Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 40297 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 201(@200wpm)___ 161(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40297 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 201(@200wpm)___ 161(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
I was tempted to shoot back a biting retort—or put a bullet in his knee—but I just shook my head, grudgingly conceding their point. They weren’t wrong, even if it grated on me to admit it.
When my brothers had found their women, I’d often taken the opportunity to give them shit over being whipped. Now they were returning the favor, and I probably deserved every damn second of it. “You fuckers done?”
“Not even close.” Edge smirked, tilting his head slightly, his eyes glinting. “Gotta admit, it’s gonna be real satisfying watching you finally tumble headfirst into the same madness the rest of us went through.”
“Oh, he’s already there,” Jax snickered. “Considering the lengths we went to keep his sanity intact while Cecily was gone.”
I gave him a warning glance, but Kane looked up, intrigued. “What lengths?”
Jax’s mouth curved into a faint grin, enjoying himself entirely too much. “Knew he wasn’t gonna survive without some way to keep tabs, so I hacked her phone’s GPS. But unsurprisingly, that wasn’t enough. And when I saw him on the edge of doing something stupid, I tapped into the security feeds at her training facility and dorms.”
“Had to make sure she was safe,” I grunted, even knowing they would see right through that bullshit and that it wasn’t the only reason.
Edge barked a laugh, shaking his head. “Tyre Costa—club financial genius with a terrifying strategic mind—reduced to stalking security cameras over a girl. That’s a new one.”
I let out an irritated breath, knowing arguing wouldn’t change a thing. “Pretty sure none of you has room to talk when it comes to stalking your woman.”
Kane chuckled, shaking his head as he leaned back in his chair. “True.”
It was the worst kept secret around that my brothers still “kept tabs” on their wives—a tame way of saying that they had eyes and ears on them at pretty much all times. Although, I’d come to understand the reason for it now. The need to protect what was ours was nearly overwhelming, and this was the only thing holding us back from locking them in a tower to make sure they were always safe and untouched by the darkness in the world.
Luckily, the old ladies seemed to find it amusing rather than overbearing.
I turned toward the door, hurrying to make my escape.
“Kane,” I heard Edge say over my shoulder, his voice deliberately casual but his amusement was clearly implied. “Might as well put an order for another property vest. Looks like our treasurer is off the market.”
I kept walking since there was nothing for me to say because Edge was right. Kane should order a vest for Cecily. I’d already accepted my claim on her. She had gotten deep under my skin, and now that she was back in town, my restraint was dangerously thin. But I wasn’t about to fight the pull. Cecily was worth every bit of the obsession I’d allowed to consume me.
She was mine. And tonight, I intended to make damn sure she knew it.
6
TYRE
Ipulled up to the Hayeses’ residence just as the sky painted itself in fiery streaks of gold and red. My SUV rumbled quietly to a halt at the curb, and my brows drew together when I spotted Cecily already waiting for me on the porch. I’d assumed I’d meet her parents tonight. But there she stood, completely alone.
I climbed out of the vehicle and moved around the front, intending to ask her about it. But before I could come any closer, she stepped off the porch into the fading sunlight, and every coherent thought scattered. All I could see was her.
She wore a white mini dress, soft and floaty against her slender figure, the material looking almost weightless on her smooth, sun-kissed skin. The bodice hugged her body perfectly, secured by a halter tie behind her graceful neck, leaving her shoulders bare. A soft ruffle swept across the top of her chest, leading into sheer sleeves that billowed loosely down her arms, cinched neatly at her wrists. The dress flared at her waist, and the skirt skimmed outward in airy layers.
The whole thing looked innocent and sweet—until my eyes caught the small, teasing cutout beneath her ribs and the tantalizing sway of fabric around her thighs as she moved. Then sweet went out the window.
My body reacted hard and fast, heat pooling inside me and hardening my cock to steel. My thoughts instantly turned explicit, my pulse hammering as I imagined just how easy it would be to slide my palms beneath all that delicate white fabric, gripping her bare hips and thighs so I could feel her skin warm under my touch.
The Neanderthal inside me bristled slightly at the short hemline, knowing every man who saw her tonight would have the same dangerous thoughts running through their minds. But this was practically our first real time together, and I wasn’t about to scare her off by demanding she go back inside and change. No matter how much I wanted to.