Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 77992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
He grabs the front of my hoodie and pushes me back until my ass hits the counter. I’m crowded by his massive frame that radiates with fury. His hips press hard against mine, making a strangled breath escape me.
Seconds tick, tick, tick by.
His anger morphs into something confusing and heady—something he doesn’t seem to understand either. He roams his hot glare over my features, but rather than his eyes being filled with hate, something sparkles in them. Interest. Curiosity. Heat.
I’m imagining it.
Roan Hirsch hates me for no fucking reason.
He certainly doesn’t look seconds from kissing me.
Because I feel like a rat caught in a trap, all I can do is stare down the predator before me. I lick my lips in a nervous way that attracts his attention. Then I feel it.
Hardness.
Between us.
Me? Him? Both?
His cheeks flush with a tint of pink before he releases me and steps back, nearly stumbling over his own feet.
“There are certain things you’re not allowed to talk about to anyone. Roux being at the top of that list,” he warns, his hands folding together and hanging loosely over his crotch.
I can’t help but dart my stare there, wondering if what I felt was my imagination. “My sisters and mother are off-limits too.”
He nods without hesitation. “Our sisters are friends, and for that reason only, I’ll be fucking civil to you in this house.”
“At school?”
“At school you’re on your own, rat.”
We manage to get the kitchen cleaned up without any other conversation. When we finish, Aunt Karen comes in to check on us.
“Hollis,” she says, giving me a side hug. “Can you do me a huge favor?”
“Of course.”
“The girls need to shower and your mom is exhausted. I’d love it if you could take Roan and Roux home for me so I could help her get them off to bed.”
He stiffens and I nearly choke at her request.
“W-What? Me? Even after today in your office?” I stammer out.
Her lips press into a firm line as she bounces her attention between us. “I think you’ve managed to sort out your differences today. You’re both grown up enough to handle a little car ride. Be careful out there.”
Defeated, I give her a nod, despite the churning in my stomach. “Sure.”
Roan stalks out of the kitchen. He tells Roux to gather her stuff. Aunt Karen gives me a sympathetic look, but then she leaves me. Fuck. I grab my coat and keys, leaving out the front door without a word. The car is cold as hell, but I sit inside of it as I wait for them to come out. Snow flutters around, but nothing too heavy yet. Within minutes, Roan and Roux head out of Aunt Karen’s house toward my car. Roan is normal and nice to Roux. It’s interesting to see this side of him. He’s a mean, hateful bastard at school and to me, but to her, he’s sweet. I expect him to sit in the back with her, but once she’s buckled in, he sits up front with me with his container of leftovers in his lap.
“Where to?” I ask as I back out of the driveway.
He grunts out some directions. We’re quiet as I maneuver the dark, icy streets. As I near the apartment complex he named, he goes rigid.
“Pull over,” he barks out.
“What? We’re not there yet—”
“I said pull over now!”
I dart my eyes to the rearview mirror to see Roux’s eyes widen at her brother’s outburst. Not wanting to make this worse for her, I pull over onto the side of the road.
“Roan, it’s snowing,” I mutter.
“Yep. Roux, get your stuff. Let’s go.”
“Let me pull up farther—”
“Leave it alone, Hollis,” he snarls at me.
Not rat. Hollis.
Something in his burning expression tells me I need to back off. I just don’t understand what his deal is. Is it because he doesn’t want me to see where he lives? I’ve driven by this apartment complex before. It’s rundown and old, but nothing to be ashamed of.
“I, uh…” I pull my phone out of my pocket and hand it to him. “Can you put in your number? I can text you and when you get home safely, you can text me back, so I know you guys didn’t freeze to death or some shit.”
He eyes the phone for the longest time and then he takes it from me, his rough fingertips grazing along my palm sending a tingle of awareness shooting through me. Quickly, he enters in his number before tossing my phone back at me. While he gathers his backpack and climbs out, I text him.
Me: This is Hollis.
Feels formal as fuck, but I don’t know what else to say to the guy. He doesn’t respond, but instead busies himself with getting his sister out of the car.
“Bye, Roux,” I call out through the still open front door of the car. “See you Wednesday, I guess.”