Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 90315 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 452(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90315 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 452(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Big guy.
That’s the first time she’s called me that in a week, and it pisses me off that it soothes my prickly skin.
Get a fucking grip, James.
“Again.” I crook my finger at her, motioning for her to come closer. “Let’s go.”
“Fine.”
I have her walk past me as if she’s striding down the sidewalk, and I attack her, wrap my arm around her neck, holding tight.
She stomps on my foot but only catches my toes, not hurting me at all. Then she tries to dig her elbow into my stomach, but I arch back.
“Damn it,” she grunts, and finally, she digs her fingernails into my forearm, and when I jerk, my hold loosening, she bites my arm.
“Fuck.”
I drop her, and she swings around triumphantly. “I got out!”
“You fucking bit me.”
“You told me to get out of your hold. If you were a kidnapper, well, I’d probably be too scared anyway, but in this scenario, I would have gotten loose.”
I stare at my arm, blood trickling where the little wildcat broke skin.
“Oh shit. I didn’t mean to bite that hard.”
“No, it’s good. Get out any way you can. Rip the skin from their fucking bones if you have to.”
“Ew.” She wrinkles her nose, and it’s the cutest fucking thing I’ve ever seen.
“Do I need a rabies shot?”
Lena smirks and reaches for her water again, her energy renewed with her victory.
“We’re doing the obstacle course tomorrow, now that your feet are healed up.”
“Ugh, that sucks.”
Lifting a brow, I walk out of the ring and drink my own water, watching her carefully. Lena doesn’t tell me when she’s hurting. I have to watch for it—otherwise she’ll push too hard.
“Why does that suck?”
“I’m not good at stuff like that.” She shakes her head and starts to stretch, bending over, and I turn my back on her.
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t have the best coordination. Or balance. I’m not clumsy, but I’m no ballerina.”
“Fall risk.”
She barks out a laugh, and it makes my own lips tip up in a grin.
“My hands aren’t the strongest.”
“I hear a lot of excuses, Rebel.” I shake my head and cross my arms. “I don’t give a fuck about any of them. We’re doing it.”
“Your army Ranger is showing. You might want to tuck that in.”
Damn it, I like her.
“We’re running back to the house.”
“Goody. Are you going to sing march songs too?”
“Your mouth is going to get you into trouble one of these days.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time.” She’s unconcerned as she shrugs a shoulder and wiggles into my old hoodie before we lock the gym and set off on our jog.
It’s fucking freezing outside. We’re squarely into the middle of October, and cold-weather season is upon us. Clouds hang in a moody overcast ceiling, and there’s a chilly wind hitting us in the face as we jog home.
Once inside, Lena tugs the hoodie off as she heads right for the stairs.
It’s now our routine that she goes up and showers after the workout, and I go to my office to get work done for a few hours.
I won’t see her again until dinner.
And for the sake of my sanity, and keeping my dick to myself, that’s the way it has to be. Even if being away from her makes my skin itch.
But not two minutes after I hear her door close upstairs, I hear a bloodcurdling scream, and I immediately sprint upstairs, taking them three at a time.
Her door is locked, but one hard shove with my shoulder has the doorjamb splintering and giving way to my body weight, and I find Lena standing at the doorway of the bathroom, breathing hard, her hands covering her mouth.
“What’s wrong?”
She shakes her head, still staring straight ahead.
“Damn it, Lena, why did you scream?”
She points, and in the bathroom, in the center of the floor, is one giant fucking wolf spider.
Lena pulls in a shaky breath, and then she turns into me, buries her face in my chest, and clings to me.
“Why is there a spider the size of my goddamn head in this house?”
“It’s cold out, so the bugs that haven’t died yet try to come in. I’ve never seen a wolf spider inside before, though.”
“Gideon.”
“Okay, I’m on it. You can go.”
“What if there are more?”
“There aren’t. Go, Rebel. I’ll get it out of here.”
She’s clinging to me, so I hug her tight, keeping my eye on the asshole so it doesn’t hide somewhere, and rub my hand down her spine.
Thank God she hadn’t gotten naked yet.
“If you want me to take care of this before it gets away, you have to let me go.”
She blinks up at me, swallows hard, and then runs away from me, out the door, and toward the stairs.
I turn back to the spider.
“Fuck. How am I supposed to get rid of you?”
I’m not squishing it. Even with these boots on, it’ll crunch, and that’s fucking disgusting.