Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 120031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 600(@200wpm)___ 480(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 600(@200wpm)___ 480(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
“Not as good as you look in my shirts and tees,” he told her.
She snorted. “There’s never any sense in me wearing them. You just take them off.”
“Only because you look so hot in them that I have to have you right then.”
“Well, since I want to ride you while you’re wearing my jersey, I can’t really judge.”
Like that, his dick went hard. “Little witch. You can’t say stuff like that when you have a no-sex-before-games rule. It’s just plain mean.”
“But fun.” She polished off the rest of her smoothie and stood. “Need to use the bathroom. I’ll be back in a sec.”
He swatted her ass as she passed, smirking at her mock cry of outrage. Hearing his cell chime, he placed his mug on the coaster and pulled out his phone. Nick. Eli swiped his thumb across the screen and greeted, “Hey.”
“I have an update for you,” said Nick. “But you’re not gonna like it.”
Eli stilled. “Go on.”
“Remember Cain said he might know who the falcon was that led the attack on you?”
“Yeah, he told me that one of his associates from The Movement would check it out.”
“Well, Cain just got a call from said associate. The guy had a long chat with a certain lone falcon, who apparently played dumb for a while. But when the chat got a little too intense, the avian admitted he was part of the attack on you. He also confessed that Ignacio was the person who hired him.”
Eli’s upper lip curled, and his wolf sliced out his claws. “Fucker.”
“Yeah.” There was a wealth of fury in that one word.
Taking a deep breath, Eli scrubbed a hand down his face. “I can’t do anything about this right now.”
“Today is about Casey, I know. We’ll all be there for her, cheering her on—both at the game and during the challenge. Ignacio can wait until tomorrow. It’s not like he’s going anywhere.”
Tomorrow, Eli promised himself, taking a long breath. He’d deal with the bastard tomorrow. Right then, he needed to concentrate on staying calm so that he didn’t alert Casey that something was wrong. He’d wait until later before sharing Cain’s news.
“How is Casey?” Nick asked.
“Nervous but focused.”
“Good. Tell her not to let Sherryl draw her into a fight. She will try it.”
“Casey knows that.” Eli lifted his mug and took another sip of his coffee. “She won’t fall for it.”
“Sherryl knows her well, which means she’ll know how to get under her skin,” Nick pointed out.
“Doesn’t matter. Casey’s ready for it. She won’t snap.” She was smarter than that.
“Let’s hope not.” With that, Nick rang off.
Eli pocketed his phone just as she returned to the kitchen. “Nick called to check how you were doing. He’s worried that Sherryl will manage to goad you into attacking her on the field. As he said, she knows you well, so she knows how to get under your skin.”
“Yeah, but that works both ways. I don’t want to start shit on the field, though. I’ll bide my time and wait until after the game.”
Eli snatched her hand and tugged her onto his lap. “No matter what happens today, I’m proud of you.” Proud to have her as his mate. Any male would be. It was little wonder that she’d caught Ignacio’s attention—Eli should have seen right off that the cougar wanted her. Just the mere thought of Ignacio made his jaw clench.
“Everything okay with you?” she asked, her far-too-perceptive eyes sweeping over his face. “Something’s bothering you. What is it?”
“I don’t like that I have to sit on the bleachers while you play today.” It was true, just not the entire truth. “Donahue vetoed me sitting with the coaching staff; said she’d only allow it if you needed to be benched. If Sherryl and her teammates go at you—”
“There’d be nothing you could do about it anyway,” she finished. “The Seals will commit a few fouls, but they’ll be careful not to go too far. They won’t risk getting sent off the field.” Well, Casey hoped they wouldn’t. It really all depended on how much Sherryl had succeeded in riling them up—something the bitch was quite good at. She’d certainly wound Mallory up tight.
Casey traced the stubble on his jaw. “I’ll be fine. You just concentrate on helping Marcus keep Roni in her seat. She’s pissed at Sherryl, and I don’t think it would take much to make your sister charge onto that field and try to deal with the bitch herself.”
“Baby, all the females of the pack want to get their hands on Sherryl. Honestly, I won’t be surprised if they pull out pom-poms when you’re beating the shit out of her outside the Hounds’ headquarters later.”
Casey’s mouth quirked. “Yeah, well, Roni in particular has a real hard-on for Sherryl.”
“Roni’s very protective of you. Plus, any insult to you is an insult to me—she won’t tolerate that. Marcus will keep her calm, though. If you ask me, it’s Madisyn we need to worry about. That female is crazy. There’s no warning with her. One minute she’s looking at you, the next minute her cat is latched onto your face.”