Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
And the next time my dad hit me, I told him, and brave-ass Griffin went to him, all of thirteen years old, and told him if he touched me again, he’d tell his dad.
My father, coward that he was, never hit me again, but his words became as painful as his fists, maybe more so. Those, however, were easier to hide from Griff.
CHAPTER THREE
Kellan
I’d managed to make it a little over a week without seeing Chase Hawthorne, and by managed, I meant worked my ass off, became a ninja, and avoided him at all costs. It was ridiculous, really. I was aware of that, but a man had to have his pride.
Okay…maybe that was a bad example, because hiding didn’t seem real prideful, but when you had an uncontrollable response to someone—that even you couldn’t understand—I blamed chemistry—avoidance was the best way to keep a little bit of your dignity. Especially when your attraction to said person made them run away from home for ten years. It wasn’t an ego boost, that was for sure.
I should have known it wouldn’t last. Part of me did and was angry as I peeked out my living-room blinds and saw him standing on my porch, but the other part was irritated it had taken so long. He’d walked away after I’d practically begged to blow him, and he didn’t even have the decency to talk to me for ten years? And as soon as he came home, he went straight to Griff, ignoring me completely. It shouldn’t have surprised me. Somewhere deep inside I still feared Chase was in love with my brother, which would basically kill me.
For a minute I considered not answering the door…or maybe opening the blinds, flipping him off, and then ignoring him, but I knew I wouldn’t. So I straightened my spine, held my head high, walked over, and opened the door to the home I grew up in, the one I still shared with Griff.
“Is there a problem, Officer?” I asked, and fuck, why did he have to look so good? Uniforms were hot. I’d always thought so, but seeing Chase in his dark-blue Havenwood police uniform was a whole different thing.
He looked older, obviously, but the years had been good to him. There was scruff on his strong jawline, and his dark-blond hair was still short, buzzed along the sides and the back, the top a little longer and pushed forward on his forehead to almost reach his brow.
And his body…fuck, the way his arms stretched the short sleeves of his shirt made my head spin. Chase had always been too sexy for his own good. Mine too.
“Holy shit, Kell, look at you.” He rubbed a hand over his chest as he stared at me, and my stupid pulse sped up.
“Do I know you?” I was being petty, but I didn’t care. Chase had hurt me, probably more than he realized.
“Come on, Twerp. Don’t be like that.”
Twerp? Would he never stop seeing me as Griff’s little brother? “Don’t call me that, Chase. I’m not a kid. You’ve had your dick in my mouth, remember? The least you can do is show me some respect.” I turned and walked inside, leaving the door open. We might as well get this over with. It had to happen at some point.
Chase muttered a quiet, “Fuck,” behind me, and then I heard the door close. “You look good,” he said, and I whipped around to look at him, probably with fire in my eyes. I felt like I was blazing.
“Flattery will get you nowhere, Chase Hawthorne. I can’t believe you just said that to me. Unless…oh, did you come for a round two? Thought you’d get me on my knees before you left for another ten years?” Part of me felt I wasn’t being fair to him. We’d basically been kids, and I’d started it. I’d kissed him, straddled him, gone down on him, but he still left. And he kept in touch with Griff, but not me. He didn’t talk to me for ten years.
“That’s not why I’m here, and you know it.”
“Oh… Oh.” Everything began to click into place. “I get it now. You’re here to make sure I don’t tell Griff, which, duh. If I were going to, I already would have. You likely also want to make sure I know you’re straight now because you were just horny and it was only a blowjob, right?” How many “straight” guys had I heard that from over the years? God, what did I ever see in him?
“Did you make that up on the fly, because it doesn’t make a damn bit of sense. I assure you, I’m very bi. You can ask your brother.”
I stumbled backward. Oh God. No. Chase and Griff? It was something I’d thought about, but hearing it? Hearing it was like a knife to the heart.