Total pages in book: 16
Estimated words: 15471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 77(@200wpm)___ 62(@250wpm)___ 52(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 15471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 77(@200wpm)___ 62(@250wpm)___ 52(@300wpm)
“Why?”
“You’re living your life. You’re living the dream. Don’t you think I know?” she asked.
“Know what?”
Charity had never said anything to him about it. Before Stevie had gotten killed, she had overheard her brother and Bad talking about leaving, joining up with the MC club that Bad was now part of. They had hoped to Prospect first and then become a fully patched-in member.
“You were both going to leave me here,” Charity said.
“Dude, what about Charity?” Bad asked.
“What about her? My sister will understand that I need to do this. You know I’d do it for her.”
Her brother hadn’t cared that he was leaving his sister. All he’d wanted was to do what he wanted. Charity didn’t mind. She always felt guilty that he had to stay behind. He put his life on hold for her. Just as she put her life on hold for him. She gave the life he wanted for her a try.
She hated it, but she had given it her all.
Now it was time to do things herself.
“You knew?” Bad asked.
“Yeah, I knew.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Bad, I was twenty years old. My brother had given up everything else for me. I wasn’t going to let him stay behind anymore. I knew what he wanted, and it wasn’t this.” She held her hands out, looking around the apartment. “He’s gone. I … I can’t live like this. Not anymore.”
The towel she used was soaking wet, and so was her body. “I need to … get changed. You’re soaked, too.”
She moved toward her bedroom, pushing the door to give her some privacy. The lock had been broken for a couple of years. She rarely had any visitors, so it was never a problem for her.
Charity was very much aware of Bad in the other room. Waiting.
After stripping out of her clothes, she grabbed a robe because she didn’t have many decent towels to use.
With a towel in hand, she stepped out of her room but came flush against Bad’s body. He’d moved so close, and she hadn’t even heard him.
“Oh,” she said. “Er, here’s a towel.” She shoved it against his chest, trying not to think about how hard and firm it was.
She inhaled, only to detect the leathery scent as well as his masculine one combined with it.
Charity had always had a crush on him. Even after all of this time, it hadn’t changed. Bad never looked at her as anything other than his best friend’s little sister. It was embarrassing. There was a time she thought he might have felt something, but … nothing ever happened.
Tilting her head back, she tried to imagine him not kissing her. She didn’t want his kisses. She didn’t want anything from him. Not a damn thing.
Keep lying to yourself.
Bad took the towel and stepped past her, entering the bathroom.
Get a grip on yourself.
It was impossible.
She moved toward the kitchen. There were only two mugs on the counter, one kettle. Everything else was sold. She would be leaving everything else in the apartment.
Spooning out the coffee into the mugs, she didn’t bother with cream or sugar. Neither of them liked to water down their coffee intake. She also liked strong, dark coffee.
Yum.
With the heavy scent of bitter coffee in the air, she turned to find Bad had wrapped a towel around his waist, but all of him was on display. She hadn’t seen him like this in over ten years.
Don’t stare.
It was impossible not to. He was so close, the apartment seeming to shrink with each second he was inside.
“I made you, a, er, I made coffee.” She picked up the coffee and stepped toward him, trying to keep her gaze away from his large, muscular, and heavily inked chest. A skull decorated his chest right over his heart. There were also some gravestones, as well as a hand coming out of the dirt.
Nibbling on her lip, she tried to not be distracted by him.
Bad took the coffee from her, but he didn’t move.
Why was he so close?
“Are you going to argue with me some more?” she asked.
“No.”
“You’re not?”
He chuckled. “It’s not my place to keep you where you don’t want to be.”
Charity blew across the surface of her coffee before taking a sip.
She had just finished sipping her drink when Bad took the cup away from her lips.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
He didn’t answer. His hand cupped her cheek, and he tilted her head back. She looked up at him, a little surprised, and then, he slammed his lips down on hers, and all thought left her.
Bad was kissing her. The guy she had a crush on for a lifetime was finally kissing her.
Charity didn’t know what to do. Her hands were clenched at her sides, and then, she wrapped them around his neck, holding on to him, kissing him harder, and not wanting him to stop.