Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 59413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
“There she is!” she sings. “Our assassin queen.”
“Don’t call me that,” I groan, but there’s no menace to it. In fact, I’m grinning.
I walk over, taking whatever cup I can find and pushing it toward Nia. She laughs, filling it with coffee before warning me, “It’s really bad, but it’ll get you through.”
Right now, I don’t care.
“You look like you got hit by a freight train last night.” Mera wriggles her brows. “But in, like, a good way.”
I make a face, but I can't help the stupid little smile curving my mouth. “I guess you could call Kael a freight train.”
Mera sets her mug down with wide eyes and a mischievous grin, then leans over the counter. “Alright. Spill. We all heard Kael’s bed frame threaten to walk out on him last night. Please, tell us everything. Every. Thing.” She drags out the last word.
I want to play it cool. I want to shrug and pretend like it’s not a big deal, but the warmth bubbling in my chest is too much. I bite my bottom lip and let out a laugh that sounds nothing like me. “He’s ... oh man, he does things to me.” My face flushes, heat seeping up into my scalp. “But he’s also—” I lose the words for a second, which is embarrassing, so I take a gigantic gulp of coffee and try again. “He’s not like anyone I’ve ever met. He makes me feel like I’m not going to shatter when he touches me.”
Nia squeaks, clapping her hands together. “You’re in looooove.”
“No,” I say, too fast, too loud. I stare down at my coffee, swirling it in the mug. “I’m not. I can’t be. I barely even know the guy.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Mera says, voice suddenly gentle. “Sometimes it’s the punch in the face you remember, not the day you met.”
That gets me. I snort, choking down coffee and a laugh. “That’s the least romantic thing I’ve ever heard, but I love it.”
The girls press closer, their eyes wide with desperation to hear more. Nia’s hand lands on my arm. “So, what do you do now?”
I freeze. I meet Nia’s eyes, and I see no judgment there, just intense curiosity. “Gage is a problem,” I say, but then realize it’s more complicated than that. “Actually, it’s both. Gage is ... he’s not going to let me go, not ever. But Kael, I don’t think he is, either.”
Mera’s eyes go soft. “Do you love Gage?”
I open my mouth, close it, and try again. “I used to. Maybe I still do. But it’s not like ...” I wave my hand, trying to untangle the mess inside my head. “I don’t know what I feel. All I know is, I’m not scared of losing him anymore. I’m just scared of what he’ll do when he realizes he’s lost me.”
“Maybe he never had you,” Nia offers.
Mera purses her lips, then exhales. “You don’t have to decide today. Hell, you don’t have to decide ever. Stay here as long as you want. Kael’s not going to let anybody touch you. And Wolfe—” She jerks a thumb back at the hallway. “Wolfe asked us to look out for you.”
I blink, my heart swelling. “Thank you. Both of you.”
Nia winks. “Don’t thank us until you’ve survived an MC party with Kael and Knox arm-wrestling shirtless. You’ll pray for a bullet to the brain before the night’s out. It’s shameful, the way them two fight for the alpha role.”
I laugh at the image. “I’m looking forward to it.”
“We’re off to pick up donuts,” Mera says, straightening and clapping her hands together. “You coming?”
“Can either of you lend me some clothes? These smell like fire and beer.”
Mera laughs with a nod. “I’ll be right back.”
The two leave, and I continue in with my coffee, off in my own little world until Kael walks in, his cut hanging on his large shoulders, his eyes alert and warm as they settle on me. My heart skips a beat.
“Mornin',” he murmurs, crossing the space between us with three easy strides.
“Hi,” I whisper.
He reaches me and lifts me in one effortless movement, planting my bottom onto the counter and settling between my legs. My heart is doing crazy things in my chest. “You sleep alright?” he murmurs into my ear.
“Oh yes.” I tip my head back so I can see him.
Kael slips a hand up to my jaw and does this thing, just his thumb dragging along my cheekbone, slow. He presses a kiss to my temple. Then moves slowly to my lips. Something in me surrenders. He kisses me deep, slow, making my entire body come alive. Coffee nearly spills off the counter as I lean into him, hands knotting in his shirt.
When he finally pulls away, it’s reluctant, a rough drag of his lips away from mine. He lingers close, nose brushing my cheek, his breath a promise on my skin. “You okay?”