Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 107376 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107376 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Hunter looks the same as usual. Calm, collected, and the perfect blend of asshole mixed with just the right amount of drop-dead gorgeousness that makes you forget why you hated him in the first place and accidentally let him fuck your ass in the shower with cherry-scented lube.
Maddox on the other hand. He looks like his whole world just came crashing down, which is ironic, because it was my whole world that came crashing down. Literally.
They make their way toward the bar and Maddox holds my stare like a man walking toward his own execution, and I find myself scoffing. I hope he’s terrified.
They weave through the people, and the closer they get, the more I realize that Maddox doesn’t look terrified at all. He looks smug, like he’s up to something, and before my stomach can even finish dropping right out of my ass, they reach the end of the bar.
I shake my head, already dreading what’s about to happen, when Maddox steps right up to the bar and pulls himself on top of it, towering over my customers.
People start cheering when he holds his hand out toward Hunter and that dread only grows when Hunter hands him a single long-stemmed rose.
“Fine ladies and gentleman of the jury,” he announces to my bar. “I have been a foolish man who has made mistakes. Very terrible mistakes. Catastrophic mistakes. But I am here tonight to make amends, even if it’s the last thing I do.”
“Oh, no,” I mutter to myself.
The crowd cheers. If only they knew the fucker burned down my home.
“Tonight, I shall win back the affection of my one true love.”
Men wolf-whistle from the crowd, and I shake my head while reaching for the baseball bat I keep under the bar.
Maddox places the rose between his teeth, and I let out a sigh, but it’s too late, there’s nothing I can do. The wild animal otherwise known as Maddox Blake is already in motion, sprinting down the length of my bar, giving people only a moment’s notice to save their drinks before dropping to his knees and sliding like a damn Magic Mike performer until finally coming to a stop right before me, that rose still locked tightly between his teeth.
The crowd is in his corner, but I don’t care. And as he takes the rose from between his teeth and goes to hand it to me, I rear back with the baseball bat and start swinging.
“Oh fuck,” Maddox grunts, quickly ducking and narrowly missing the bat.
“YOU,” I grunt, swinging again. “BURNED.” Swing. “MY APARTMENT DOWN!”
Maddox dodges the bat like a pro, and when I try again, his hand whips up, catching the bat with ease. “I’m sorry, Savage,” he says, his heart on his sleeve, but the audacity to catch my bat mid swing only pisses me off more, and I rip it out of his hands.
“Let me beat the shit out of you.”
“You’re right,” he says with a nod. “I deserve it. Take another swing.”
I don’t hesitate, and I rear back again before letting him have it, only his stupid reflexes cut in again, catching the bat midair. “Shit, sorry. Didn’t mean to catch it. It just happens. Go again. Promise, this time you can really get me.”
I go again, but his hand snaps out just inches from his head. “FUCK! Sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
Frustration gets the best of me, and I throw the bat aside before launching myself at him instead, giving him everything I’ve got as we tumble off the bar and onto the floor around my customers.
People start chanting, but I don’t know what for. All I’m focused on is making Maddox hurt as much as I am, but honestly, the fucker just looks like he’s enjoying every bit of my wild attack. I don’t land a single bitch slap before a strong arm wraps around my waist and hauls me off Maddox.
“You done, Savage?” Hunter questions, slamming my ass down on the bar, purposely standing between me and Maddox. I don’t know what he’s thinking, though. He knows I don’t have a problem going through him to get to his best friend.
“Not even close.”
Maddox gets to his feet and peers at me over Hunter’s shoulder. “I swear, Savage. I’m really fucking sorry. If there’s anything I could do to fix this, you know I would.”
My chest sinks, my heart crumbling into a million tiny pieces, and it only pisses me off more. I’m not somebody who cries, especially not in a place like this, surrounded by all my employees and customers, but Maddox has a way of bringing these wild emotions out of me.
“Let me take you home tonight,” Maddox says. “You can crash with me until we get you a new apartment figured out. I’ll get you everything you need. Clothes, makeup, a new phone. I’ll cover everything. I’ll deal with your insurance and your landlord. Trust me, you won’t need to do a thing. Just give me a chance to make this right.”