Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 42863 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 214(@200wpm)___ 171(@250wpm)___ 143(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42863 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 214(@200wpm)___ 171(@250wpm)___ 143(@300wpm)
“Were you hard for me?” he blurted, surprising the fuck out of me. I’d been expecting a confrontation. Maybe him telling me to keep my urges under control or that he wanted someone else to guard him and Clarke. Asking if he made me hard threw me for a loop.
“Yes,” I said, keeping my gaze steady on his. I didn’t say or offer up anything else. Just left it at that.
Beck’s cheeks flushed a pretty red color that made me profusely ache for him. When he licked his lips, I had to swallow back a groan. Thoughts of him using that tongue on me—my nipples, my cock, my throat—had my dick swelling behind the zipper of my jeans.
Christ.
“I need to get a shower,” I told him, my voice sounding rough to my own ears. But it was clear Beck didn’t know what to say to my admission. I wanted to give him time to wrap his head around the fact that I wanted him. Shit, I wanted both of them, but Clarke was too fucking traumatized. She had a shit ton of healing ahead of her, and she needed time to figure out what she could and couldn’t handle, what she did and didn’t need. “I’m taking you two out into town once I get out of the shower so you two can get clothes and anything else you need.”
“We don’t have any money,” Beck blurted, reaching up to rub the back of his neck as if he was ashamed.
I chuckled and pushed off the counter. “Don’t worry about it,” I assured him. “I’ve got you covered.”
With that, I moved around him, smiling at Clarke, who was sitting on the couch with a book she’d found… somewhere.
“Where’d you find that?” I asked her, surprised.
She threw a thumb over her shoulder. “There were some books in the closet in our room. It’s a history book, and it’s in Spanish, but I’m kind of decent at Spanish. And I’m a little bored.”
I blinked in surprise before chuckling and shrugging. “Well, knock yourself out, girly.”
She smiled at me, her eyes bright with it, and my heart slammed against my chest, threatening to flop right out and into her lap. I quickly turned away and headed on up the hall to my room, grabbing some clothes and a towel before heading into the hallway bathroom.
It took every ounce of my restraint to not rub one out with Beck and Clarke mere feet away.
Clarke grabbed my hand in hers as we neared town, clinging to me with a death grip around my fingers. I gently squeezed her fingers in return, doing my best to ignore the tingles sweeping up my arm from her touch. “You okay?” I softly asked her. Beck looked at her in concern, but she kept her eyes aimed in front of us, just nodding once.
I drew her a little closer to my side. “You’re safe with me,” I promised her. “I won’t let anything happen to you.” And neither would the numerous men I’d seen following us into town. Beck and Clarke hadn’t noticed them, but I had. The ones I made eye contact with hadn’t looked happy about being spotted, but I was too damn good about picking out things that were out of place.
It was really the only good thing my trauma had left me with.
“I’m just… nervous, I think,” Clarke said quietly. “I haven’t been out in public like this since…” Her voice trailed off.
Since before she was snatched out of her bed to be raped every single day. She didn’t need to finish that sentence for me to know what she had meant to say.
Beck lifted their joined hands to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “It’s okay,” he assured her. “Tank wouldn’t have brought us out here if he didn’t think we were safe, right?” He looked at me then, looking as desperate for the answer as Clarke was, though it was clear he was trying to hide his nerves from her.
I nodded. “Right,” I assured him. “And we won’t be here long. Just long enough to get you two some clothes and toiletries, and then we’ll head back to the house,” I promised.
Clarke breathed a sigh of relief, but she still never released my hand. And honestly, I didn’t want her to. So, to keep her calm and focused on the task at hand, I began stroking my thumb over the soft skin on the back of her hand before heading into the first store that I hoped had everything we needed in one spot.
“I need…” Beck looked at the men’s clothes, seeming unsure of himself.
I nodded once at him. “I’ve got her,” I promised him. “And I’ve got my eyes on you, too.”
He blew out a soft sigh before nodding once and slowly releasing Clarke’s hand. I led her to the women’s section, and she quickly began rifling through clothes, grabbing the necessities she needed without really seeming to see what was on the clothes she grabbed. Once both she and Beck had everything they needed, I paid the clerk before grabbing the bags and herding them back out of the store to go back to the safe house.