Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 109086 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109086 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
“I know.” He settled on my side, his gaze raking me up and down. Dark approval was in those eyes of his. I could see enough from a little light plugged in the room’s corner. “I’m liking what you’re wearing.” His hand ran to the end of my shirt. Correction, his shirt.
“How the fuck did you get this?” he asked.
“I stuffed it in my purse when I ran. I wasn’t sure if I’d get more clothes. I was on the run.” When I pulled it out, I burst into tears.
His smirk fell away, and he grew somber. “You’re not anymore.” His hand slid to the back of my head, his fingers sliding through my hair. He tipped me up to see him better and he angled himself so he was almost gazing down into my soul. Almost directly above me. “I made a deal.” His voice grew hoarse.
My heart faltered. My hand rose to press against his chest. “What kind of deal? What about Blake? Is Blake okay?” My voice rose. “And why are you just now finding me? It’s been two months. Two months! You asshole.”
He gave me a resigned smile, laying his head down, still watching me. “She’s fine. And I had to stay away because I needed to make sure EJ was safe. I’m sorry, baby.”
I might’ve swooned at that name, but still gave him a look.
He snorted out a laugh. “My lunatic.”
I grinned. “Better.” I reached for his hand, entwining our fingers. I lay down, too, in shock. He was here. I needed to ask more about Blake, but later. Right now, I couldn’t stop focusing on Jake. I flattened my hand against him and slid it upward, my palm flat against his skin. It went to his neck, where I could still feel his pulse. I closed my eyes because in that moment, all the fear I’d been holding over the last two months flooded me.
I choked out, “I’ve been so scared you were dead.”
“Sawyer,” he rasped out, curling me up to him as he moved both of us so he was lying down and I was tucked into his side. He pulled my legs over him, continuing to move me gently until I was curled in a ball on top of him. His head lifted up, touching against mine, and I let out a sob. He soothed, “I’m okay. I’m alive.”
I fisted his shirt in my hands. “But are you going to stay alive?” The fear was so strong inside of me.
One of his hands ran down my back, sliding up under his shirt and tucking into the back of my panties. “I’m safe. I will be safe. We’re okay.”
Another shudder wracked through me, but I looked up at him. I needed to see his eyes when I asked this next question. “What was included in the deal? I need to know all of it.”
“You.” His other hand touched my bottom lip, pulling it down a little. “Me. EJ. Anyone you love. Anyone EJ loves. That was the deal.”
I let that sink in before I sat up, now fully straddling him. He adjusted with me, moving so he was sitting against my bed’s headboard. My legs sank down on either side of him, and his hands went to them, anchoring me against him. I closed my eyes, giving in for a moment, savoring the feel of him between my legs. I rocked forward.
His hands tightened on me, pulling me to him as he groaned.
God. That felt good. So fucking good.
I paused, opening my eyes to see him watching me. His own serious. Dark with lust. My chest rose up and down in a slow breath. “I thought Blake already made that deal?”
He nodded, his hands running up my legs. “She did, but she disappeared almost right away. Lane would’ve used that as a loophole. So I made a deal with him myself.”
“She disappeared?”
“Yeah, but she’s okay. She didn’t disappear because of him or to go back on not making sure you guys are all safe. It was a sort of inevitable thing she needed to do, but it’s all good. I helped her sort it out too. I was doing that before I came here.”
“What about EJ?”
“He’s good. That’s where I was the last month. I went to California and introduced myself to EJ’s half sisters and Tab’s husband.”
I wanted to hear more about that situation, but the Lane part was nagging at me. “What’d you have to do to get Lane to agree with upholding letting all of us be alive and torture-free?” Or worse. “What’d you give up so he’d agree with that deal?”
He shook his head, leaning toward me. His hand returned to the back of my head, cupping me. “Nothing that you need to worry about.”
I braced a hand to his chest. “Jake.” His heartbeat pounded through his chest, into my hand. It distracted me momentarily. “I need to know what kind of deal you made.”