Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 43536 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 218(@200wpm)___ 174(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43536 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 218(@200wpm)___ 174(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
“Okay. So you’re not threatened by the idea?”
“I’m thinking we should all call in sick today so I can show you how unthreatened I am,” I said, my mouth on her neck. I felt the satisfying shiver of her body as her fingers caught the front of my shirt.
“I have to work today.”
“Tonight then?”
“We’ll talk to Rafe and see if he’s up for it. If so, then tonight. We lock the door and make our own rules.”
I heard Rafe call out from the kitchen and the door slammed.
“I’m going to go finish my makeup. I have to get to work myself,” Lexi said.
I kissed her cheek and went to take my shower and sleep for a few more hours. I met her at the grocery store when she got off of work. We were buying ingredients to make my grandma’s empanadas. I teased her about the way she pronounced it wrong. She teased me because I’d had the recipe for ten years and never tried to make them.
On our way out, loaded down with the reusable grocery bags she insisted on, she stopped so suddenly in the parking lot that I nearly bumped into her.
“What is it?” I said.
“Him,” she said, her voice barely above a breath.
Some guy was coming toward the entrance of the building. He had dark hair in a ponytail. He was skinny but wiry, mean looking and he was on his phone.
“Watts?” I said, my eyes going right to his hands. The hands he’d had been around Lexi’s throat the day he’d hurt her. I dropped my bags just like that, crossed the distance between us in four long strides and got him by the arm. His phone clattered to the concrete because of where I’d grabbed him, the nerve I’d pressed on. I marched him to the side of the store, pushed him up against the wall. I had his other arm by the wrist and pressed it against the wall by his head so he couldn’t knife me while I was talking.
“Listen, you fucking punk,” I hissed at him, “Do you see that girl over there?” I pointed to Lexi where she was gathering up the bags I’d dropped. She was in a crouch, but her eyes were on us, wary.
“What about the bitch? She yours?”
“You will never lay another hand on her, do you hear me?” I hissed. He was mean, but I was bigger and mad as hell. “If she calls about your case and tells you to do something, you do it all polite like I’ve got a knife to your balls. Don’t touch her, don’t threaten her, don’t look her in the eyes. I will know and I will come for you.”
“Pretty boy like you?” he scoffed. “Gimme my fuckin’ phone back.”
“Be a shame if I stepped on it after I was done with you. You hurt her once. I let you live. That’s a gift, because she told me not to kill you. I won’t be generous a second time no matter what she says. She may want you to have another chance to turn your life around. You better take it while you have the chance because as far as I’m concerned, my hands are already filthy and one more piece of trash like you isn’t going to do much more harm to my immortal soul.”
I picked him up and just threw him down, wiped my hands. I crushed his phone as I went by, picked up my bags and took Lexi home. I drove her in her car because she was too shaken to drive separately. I’d pick up my car later, once she was okay. I got her home. I wanted to hold her and talk to her, but she shook her head, went to lie down.
I wondered if she was mad at me, but I didn’t really care if she was. Somebody had to warn him off, and I knew he’d keep clear of her now. He would’ve been an idiot to do otherwise, and from what I’d seen in his face, he wasn’t an idiot, just a bully, a mean son of a bitch who wouldn’t want to go up against me.
I had to go back into the station right after Rafe got home and drove me to pick up my truck. When I checked on Lexi, she was asleep. I told Rafe to keep an eye on her because she might be upset after we ran into Watts and I got my alpha on.
“She’s not big on macho displays of dominance you realize,” he had said.
“Yeah, but this asshole didn’t seem to understand the situation. I made it clear for him.”
“Better you than me. I would’ve beat the hell out of him and possibly lost my license as a self-defense trainer.”
“Right. Still would’ve been worth it.”