Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 86240 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86240 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
“Do you have any Advil?” I called out before grabbing her bag.
Normally, I wouldn’t have opened her bag without permission. But nothing in it was personal, as it had all been purchased by Kelsey or Griff’s team. I had the bag unzipped when I reached for the paper inside. I was sliding the contents out when Tayla came in and said, “Wait.”
It was too late. There in my hand was something I couldn’t quite comprehend. Everything went silent for a second before I could draw breath and dumbly hold up the box. “What is this?”
22
TAYLA
I gripped the towel closed as if it were a lifeline. “Best-laid plans” was the saying, but for me, everything was falling to shit. The man I had trusted may not be trustworthy, which shook me to my core. He’d been one of the reasons that had kept me sane.
“It’s exactly what the box says, Shawn.” I put a lot of emphasis on his name. “Or is Matt your name?”
The question had built in my head until the point of pain. I felt tears pricking in my eyes, which was one of the reasons I hadn’t brought this up until now. There was no way I wanted to cry. My emotions were all over the place.
“I can explain,” he began, having the nerve to sound pissed off, but I cut him off.
“You sound like every bad cliché line ever said in a movie.”
His eyes narrowed, and he snapped at me. “I didn’t know you. And as I’ve mentioned, I work with some very dangerous people. So I use an alias, sue me. No way would I give anyone a way to hurt my family because of my choices. Now you have your answer. I’d like some of my own. Whose is it?”
There was a moment when I considered slapping him, but I refrained. “Okay. I’ll give you that because we haven’t seen each other in three months. It’s a logical question, given you don’t know me,” I said, repeating his first words. “Let me set you straight and give you details you probably don’t want to hear but are relevant to your question.” I stopped and took a breath. “My period is irregular. What that means for me is it isn’t unusual for mine not to show up for a few months. Honestly, I hadn’t given it a second thought until Kelsey asked me if I needed supplies, and I didn’t. While it’s likely nothing, if, and I mean if, I’m pregnant, it’s yours. I haven’t been with anyone else, and Ruin billed me as a virgin and did everything to ensure you would be my first.”
I didn’t go into the things he did do. There was no space for that in this conversation. If I thought he would drop it, I was wrong.
“No one offered you the morning-after pill?”
I glared at him. “For your information, I was too busy defending you to the cops, the nurses, doctors, social workers, my mother and whoever else came to my hospital room that day that I wasn’t raped. I didn’t think about myself. I’m not even sure if they offered it because it didn’t cross my mind. Sorry, I wasn’t exactly thinking straight.”
“Okay. Fine. When were you going to tell me, if at all?”
Narrowing my eyes at him, I glared a few seconds before answering. “When I had an answer.”
He nodded and began to walk away.
“That’s it,” I spat. “No opinions?” I wasn’t sure what I expected.
He spun around with fire in his eyes and stalked toward me. “What opinions do you want me to have? Everything is up to you, no matter how fucked up my life is. Including how I should walk away from you, but I can’t.”
In the next moment, his mouth was hot on mine. I gave as good as I got. We fought for dominance over the kiss until we were frantically peeling at each other’s clothes. He hiked me up and urged my legs around his waist as my back met the wall. His thrust inside me felt like a brand. Everything I felt for him tattooed its way onto my heart.
There was nothing sweet about our lovemaking. It felt angry as if we were both frustrated with our undeniable connection. The earth moved, and it took more than a moment for my mind to penetrate the sexual haze I was in. We were on a plane, and as that thought materialized, Grant’s voice sounded above. I couldn’t make out the words, but as the plane shook, I was certain he was warning us of turbulence. But Shawn’s kiss on my neck made all that noise disappear. All I wanted was in the now as Shawn pounded his way to my ultimate climax. My inner walls spasmed around his cock, forcing his own release with a roar.