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)
That she wouldn’t have to stay with Fergus forever, just until he could get the money together to pay to get her back.
She’d stopped believing his lies. But that one . . . God, she’d hoped that for once he’d come through. That he’d be a proper father to her.
Sadly for her, he’d once again proven to be a useless asshole of a man and an even worse father.
“If I didn’t like the way you looked at me, I’d say,” North told her.
It was like a glass of water on a super hot day. And she nodded.
“Do you like what you see when you look at North?” Jared asked in her ear.
“Who wouldn’t?” she asked. “He’s absolutely gorgeous. Sexy. Beautiful.”
“Beautiful.” North tipped his head to one side, studying her. “Interesting word to use. I don’t consider any part of me to be beautiful.”
She nodded. She understood that. Beauty wasn’t just about what was on the outside. It could definitely be what was inside you.
And she didn’t consider any part of herself beautiful, either.
“You don’t consider yourself beautiful,” North guessed as he watched her.
“Can’t get away with much with you, can I?” she said.
“And you shouldn’t try,” Jared warned. “With either of us.”
This was getting very intense very fast.
She attempted to wriggle off Jared’s lap, but he held her still. “I would stop moving like that if I was you.”
She froze. “What? Why?”
“Why do you think? I have excellent control, but I’m no saint.”
Oh my God.
Did he mean what she thought he did?
“Then let me off your lap!” she demanded.
“All right. If you’re sure that’s what you want.” Jared lifted her off his lap and she knew instantly that wasn’t what she wanted.
She wanted to be back there. Warm and safe in his arms.
God. This sucked.
In an attempt to distract herself from all the feelings running through her, she grabbed a handful of chocolate. Then some popcorn and finally some potato chips. Before she went back to the chocolate.
“That’s enough,” Jared warned.
“What?” she asked.
“You’ve had enough sweet stuff to eat. You’ll be bouncing off the walls at this rate.”
No, she wouldn’t.
“I’m not a child. I know when I’ve had enough.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Do you? Tell me, how old is your Little?”
Eek.
Why was he asking that? She glanced over at North. He was settled into the corner of the sofa, watching her.
This was as relaxed as she’d ever seen him look.
“I don’t . . . I don’t know exactly. I just . . . whenever she’s come out it’s usually been in high stress situations where I don’t have much time to pay attention.”
Jared cupped her chin as she tried to drop her gaze. “So never when you were happy or relaxed?”
Angie thought about that. “Not that I can recall. Mostly when I’m anxious or scared. Like when I’ve had a bad dream or I’d just been to a therapy session that went deep.”
“Did therapy help?” Jared asked.
“Um, yes. It was online therapy. My therapist is great, but sometimes she’d push me and it would . . . it would trigger old memories of what Fergus did to me. Sometimes, I’d have a panic attack. Other times, I’d retreat to my bedroom, lock the door, and my Little would take over. She’d protect me.”
“Do you still talk to the therapist?” Jared asked.
“No, I probably should. She helped a lot. However, there’s part of me that just wants to forget. I know I’m just burying my head in the sand.”
“Sometimes, you just have to do what you can to survive,” North told her.
Huh.
She was surprised he got it, but she nodded. He was right.
“So you’re not sure how old your Little is?” Jared asked. “Because I would guess around two or three.”
“I guess so. Maybe three or four. She’s not always very verbal, though.”
“Ahh, so she’s the opposite of you,” North drawled.
“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked with a huff.
“It means you talk a lot,” North informed her.
Rude.
She glared at him.
Jared cleared his throat, turning her attention back to him.
“Have you made up your mind about me helping you with your Little?” Jared asked.
She glanced at North again. “Are you sure that be okay? I would never want to come between the two of you.”
“Really? North asked. “Most women fantasize about being between the two of us.”
Her cheeks had to be bright red and in order to distract herself she reached out and grabbed a huge handful of Sour Patch gummies, stuffing them into her mouth in order to distract herself from jumping his bones.
Get yourself together, girl.
But then her eyes started watering as the sourness hit her tongue.
Oh God.
Oh no.
Too much. Too much. What was she thinking?
She glanced around, unsure where she could spit them out. There was nowhere.
Crap! Jumping up, she got tangled in the blankets and would have fallen over if Jared hadn’t grabbed hold of her hips.