Total pages in book: 16
Estimated words: 14490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 72(@200wpm)___ 58(@250wpm)___ 48(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 14490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 72(@200wpm)___ 58(@250wpm)___ 48(@300wpm)
While I don’t regret my choices in the slightest, I’m ready to get my life back.
But the trip back to the city I call home is long, and when a storm starts to roll in, I have no choice but to stop at a small town’s B&B.
I only expect a bed for the night, but instead, I find the most stunning girl I’ve ever seen.
Roxie works at the B&B, but she dreams of leaving this town and throwing her reputation as the goody-two-shoes pastor’s daughter to the wind.
One night with her isn’t enough.
She’s mine, and there’s no way I’m leaving her here.
Her father has other plans for her, but I won’t let a single person stand in our way.
Even if it means living up to my own reputation as the dangerous ex-con.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
1
RONAN
It’s been one year since I saw the outside of the building currently disappearing in my rearview mirror. One year since I felt the rumble of an engine and the road beneath the wheels. One year since I took a breath of air that felt like freedom.
I’ve never been more excited to see the stretch of gray highway in front of me, but after twelve entire months in prison, I’m just relieved to look at anything other than the same four walls.
That’s not to say I regret what I did to land myself there in the first place. Christ no. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. If there’s one thing about me, it’s that I own my own choices. The court of law might have decided what I did was bad, but I don’t give a fuck. I know it was the right thing to do.
My mind flashes back to that night as I drive, hitting the gas pedal hard.
I step out of my office, the thumping music filling my ears. I smile, seeing the bar full and happy patrons drinking and dancing. It’s Friday night, and ever since my brother and I opened this second location two months ago, it’s been packed every weekend. Better than we ever could have imagined. Success feels a little like being drunk, happiness and warmth filling me.
Nobody thought two broke kids would be able to make names for themselves, but Rylan and I are proving them wrong. At only thirty years old, I can say that I have multiple successful businesses to my name and, if all continues the same way it’s been going, I’ll never have to worry about my bank account again.
I’m still smiling as I walk through the floor, greeting regulars and making conversation as I make my way to the door. It’s time to go home for the night. Our staff have everything covered, and I can use a good long sleep after all the admin I’ve done today.
The happy bubble I’d been floating in bursts when I get outside. A woman’s screams, shrill and terrified, ring through the air. Our bouncer is occupied with some other asshole at the door, and I don’t think twice about running in the direction of the girl’s cries.
“Get off me! Please, no. I don’t want to go home with you!” she begs, her voice muffled by the last word.
I turn the corner to a dingy alleyway and find a man twice her size with his hand over her mouth, clutching her close even as she desperately squirms and tries to break free. She’s barely over five foot and slim, and this guy rivals me for height and strength.
“She said no,” I snarl as I advance on him. I want to tackle him to the ground, but I don’t want the girl to get hurt in the process.
“This has nothing to do with you,” the man spits. “Me and this lovely lady are just heading home after a nice evening at that new bar. That’s all.”
I see red. “That’s my fucking bar,” I tell him, enjoying the way his face pales. “And we have a strict no asshole policy. I suggest you let her go and leave before you regret ever coming here.”
He scoffs, and his grip on her loosens as he steps towards me. I meet her eyes, wide with fear and glassy with tears, and give her the smallest nod I can manage, urging her to keep fighting him with my eyes.
“Fuck off,” the man tells me, sealing his fate.
The woman manages to land a solid stomp on the instep of his foot and he curses, stumbling back as his balance is thrown off. That’s the only opening I need. I rush forward and slam him into the brick wall. The woman sobs as his grip is ripped away from her, but my focus is entirely on this asshole.