Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 54059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 270(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 270(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
“You’re acquiring this joint?” one of the guards says.
”Yeah. It’s ours now, and we’ll do what’s necessary to protect it,” I answer. Just like Andy. I’ll do whatever I need to to protect her. In this case, it’s beating up Rico and buying off his guards with his own money. They won’t be able to come back after stealing from him, and he will have trouble hiring new muscle without the funds. It’s a win for everyone but him, which is just what he deserves.
The guard who spoke scratches the side of his face, weighing his odds. The other guard, though, has made up his mind. He plows forward, shoving us aside, and fills his pockets with cash, watches, and even a few slim gold bars Rico had stashed. Watching his buddy steal the goods puts the other guy’s ass in gear. It’s like watching two pigs fight each other at the trough.
We leave them fighting over the division of the last of the goods. If Rico wakes up, he can fight his former bodyguards, but he’ll lose. Once those guys got their hands on the gold, they were never going to give it up.
“Is it okay to say you’re glowing now?” Bam asks as we walk away from the strip joint.
“Yeah.” I know I’m not smiling, but I do feel good. I repaid my debt to Andy, and she’s safe. Her mom’s money is in my pocket. I reach in and count out the money Andy and her mom are owed and hand the rest to Bam. “Thanks for having my back.”
He gives me a chin nod. “You reading to Julie tonight or am I?”
“Me. I’m going to bring Andy over. Introduce her. How will Julie take it?”
“Not sure. Andy should bring her something.”
“A book,” I think. “And we’ll read it to her together.”
“Better make it two,” Bam suggests.
The thought of Julie and Andy meeting each other and getting along makes my chest warm, and this time, I am actually smiling. Funny enough, none of my injuries hurt any more either.
Chapter Thirty-Two
ANDY
When I hear someone at the door, I leap off the bed, rushing out of Niki’s bedroom. The front door is barely open, and I’m throwing myself at Niki when I see him. All of the worry and anxiety I’ve had leaves me. Niki lets out a grunt but catches me, his hands going to my ass to lift me off my feet.
“Shit, sorry, sorry.” My eyes search his face, but there isn’t a new mark on him. “I shouldn’t have launched myself at you.” My nerves got the best of me. I knew he was going to see Rico today. I’ve been on edge about it.
My mind has been a jumbled mess between thinking about Rico, and then drifting over to Niki and me having sex last night. It’s been giving me whiplash.
“This is how you should always greet me.” His expression is dead serious. I only shake my head but kiss him.
“I’m okay; no one worry about me.” I hear Bam. I glance over Niki’s shoulder to see Bam standing in the doorway. I couldn’t be more grateful for how good of a friend he is to Niki.
“You want a hug too?” I tease.
“I mean—”
“Fuck off,” Niki cuts in, making Bam chuckle.
“Can I at least go fuck off in my room?”
Niki steps out of the way but doesn’t put me down.
“Thank you for keeping him safe,” I tell Bam as he passes by. He shrugs it off like it’s not a big deal when it really is. Bam and Niki might as well be brothers. Bam was worked up for those few hours that we couldn’t find Niki. “He loves you. You know that,” I say to Niki when Bam’s bedroom door closes.
“And what about you?” His question jolts me because when I said that to Bam, I’d thought about me loving him.
“Can we talk?” Niki’s hands on my ass tighten. “It’s not bad; it’s just, ah—”
“Are you sure it’s not bad?” Niki asks. “After last night, there is no going back for us.” Does he think I’m about to bolt on him? “Who am I kidding? You sealed your fate that first day.”
“I do love you, Niki, but—”
He shuts me up, pressing his mouth to mine. Before I know it, I’m naked, and he’s deep inside of me. I wrap my legs around him. How am I so close already? The man knows how to work my body over. It's a skill set only he has ever had. It has been that way from the very start. A few touches and I was coming undone.
Is that part of love? Does it intensify the sex? It has to be. This connection with him courses through every part of me. All of it is linked together.
“You love me.” Niki’s eyes are intense, which is par for the course of who he is, but it’s a different intensity this time. He is willing this to be true. Damn, if I didn’t know I loved him before, it would be a done deal now.