Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 63842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Rip nodded once. “We will. Thanks, man.”
I watched them leave, Mia’s shoulders stiff under Oktober’s protective arm. The door closed behind them with a soft click.
Knight tapped a few keys, freezing the screen on Eric’s face. That Goddamn smirk. I wanted to claw it off him with my bare hands. Knight’s expression said he did too. He turned to Rip. “I’ll go brief the others. Church in an hour.”
“Yeah,” Rip said, his voice low and steady. “We’ll be there.”
Knight left us alone in the security office, shutting the door behind him. It locked automatically. The room felt smaller now, the air heavy with tension and anger. Rip stayed seated in the chair by the monitors, watching me with dark, careful eyes.
I rose from my chair, needing to move. The stillness felt suffocating. I paced the short length of the room. My skin buzzed with a strange, restless energy I struggled to contain. Anger and fear twisted together in my gut until I couldn’t separate them anymore.
“He’s always there,” I said finally, the words bursting out of me. “Even when he’s not physically present, he’s still in my head. Every decision I make, every move, every thought. I’m always wondering what he’ll do, how he’ll react.” I raked my fingers through my hair, tugging at the strands in frustration. “I finally start to feel safe here, like maybe I have friends and protection and people I care about who genuinely like me -- it’s like he can smell when I’m starting to heal, and he shows up to rip the scabs off.”
Rip remained still, his eyes never leaving me. “I know.”
“Do you?” I whirled toward him. “Do you know what it’s like to have someone living in your brain? To never fully own your thoughts because he’s contaminated everything?” My voice cracked. “To finally think you’re getting free and then --” I gestured helplessly at the frozen image on the screen, tears threatening even as I fought them back.
“No,” he said simply. “You’re right. I don’t. Poor choice of words, honey.”
His honesty deflated some of my anger. I stopped pacing and stood in the middle of the room, suddenly exhausted. “I’m so tired, Rip. I’m tired of letting him control what I do. What I feel.” I looked down at my hands, still trembling slightly. “Even now, standing here with you, he’s trying to control me.” Rip said nothing, but his gaze held steady, offering silent support without demanding anything from me. “I don’t want to be afraid anymore.” The words came out softer than I intended.
Rip’s expression softened. He nodded once, a barely perceptible movement. “I know. And I swear to you, I’ll help you take all that back. Knight was all for taking care of the problem permanently, but I wanted you to have at least some kind of choice. You deserve to be kept in the loop and have some say in the decision making. But if this is too much, if you need me to advocate for you, I can take over. You’ll never have to deal with him again.”
I stared at him sitting there, so solid and real and present. Rip, who never pushed. Who always asked. Who treated my choices like they mattered. Apparently, he’d even insisted on giving me a choice when even his brothers thought they should just take care of the problem and be done with it. The contrast between him and Eric struck me with sudden clarity.
I crossed the room in four quick strides and climbed onto his lap, my knees on either side of his thighs. He moved his hands to settle gently on my thighs before sliding to my hips over my loose skirt. His eyes widened slightly in surprise, but he didn’t say anything. I took his face in both my hands and kissed him hard, thrusting my tongue into his mouth when his lips parted.
For a heartbeat, he remained still. Then he met my tongue with a wicked thrust of his own, responding but not taking over. I pressed closer, sliding my fingers through his hair to grip the short strands. The kiss turned hungry, desperate. I bit his bottom lip and felt his hands twitch on my hips just before he slid them around to grip my ass.
“Touch me,” I demanded against his mouth. “Here.” I grabbed his wrists and placed his hands on the hem of my shirt, arching into his touch. His fingers flexed against the bare skin at my sides around my rib cage, warm and callused. “Higher.” I reached behind me to fumble with the back clasp of my bra.
He groaned, his eyes darkening as he watched my face. “Jade -- Jesus!”
“I need this.” I ground my hips down against him, feeling him hardening beneath me. “I need to choose this. To take this for myself. I need… you, Rip.”