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 exhaled through clenched teeth, giving her one last glance as I turned toward the building. “Fine.”
But when I emerged twenty minutes later, the meeting finally finished, Cecily was nowhere to be found. The pool deck was quieter now, with Savannah cleaning up leftover snacks, and the kids bundled in towels as the other moms herded them toward the clubhouse.
I strode toward Savannah, and the question came out harsher than I intended when I asked, “Where’s Cecily?”
She glanced up, surprise flaring in her eyes before her lips quirked into a knowing smile. “Had to cut today’s lesson short—she’s leaving for a two-week training camp tomorrow morning, so she headed home to pack. But she’ll be back after that.”
Two weeks.
The growl escaped before I could stop it, my frustration growing as I stalked back inside, my boots heavy on the tile floor as I headed straight for Jax’s office. The man glanced up from his monitors, eyebrows rising in mild surprise at my entrance.
“I want everything you can find on Cecily Hayes,” I demanded, getting right to the point. “Everything, Jax. Background, training schedules, connections. If she’s ever stubbed her damn toe, I want to know.”
Jax leaned back slowly, his lips curving into a knowing smirk. “Not wasting any time, are you, brother?”
“You would know.”
Jax adjusted the ball cap on his head, turning it backward before picking his black-rimmed glasses up off the desk. “True.”
Not one of my married brothers could claim to have wasted a fucking second going after their women.
I leaned forward, planting my hands on the edge of his desk. “She’s leaving town tomorrow. If you don’t keep me occupied with every scrap of intel, I might just end up chasing her and doing something stupid like kidnapping her.”
His grin widened into something darkly amused. “We can’t have you catching a charge this early into your obsession.”
“Damn straight. Get me what I need.” I shoved away from the desk, heading back toward the door. “Now.”
I stalked out of the clubhouse into the unseasonably hot Florida sun, thanks to a late October heat wave. My blood simmered with a territorial ache I couldn’t shake. Cecily Hayes had walked into my life for thirty fucking seconds, and she already had me twisted up in knots. Now she was completely beyond my reach for two damn weeks.
I climbed onto my Harley, the engine roaring to life beneath me as I pulled out of the compound and onto the open road. I rode hard and fast in an attempt to outrun the possessive hunger clawing at my chest. But the longer I was on the road, the clearer it became—I wasn’t escaping this. The obsession had already taken root, the fierce need to claim and protect burning hot in my blood. No matter how far I rode or how much time passed, Cecily was mine.
And I wasn’t about to let her go.
2
CECILY
My alarm pulled me from a deep sleep a few hours before sunrise. I silenced it before the second beep, rolled out of bed, and stood even though I wanted to pull the covers over my head and go back to sleep. Trudging into the bathroom, I dabbed some coconut oil into my palm and rubbed my hands together before running my fingers through my hair. Chlorine was brutal, even with a swim cap, and the Florida humidity didn’t help with the frizz, either.
Once that was done, I braided my hair and wrapped the thick rope into a tight bun, pulled on my team sweats, and popped into the communal kitchen of the dorm where I was staying for training camp.
By five, I’d eaten enough protein and carbs to get me through what was going to be a brutal morning and was already starting warm-ups and strength conditioning. An hour later, we were in the pool for our first session of the day.
Eight of us moved as one, our legs flashing above the surface in perfect unison. I held the center base position, my core locked tight. The music thrummed through the underwater speakers as we spun into the lift. For those few seconds, nothing else existed except for the need to be flawless.
Coach’s voice cracked across the deck the second we surfaced. “Hold…hold…break!”
I sucked in air, treading water as the team regrouped. My shoulders screamed, but a good performance was worth a little pain.
“Hayes,” Coach barked, her eyes locked on me. “You were half a beat late on the opening spin. Almost doesn’t count. Push harder.”
I dipped my chin. “Got it, Coach.”
She was being harder on me than any of my teammates, but I knew that was because she held me to a higher standard since I was the best swimmer at this camp.
Jennie treaded water beside me. At sixteen, she was three years younger than me and glowing with fresh talent. “At least the lift felt really solid this time. You made it look easy holding the base, Cecily.”