Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 82949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
I lean my head against my chair and trace the plaster lines on the ceiling. “Yeah, with us—”
“Wow,” Malyk jokes, leaning against the marble and bringing his elbow to his knee. “Do not drag me into your and her weird little fuck fest, and I’m sure Dion would agree.”
“Dion would agree.” Dion shuts the door behind him, the tattoos snaking up his arms and neck almost too dark for someone as famous as him. “Whatever you and Mahlia have, it needs to not come near Shiloh, at least not yet.”
“At least not yet?” Malyk asks behind a chuckle. “I have a question. How many times have any of us wanted the same girl?”
I pause. My mouth opens and closes, and it’s not until Dion whines out loudly that I breathe out, “Fuck.”
Never. It has never happened this way. Have we all fucked around and played the part? Yeah. But has Malyk ever made a collective statement of being near a girl like he has with Shiloh? No. Fuck. No. We were sure that the only girl Malyk would ever fuck would be a corpse.
“We just need a new plan. Clearly, we’re all doing dumb shit and losing track.”
I snap, turning toward him. He raises a brow in challenge. Smart-ass motherfucker. They are both able to fuck around and lose track. Me? Well, I just don’t have that privilege. “You damn well know that’s not what I’m doing.”
“Forever and always, etc., we know,” Malyk teases, and I relax in my chair.
“How many times have you even wanted anyone, Mal?” Dion throws back, heading to the bar cart and pouring himself a glass of bourbon. “I could count on one hand how many times I have seen you with a girl, and we’ve known you a very long fucking time.”
Malyk shrugs, grinning at both of us. “I don’t want her. I just want to fuck her, play with her, see what she looks like with blood all over her body, shit like that. There’s a difference.”
There isn’t. Not when it comes to Malyk.
I watch as the clock on the wall ticks. An internal battle continues inside me, and I know that everything we do, we have to be careful. “How we go about this is how it’s going to end.”
“She hasn’t told us anything. One, she’s not afraid of us.” Dion lifts one finger. “And I know this because I tried, and I’ve seen her terrified, and trust me”—he looks between us all—“she is not. She trusts us enough to stay here, so maybe we play that card instead of what we’re used to.”
He has a point. She had her tongue down all our throats like she was the one who decided whether we all fuck or not. “I agree. Fear isn’t a way to get through to little Miss Shiloh St. Claire.”
Dion keeps his eyes on mine as he smirks around his glass of bourbon. “Exactly. Let’s take the other route.”
I watched as the lights turned down and the crowd clapped. They actually clapped.
I found a dark spot in the far corner of the room. Away from all of the eyes. Away from the questions. I didn’t want to look at who was here because I’d wonder how and why. Why the fuck are you here? I had a reason. Did they?
He slid beside me, a hand coming to my upper thigh. “How much would you pay for her?”
I collected my glass, tapping my finger against the glass as I watched the girl slowly lower herself to the ground, her head bowed. She looked the part. I figured they were drugged. It was obvious. But this one was different. She didn’t fight. Her eyes were not on the crowd. She was alert—aware.
“A lot.” I turned to face him, watching as the shadows moved over his jaw. “What about you?”
He raised a perfect brow. “I don’t buy the recruits.” When he lifted his glass to his lips, I knew. I knew right then that was probably the only answer I’d ever get out of him.
Shiloh
“I sent her a photo of my dick, and she got mad.”
I cup water in my hand, pouring it over my thigh as Cooper continues to make his argument on why he’s not a fuck boy. Spoiler alert: he is.
“Cooper. You are a damn menace.” I rock against the rolling waves as we wait for another break.
It’s been a slow day today, but I don’t mind. I need to be out here for reflection, and on these days, I need a calmer ride, not a chaotic one that I need for distractions.
“I am not!” His hand touches his chest before he runs it through his long blond hair, flashing me a smile so damn wicked I honestly don’t know how he gets any game at all. I mean, that’s a lie. Cooper is what you would call attractive. I don’t find him that way, but I can see how others would.