Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 114(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 114(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
Hearing the words my girl come out of his mouth is hot as hell. Rhodes leans down and presses a kiss to my mouth, and I part my lips. My tongue slides against his, and my body heats with desire.
A loud meow followed by Boss butting me with his head has us breaking away. "Are you hungry, boss man?" Rhodes leans down and scratches his head.
"It's past his dinner time.” I sigh and shake my head. We stayed late at the shop so Rhodes could install the new locks, but Boss’s stomach didn’t get the memo.
"Let's head out then," Rhodes says and then helps me get my crap together before carrying Boss to his truck.
Those two are seriously bonding. Boss never lets men near him.
"So on the cameras I ordered, they have an app you can install on your phone."
I figured as much since they sounded similar to the doorbell cameras. “Okay.”
Rhodes hesitates before he keeps going. "Would it bother you if I had access to them too? Then I could check in on you throughout the day."
He’s afraid of scaring me, which only proves what a good man he is.
"You want to check in on me?"
"I do," he says without missing a beat. "Think it might put us both at ease. You're alone for long periods of time in the shop."
"Sure, you can watch me,” I say, and Rhodes reaches over, putting his hand on my thigh.
“I’m going to make them unnoticeable, and I’m going to put some around the house too.”
“That’s a lot for you to do.”
Rhodes gives my thigh a squeeze. “It’s not. I want them around the house, with or without a threat. It’s safer.”
“But you didn’t have them before.” If it was about security, wouldn’t he already have them at his house?
“Sweetness, I wasn’t worried about anything inside my house before now.” He gives me one of his slow smiles. If anyone is sweetness, it’s him.
When we get home, Rhodes makes us dinner while I take care of Boss. I know it’s time to tell him about my past, and I don’t want to hold back any longer. He’s done so much to put me at ease that I owe him the truth.
After dinner we sit together in the living room, and he must sense that I’m ready to talk. He turns on the couch to face me while his hand drapes along the back of the couch and plays with my hair.
I take a deep breath, deciding to start at the beginning. “My mom died a few years ago.”
“I’m sorry.” Rhodes' face softens into a sympathetic expression.
“She was murdered.”
His eyes widen, and he sits up a bit straighter. “Shit, Quinn, that's terrible.”
“It’s fine.” I wave him off, but he gives me a skeptical look. “Okay, it’s not fine, but it’s not as hard to say it out loud as it once was.”
“Time can do that.” His fingers stroke through my hair, and the gentle touch is soothing.
“It can, but it doesn’t change things. You know?” I shrug one shoulder. “It’s still there, and now it’s a part of me. Hell, it shaped a part of my life even though I tried to escape it.”
“Do you not talk about it because you don’t want anyone to know?”
“It doesn’t really matter since the information is public. I had to testify against her boyfriend, and there are a variety of articles and other materials available to the public. It’s why I didn’t move after she died. I wanted to go somewhere new, but circumstances forced me to stay. Plus, I had the power to put him behind bars, and I owed that not only to my mother but other women."
“That must have been rough, to sit in a courtroom and face him.” Rhodes is surprised when I smirk.
“It was actually nice to get to tell him what I thought of him while he couldn’t do shit about it. He wasn’t so tough anymore.” Rhodes nods in understanding, returning my smile. “He got life, but if it hadn’t been him, it would have been someone else. I don’t know how, but damn, my mom had a way of attracting the worst men. And I guess I inherited her decision-making.”
Rhodes raises a brow. “Really?”
“Not you.” I snort a laugh. “Sorry, I don’t mean you at all. You’re so different.”
“Glad to hear it, sweetness.” He grins and takes my hand.
“During the trial, there was a blogger that called himself a journalist. He asked me out, but I brushed him off. We ended up running into one another here and there over the course of the trial, and we’d get to talking. He knew my mom's case in and out, and honestly, it was nice to be able to talk to someone about it who understood.”
“Everyone needs a place to vent,” Rhodes agrees.