Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 80643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
The common phrase is don’t shit where you eat, but for me, it’s more like a refusal to make promises that I can’t keep. I’m always up front about the fact that I’m not looking for a relationship. Not now, and probably not ever.
I’m unwilling to be tied down.
By anything, or anyone.
My ambitions are too important to me, and with a career that will have me traveling all over the globe, I refuse to be the cause of anyone’s broken heart.
Because I’m actually not an asshole, despite what Noah probably thinks—I just know love isn’t in the cards for me, and I’m never going to lead anyone down a dead-end path with me.
The air outside Onyx House heats up as the sun rises further into the sky.
Sunlight beats down on my back as I finish the second coat of stain on the table, working in the middle of the back lawn.
After it’s coated, I pull off my gloves and I’m in desperate need of ice water.
I walk back toward the house, grabbing the bowl of pineapple and tossing my T-shirt over my shoulder as I head inside.
I’m greeted by the scent of maple syrup as I walk in.
I lock eyes with Noah in the corner of the room and he glances downward toward my pecs, then averts his eyes.
He acts differently the moment I’m in the room, every time.
With the other guys, he’s loose as hell, talkative, and approachable when I’m not around. But now I see his spine going a little more rigid and his easy smile disappearing as he turns back toward Roman.
I head over to the kitchen where Rayne and Hunter are hanging out.
“Torin, that table is starting to look fucking sick,” Rayne tells me as I head over toward the kitchen island. He and Hunter are mixing up big bottles of electrolyte water and shaking them up.
“Thank you,” I tell him.
Hunter glances at me, then turns back to Rayne. “Should I get my nipple pierced, Rayne?”
“You would look hot with it, if you wanted,” Rayne tells him.
“Torin,” Hunter asks me, “have you ever had your dick pierced?”
“Can’t say I have. I’ve thought about it, though, mostly because I think it might feel very nice for the people I’m with.”
“Exactly,” Hunter says. “I don’t think I’d go through with it, but fuck, it can look hot, sometimes.”
“Are you trying to tell me something, my love?” Rayne asks Hunter.
“No. You’re perfect, and your cock is perfect.”
Rayne grins, squeezing Hunter’s waist before looking back at me.
Across the room, Noah and Roman are standing up and walking out into the hallway together. Noah has his leather-bound planner in his hand, and the two of them seem like they’re discussing something serious.
After they disappear further down the hall, I nod.
“What are they doing?” I ask Rayne.
“Roman and Noah? Who the hell knows,” he says. His expression changes a little, and steps a little closer, glancing over in that direction to make sure they’re out of earshot. “Torin, it’s not my place, so tell me to fuck off if you want to. But I wanted to ask… what’s the deal between you and Noah?”
I shrug a shoulder, popping another piece of pineapple in my mouth. “He’s jealous of me. That’s it. That’s the whole deal.”
I grin at Rayne, but the truth is that I don’t even know if it’s a joke.
Rayne smiles and shakes his head. “Noah’s been fucking roughing it for the past few months. He quit drinking, then quit having hookups, and all summer he’s just… not himself.”
Interesting.
I’ve noticed that Noah talks to Roman a lot. And it’s completely obvious that Roman Petrov is one of the guys in Onyx who has family ties to the mafia. If the vodka, Mack truck build, and endless tattoos don’t make it clear, the way he always has private conversations sure as fuck does.
“I can tell Noah’s acting weird,” I say to Rayne. “But Noah’s never been comfortable when I’m around.”
“Mm. Can you go easy on him?” Rayne asks me.
“That’s not really my style. I wanted to ask you something, though.”
“Go for it.”
“Roman is the one who’s involved with the mob, right? What does that actually entail?
Rayne glances across the room again. “He doesn’t really talk about it. Not directly, at least. He’s constantly telling us his cousins can ‘do things’ for us if we need them, or provide protection, but that’s about it.”
I watch across the room and see that Roman is walking back into the kitchen with Noah, his hand placed at the small of Noah’s back.
They go back to the end of the long dining table.
How fucking close are you two, stepstalker?
I lean closer toward Rayne and Hunter. “Is Noah involved in that stuff?”
“Noah? Fuck no,” Hunter says quietly, with a laugh. “That would be way too serious for him. He plans events for Onyx Society, but like, fun, social events. Parties. Strip poker. He doesn’t get involved with anything close to crime.”