Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 26645 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 133(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26645 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 133(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
“No!” I spin. “You are not losing the house, and you are not taking their scrap change offer for it. You couldn’t buy the front door of that house for the money they offered. No, we are not done. I have a plan.”
The words are out before I can stop them, and Jess folds her hands in her lap, silence thumping between us.
I grab a coffee mug from the hooks under the cabinet, gripping the handle of the pot, pouring the steaming liquid, hoping she will not inquire into what this plan of mine entails.
“Don’t tell me you’ve gone to see those men.” She looks at the ceiling, then back at me, squinching up her face. “I forbid you to give them what they want from you. Their eyes told me what they would do if you gave them the chance. I forbid—” Her stern vitriol is interrupted by a knock on the door.
I set down my mug, my heart speeding, wiping my hands down the front of my denim shirt, my breath stalled in my throat.
I walk out of the kitchen and by my disheveled single mattress on the floor across from the couch, which reminds me of how elusive sleep was last night. As well as how little privacy I have in our tiny one-bedroom efficiency apartment.
Not to mention the basket of clothes I need to fold and the stack of bills that need to be paid, with one on top stamped in red with ‘last notice’ and ‘past due’.
Life is just a lot right now, but after seeing Erik yesterday, I tossed and turned, fighting the urge to dampen the thumping desire in between my legs, but I inevitably lost.
Especially after his last text.
Erik: You should get to bed. Tuck yourself in for me. Make sure to hold onto the present I sent over. Do you know how hard it was to find a stuffed hedgehog in this city? Didn’t matter, I would have turned the city upside down to make sure you had something from me next to you tonight. Sweet dreams, Tootsie. I’ll see you soon.
His messages were sweet and his questions sincere. When he asked me what my spirit animal was, I thought it was just for fun. Of course I answered hedgehog, because I’m cute but prickly. And then, lo and behold, a courier left a package with a stuffed hedgehog inside wearing a gold necklace with a diamond-studded hedgehog pendant.
There were no overt sexual connotations, but I’ve never been more turned on in my life.
Weird.
“It’s probably just maintenance, finally showing up for the leaking faucet I called in last week.”
As I approach the door, something tells me I’m wrong about it being maintenance. Something down in my soul seems to know who’s here before I close one eye and use the other to look through the peephole.
I count to three before turning the lock, and swing the door open.
Heat blooms on my cheeks as I stare wide-eyed, unblinking, until a sheen of tears turn the sight of the tall man in an expertly-tailored gray suit misty.
“Hey there, Tootsie.” His dark eyes don’t stray from mine, and the sound of my blood rushing in my ears sounds like Niagara Falls.
“You’re one of them, aren’t you? Get out of here!” Jess calls, wobbling to her feet from the couch, tossing the blanket on the floor. “You’re not welcome here!”
“Jess, it’s okay,” I say, making a calm down sort of motion with my hand.
Erik enters without being asked, walking through with so much calm confidence it makes our tiny apartment look tinier and sadder than it was before.
Jess fists her hips, setting her jaw, but I see the way the blood drains from her face. “What do you want? You want to take our food from the kitchen? Or how about the water in the toilet? That suits you.”
Erik shows no reaction and the coldness in his eyes reminds me that he’s associated with some of the most dangerous men in this city. Where there is danger, there is usually more danger.
Still, he’s wildly handsome, with his rich brown beard and the waves of hair slicked back behind his ears. The darkness of his eyes are rimmed with dark lashes and topped with a hard brow like he’s from another century, one where men were harder and unaffected by any of the softness of life.
There’s a wildness about him, but the contrast of that wildness with the perfect knot on his lavender and black striped tie and the shine on his shoes is more of a turn on than I could have imagined.
I thoughtlessly start to walk toward the mess of my bed with my clothes strewn everywhere, when I see his head turn, looking down at the stack of unpaid bills.
I rush the three steps it takes to get to the table, gathering up the papers, hoping he didn’t inspect them too closely, when his hand darts out and ratchets around my wrist.