admit this next part, but I decided I didn’t care. “But I also want the same for you.”
Hunter scoffed and began pacing again. “Roshaun doesn’t scare me.”
“He should,” I warned, though I chose not to elaborate. Roshaun had committed much bigger atrocities than just stealing from me. Things that would break Coby’s heart if she knew.
My mind wandered as I imagined all the ways I wanted to kill Roshaun slowly until I heard a sound, looked up, and saw that Hunter was hyperventilating.
I shot off the bed and across the room, but the moment my fingers grazed her arm, she whirled around and backed away with a clear warning in her eyes, so I forced myself to stay where I was and give her space.
“Tell me what just happened,” I gently demanded. “What did Roshaun do?” It didn’t take a whole lot of intuition to connect that Roshaun Perry was responsible for Hunter suddenly acting like cornered prey.
“It’s nothing.”
“That didn’t look like nothing to me.”
“Sorry. I meant it’s none of your business, Ocean.”
That wasn’t good enough for me. Every time I mentioned Roshaun, Hunter’s entire demeanor changed. She’d either shrink into herself or turn vicious and deflect.
“Coby wants you at the wedding,” I blurted, choosing to drop the subject. For now.
Hunter’s gaze flew to mine, and once again, she was vengeance. “There’s not going to be a wedding.”
I cocked my head. “You don’t trust her judgment?”
Hunter barked a laugh and then made the most daring move of all. She stepped into my face until her bare toes touched my shoes. “Nice try, asshole. I don’t trust you.”
“She wants you there, you know.” Just as I expected, Hunter had nothing clever to say to that. “Coby wants you to give her away.”
“Never,” Hunter hissed.
It was my turn to crowd her space. I forced her backward until her back was against the wall, and she had to tip her head back to hold my gaze. The moment she did, I got comfortable, bracing my forearms on the wall by her head.
Fuck it.
I heard the words before I even realized I was saying them.
“Coby is already mine, Hunter.” I leaned down until our lips were just a breath away. “But I haven’t won yet. My acquisition isn’t complete. Can you guess what’s missing?”
“No.”
Feeling like I’d die without it, I let our lips touch. The faintest brush. When Hunter’s breath hitched, I knew she’d felt it, too. “Try, Vengeance. Try to guess what else I want. What I need.”
Chest rising and falling fast, lips parted in shock, she shook her head as my meaning slammed into her. “You can’t.”
“I will.”
“How would that work?” She whimpered. “You’re marrying my best friend.”
“It’ll work because I say it will,” I assured her. “I’m marrying Coby because I want to. I’m marrying next month because I have to, but make no mistake, I want you both in my bed.”