Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 122966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 615(@200wpm)___ 492(@250wpm)___ 410(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 615(@200wpm)___ 492(@250wpm)___ 410(@300wpm)
“Aye.” Ryan nodded pensively, then cocked a brow at me. “Don’t go easy on her because she’s a girl. Her innocence is an act.”
Didn’t I fucking know it.
“We need to decide who we’re gonna cover, too,” Evelina pointed out.
Ryan and I refocused, because she was right.
“You work out with Darius more,” he said. “Think you can anticipate his moves?”
I sucked my teeth, unsure. “Probably, but he has me beat most times.” Darius was a deadly combination of sheer force and a calculating mind. I had speed and a fair amount of strength, but it didn’t compare. “I think it’s better I go after Ethan.”
“All right, I’ll take Darius,” Ryan said, facing the girls. “Evie, you cover Lias, but you’ll both have to take on Ethan while Avery goes after the ball. Ethan and Lias will be Elise’s shadow.”
The girls nodded in understanding, and our two minutes were up anyway.
“One last thing,” I said. “If I get the ball first, move away from Ethan so I can throw it to Evelina.”
“Copy that. I’ll do my best to keep him off Evelina,” Angel responded.
“You gonna stand there all day?” Ethan called.
Let the game begin…
We broke our little huddle and approached the others, and since I’d be our team’s initial swimmer, I threw the ball to Ethan.
Pipsqueak smirked at me.
I just made sure I wasn’t looking anywhere below her chin.
Because the water wasn’t hot, and…fucking nipples.
It was official. I was sick.
“Swimmers ready?” Ethan asked.
I blew out a breath and positioned myself next to Pipsqueak, our eyes set on the horizon. It was a toss that couldn’t be turned in anyone’s favor. At Ryan’s sharp whistle, Ethan threw the ball some twenty yards out into the water, and Pipsqueak and I were off. I dove under the water before resurfacing and easing into a quick crawl.
The water was clear, calm, and without any strong currents.
Pipsqueak had technique and grace on her side; I had plain strength, which wouldn’t last forever. But it got me far enough, and I grabbed the ball first.
Then I had a buzzing fly in my face, a fly named Elise fuckin’ Quinn. I grinned, out of breath, and batted her away as I tried to see where the others were positioned.
“Give me the ball!” Pipsqueak demanded.
“Uh, no?” I chuckled and tried to swim around her, but she was mirroring my every goddamn move. “Outta my way, little girl.”
She squawked and narrowed her eyes before literally throwing herself at me and sliding back to lock her arms around my neck. “I’ll be on you like a fucking Band-Aid, Gramps,” she snarled.
“Jesus, such language.” I shook my head, and I resigned myself to simply swim back to shore with her clinging to my back. It would drain me of some energy, I’d give her that, but she was still just a slip of a girl. “Pipsqueak, you do realize—what the fuck!” She bit me! The girl fucking bit me! Oh, that was it. Clenching my jaw and breathing through the sting along my neck, I heaved myself forward and took aim for Evelina. Darius and Ryan stood closely together, as did Angel and Ethan. Lias was trying to move around both couples in an attempt to reach Evelina.
As soon as my feet could reach the seafloor, I’d had it with Pipsqueak’s dirty tricks. When she tried to sink her teeth into my neck again, I did everything to throw her off me. She tightened her hold on my neck. I growled a curse and thought, fuck it, and sank below the surface. Yeah, wasn’t so easy to latch on now, was it? She was a slippery little shit—a surprisingly strong one. Or maybe it was the signature stubbornness that came with this goddamn family.
I slid my hand up a toned, soft, smooth leg—fuuuck—and found purchase under her knee. Then I pulled her forward, to my front, where it was easier to get her off me. And at the same time, I had two voices at the back of my mind shouting very different things. Thankfully, I listened to reason—while reason told me I was a sick son of a bitch. A bizarre one, at that. Because it fucking was bizarre. I didn’t know where it was coming from.
I wasn’t the type of man who lost his shit over physical appearance.
Once I got free, I didn’t waste a second. I kicked off the sandy bottom and dove forward, knowing she’d be on my tail in seconds.
The space we’d all created between us slowly disappeared, eliminating the option of even trying to get the ball in the air myself. I’d last five seconds at best. Evelina was far from free, so I threw the ball to Ryan. He wasn’t alone, but he could handle Darius while I tried to get rid of Evelina’s shadow, aka Lias.