Series: Silver Spoon MC Series by Nichole Rose
Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 37450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 187(@200wpm)___ 150(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 187(@200wpm)___ 150(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
"I didn't know I needed permission to take the dog outside, Cormac," she says, her chin coming up. "You were sleeping, and he was restless. I thought he could use a little exercise. Frankly, I needed a little fresh air too."
"You tell me when you leave this house, Bella."
"You were asleep!"
"Then you wake me up! You don't leave this house without permission!" I roar.
She rears back in shock, her face paling.
Shit.
"Yes, sir," she says, her tone clipped.
I reach for her to apologize for yelling, but she slips around me, her back ramrod straight. She bends to scoop up an armload of bags from the floor.
"Bella."
"I'm going to go put these away," she says.
"Bella."
"And then I'm going to shower." Her steps sound so fucking small as she starts across the living room, heading for the stairs. "I'll let you know my next move after that."
Yeah, I fucked up. Big time.
I stalk across the room and wrap my hand around her arm.
"Don't touch me," she hisses, yanking her arm away.
"Mischief, baby."
"My name is Bella," she growls, spinning to face me with wild eyes. "Not baby. Not little girl. Not Mischief. It's Bella."
"Bella, talk to me."
"I think you've said plenty already, Cormac. I'm going upstairs. You can go fly a freaking kite."
She turns to walk away from me again, and what little patience I have left vanishes in a puff of smoke. Her attitude is sexy as hell, but she doesn't give an inch when she's pissed. I deserve it. I shouldn't have yelled at her. But I can't fix it if she won't let me.
I hook an arm around her waist, dragging her back into my arms before she can plant a foot on the first step. She hisses like an angry little kitten, aiming her heel at my shin. I manage to pry the bags out of her hands and dodge her kick at the same time.
The bags hit the floor with a dull thud as I spin her around and haul her up over my shoulder.
"Cormac, you asshole!" she yells, trying to kick me again. "Let me go!"
"No," I growl, planting my hand on her ass to keep her still as I stomp toward the couch with her over my shoulder. "Not until you settle your little ass down and listen to me."
Surprisingly, she doesn't fight me. She doesn't say anything at all. She goes limp, the fight draining out of her. And then I feel her body shake.
My heart plummets into my soles. She's crying.
I made her cry.
"Baby, no," I breathe, quickly pulling her back down into my arms.
"Leave me alone, Cormac," she growls, trying to shake me off as her bottom lip quivers and two big tears roll down her cheeks.
To hell with that, though. I'm not going anywhere, and neither is she.
"Let me go," she pleads, her voice ragged and brittle. More vulnerable than it's ever been.
"No."
What little composure she has left cracks. A sob escapes her lips, shattering my heart.
I scoop her up as she falls apart in my arms, crying like I'm guessing she hasn't cried since she watched her boss die. She clings to me, her face buried in my throat as tears pour down her face and her little body shakes with the force of her cries. Every sob leaves me howling for blood and mad as hell at myself.
"I'm sorry," I croon, cradling her close as she purges herself of the trauma. "It's okay, baby. I'm right here, and you're safe now. Everything is going to be okay."
She tries to say something, but it just sounds like gibberish to me.
I hold her and croon to her, wishing like hell we could go back ten minutes and start over. I'm not supposed to be the motherfucker who makes this goddess cry. If there is a guidebook to getting someone to fall in love with you, I'm almost certain that's item number one. I've listened to my brothers say the same shit for the last year and a half. Never be the reason for their tears.
Crash crawls closer, laying his head against her thigh. He whines low in his throat, looking at me as if to ask what the fuck I did and why the fuck I haven't fixed it yet and made her smile again. It's a sad day when even the dog knows you fucked up.
It takes a good half hour for Bella to cry herself out. When she finally does, she lies quietly in my arms, shudders still wracking her body periodically.
"My dad d-didn't send me here because he was afraid that he couldn't p-protect me from them," she whispers, her voice muffled. "He s-sent me because he was afraid that he c-couldn't protect me f-from m-me." Her warm breath pelts my skin as she sighs sadly. "He didn't trust me not to do something stupid."