Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 131916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Me
Be safe, brother.
Otto
Always. I’ll catch you for breakfast. You owe me.
He capped it off with about five-thousand kissing winky faces like the cheesy fucker he was.
Shaking my head, I tucked my phone back into my pocket, then rounded the side of the building where River of Ink and a teahouse were located. My bike was the only thing sitting on that side since the rest of the trendy businesses on this street had closed hours before.
I swung my leg over the low-slung seat, the motorcycle a custom piece of art created by Trent’s brother, Jud. Every inch of it was matte black. A fucking beast of a machine that made me feel like a king.
I took the handlebars, my attention slanting to the tattoo that covered the back of my hand.
It was two stacked Ss with an eye in the middle.
All five of my crew had it in the same spot, though mine had a knife jutting through the middle of it.
A reminder of who I was.
I kicked the bike over, and the powerful engine grumbled to life. I edged out onto the side road, making a right at Culberry to head out to my place.
The metal vibrated below me as I traveled through Moonlit Ridge, my hands fisting the bars. I only passed a couple cars, the only activity the packed gravel parking lot out front of Kane’s as I passed.
And fuck me if I wasn’t in the mood for an old fashioned, thirsting for a little spice on my tongue, but I forced myself to keep going, the wind lashing across my face as I traveled.
I rode all the way to the end of Culberry where it came to a T at Vista View. I made the right onto the two-lane road that wound along the lake. Here, the extravagant cabins were tucked beneath soaring pines and oaks. Most of their lights were cut, the windows nothing but blackened squares.
The moon hung low on the horizon behind the jagged, pitched peaks of the mountains, and silvered rays glittered over the stilled surface of the lake.
Air breezed across the water, and I inhaled the fresh scent of the woods, doing my best to clear out my senses since they’d been on overdrive the entire night.
Trying to eradicate the buzz that still pulsed beneath my flesh.
She was just another client.
Another canvas of skin.
In the far distance at the top of the lake, I could see the lights glow from The Sanctuary, the motel that Theo, another of my crew, owned.
I slowed to take the next right onto the small road into my neighborhood. My bike rumbled as I wound up the winding two lane before I made the left onto my driveway.
My place was done cabin-style like the rest of the houses in this area, two story and fronted by dark wooden planks and accented in chunky brown rocks. There was a wraparound porch, also in wood, and I pulled my bike to a stop before I clicked into my phone to lift the garage. I pulled in and parked next to my SUV, killed the engine, and blew out a sigh as I kicked out the stand and swung off.
I was ready to fuckin’ call it.
It’d been a long-damned day, and I was drained. There was nothing I wanted more than to faceplant onto my mattress.
Well, except for sinking into that sweet, tempting body. Go back and erase the choice I’d made to just let her walk out the door, but I could be sure that decision was for the fucking best.
Tapping the button to close the garage, I quietly eased open the interior door. I kept my footsteps light as I crept down the short hall that led to the main area of the house.
A dim light burned from the opening to the kitchen, and I stalled when I rounded it and found it wasn’t empty.
Raven stood at the sink with her back to me.
“What the hell are you still doing up?” I grumbled.
Shocked, she whirled around, dark hair whipping around right as the glass she’d been drinking from slipped from her hand. Glass shattered as it hit the floor.
And…well…fuck.
She slapped her hand over her chest, gasping for breath. “What the hell is wrong with you, River? Sneaking up on me like that? You scared me to freaking death.”
I don’t think it could ever be said that my baby sister wasn’t dramatic.
“You do realize I live here and was probably going to be coming home sometime tonight, yeah?”
Striding deeper into the kitchen, I tossed my keys to the island.
Raven narrowed her eyes that were the same color as mine. “And you were supposed to be back like…three hours ago. Did you really think I would be able to sleep while I was worried about what might have happened to you? I mean, you could have been dead in a ditch somewhere for all I knew.”