Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 84471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
“Until now?”
“Yeah, until now. I’m not putting my fucking DNA into the system, but I took everything I had from when I was found and sent it to a PI. She just got back to me and she thinks she's found something.” He shakes his head. “I'm kinda scared, to be honest.”
“It's only natural. That's a huge deal.” I wet my lips nervously. “Thanks for sharing it with me.”
“I needed to fucking tell somebody. Fuck, that I even dared to hire someone was a big deal. I don't know what I'll find, and whatever it is, once I take the lid off, I might not be able to put it back in the box. I've got a good life now. Maybe I should let it go.” He shakes his head. “But what if it's something awesome?”
“Can I ask what it says?” I add quickly, “I mean, you don't have to tell, obviously. Only if you want.”
“She found someone she thinks might be my cousin.” He picks up the envelope, looks at it, then tosses it back on the table.
“Are you going to follow up on it?” Rising up on my knees so I can reach, I lean in and place a kiss on the side of his head.
“Dunno yet. I got to think on it a little.” Suddenly he straightens. “Here I am stealing the fucking show. Sorry, it's a big thing, but I fucking wanted to help you, not the other way around. Can I help you think? Dunno how, but anything I can do? And thanks for being someone I can talk to about this shit. It's made me feel better.”
I throw my arms around him and just hug him. It takes a moment, but his arms wrap around my shoulders and he pulls me into the warmth of his side. “Just you being here makes me feel better. Can I give you some advice?”
“Sure.”
How do I say this in a way that makes sense? “My parents know exactly where they come from. My father’s family has a whole genealogy book that goes back centuries to places that don’t even exist on the map anymore. But they’ve spent their entire lives searching for meaning. It sounds fun, but inside, they are so empty. You? You aren’t empty inside. You had no idea where you came from, but you still managed to build a life that filled you up, and nobody can take that away.”
Blackout sits a little taller. “Shit. That’s fucking deep.”
“Well somebody in the family had to get something out of all that self-help stuff.”
He laughs. “Shit, I fucking love you, girl. Do you mind if I keep this here?”
My brain stops working at the ‘I fucking love you’ part, but eventually I manage to answer. “Yeah, of course.”
31
WILLOW
The words don't flow as easily when I've got so much to think about. I worked, I did a little yard work, I slept, and now I’m trying to work again, and it’s like pulling teeth. I finish up a scene, but it feels slow. Like the heroine isn’t sure what she wants anymore.
Which is absolutely not at all a problem that I’m facing. I can’t believe I used to think the sex scenes were the hard part. Now when I’m writing, the sex comes easily, but the emotions feel complicated. Maybe I'm starting to get reliant on my guys for more than just sex?
That's a stupid question. Of course I am. Somewhere between stomping up to the club to tell them to quiet down, and finding out more about who they are as people so I actually care about the big idiots has destroyed my chances of having some quick summer fun and moving on with my life. I've fallen for them.
Hard.
There's no denying that.
Skyhigh, always in charge, always there to make me smile, and he has that competency of knowing exactly what he's doing, all the time. But also sensitive to my needs and a lot of hard-earned experience.
Dragon, quiet, stern, strong, but sweet and a little silly when you get to know him. Swoonworthy. And the way he gets all quiet and deadly whenever he thinks someone or something might hurt me? It makes my heart beat faster every time. And every time I lure a smile out of him, it feels like a little victory.
Blackout seemed like the easy going one, who loves to make me smile, and then loves to take charge and show me exactly how kinky I can be. But now that I know more about his past, I understand more about what makes him tick. He trusts me in a way that I don't know that I deserve.
A month ago I had exactly one friend in town, and now I have so much more. I can’t imagine my life without any of them, and even the club itself has started to feel like an odd sort of family. I would never have imagined this was possible when I decided to move into this house.