Total pages in book: 156
Estimated words: 160192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 801(@200wpm)___ 641(@250wpm)___ 534(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 160192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 801(@200wpm)___ 641(@250wpm)___ 534(@300wpm)
He looked like he didn’t have a care in the world.
Well, he likely didn’t. The only thing he seemed to care about or show interest in was Jared.
And that wasn’t sadness she felt.
It wasn’t.
She didn’t want North’s attention.
“Why are you sorry?” Jared asked.
Um, wasn’t it obvious?
“For confusing you with Fergus. I didn’t mean . . . you’re nothing like him. I just got all confused because I’d been having a nightmare about . . .”
“About what?” Jared asked softly.
“About Fergus hurting me,” she replied as she wrapped her arms around herself. “And then you touched me and I woke up, but I was all confused. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“That’s what I should be saying to you,” Jared told her.
She shook her head. He couldn’t have expected that reaction when he’d gone to wake her.
“Sorry. Sorry.” She shook her head, trembling, her teeth now chattering. “See? Not strong. I’m so stupid and weak.”
Suddenly, she was lifted onto her feet. To her surprise, it was North who had grabbed her.
North, who barely touched her. Who didn’t seem to like her much.
He stared down at her, studying her.
“North, easy,” Jared warned.
“She really doesn’t see it, does she?” North asked Jared.
“No, she doesn’t.” Jared rose and stepped behind her, not touching her but close enough for her to feel his warmth. To know that he was there for her.
She wanted to lean back into him but she couldn’t do it. He wasn’t hers to lean on.
So she stood there between the two of them, feeling the heat of their bodies, wishing that she had their strength and power.
“She can’t see that she’s one of the strongest people we know,” North said.
If anyone else had said it, she’d have scoffed. But this was coming from North. She couldn’t imagine him making this up in order to make her feel better.
“How do you figure that?” she whispered.
“Because you’re still here,” North told her. “You’re still fighting. You could have just drifted away. You’re a fighter. You have nightmares, bad days, things you’re frightened of . . . but you still get up in the morning. You still keep going.”
God.
Was she strong?
“I’m not sure that’s strength. Pretty sure it’s just stubbornness.”
“That too,” North agreed.
She swayed slightly and Jared lightly placed his hands on her hips. Damn, she liked him touching her. “You look exhausted. You need to rest properly.”
Yeah, well, she hadn’t been sleeping that well. It was six days since she’d been kidnapped. Even though they’d sent Zander that message, she was worried about Keira.
And she was also worried about how much she liked being around these two. Of the fantasies she kept having about being caught between the two of them.
It was all so wrong.
“Come on, come with me,” Jared told her.
“W-what?” Go with him? Go where?
“We’re going to take care of you.”
“Take care of me? Why? What do you mean?” She stared up into his gorgeous face. The extra lines around his eyes that only added to his appeal. The hints of gray in his hair and beard.
The man was going to be the ultimate silver fox in a few years. God, it was unfair that he looked like this while she felt like a ragged old crone. Worn down and aged before her time.
“We’ll have dinner together, watch a movie. No cares. No worries about the future or what you should say or do. You don’t have to do anything or be anyone but Angie. In whatever way you want to be.”
It sounded like heaven.
Jared lightly touched her chin, turning her to face him. “What do you say?”
This felt like dangerous territory. She was already in deep with these guys. They were messing up her brain, her intuition.
She shouldn’t do this.
She should most definitely say no.
“Yes.”
Yeah, Angie had never been one to take the sensible route.
28
North watched as Jared grabbed some blankets from the cupboard and laid them out on the couches in the media room. There were bowls of chips and popcorn.
There was also soda, juice, and water.
Not to mention the pizza sitting on the coffee table.
Angie had gone to her room to put some more comfortable clothes on.
“Fuck, I hated hearing her scream like that.” Jared straightened and stared right at North. “I know I’m a monster and I don’t have a problem with anyone else seeing me that way.”
Yeah, North understood that. It was what had attracted him to Jared. Sure, he’d secretly forced his way into Jared’s life. But he hadn’t been forced to fall for him.
To want him.
Jared’s monster called to his own. Jared kept his monster on a tight rein, hidden underneath layers of civility and reasonableness, only surfacing when truly necessary.
Whereas North lived with his monster just below the surface. Always there. Always ready to strike when needed.
Every time he looked in the mirror, his monster looked back at him, waiting for North to loosen the reins.