Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 147021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 735(@200wpm)___ 588(@250wpm)___ 490(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 735(@200wpm)___ 588(@250wpm)___ 490(@300wpm)
“Good. Me too.” She shifts around, and her lips find the edge of my jaw, working their way up to my lips. “Thanks for finger-fucking me against my door.”
“You’re welcome. Now go to sleep.”
“Okay.” She settles against my chest again and a few seconds later whispers, so quietly I almost don’t catch it, “Old man.”
“You’re pushing it, Princess. G’night.”
“I know. G’night, Hollis.”
She throws her leg over mine and tries to free her hand, but I thread our fingers together. It doesn’t take her long to fall asleep. I lie there for a long while, staring at the ceiling, listening to her steady breathing, wishing I could see into the future and know for sure that this path is the right one. This doesn’t feel fleeting, but I’ve been wrong before. And there’s so much at stake for both of us. But I can’t stay away anymore.
CHAPTER 23
HAMMER
“Oh, my God! Yes!” I pump my fist in the air, then realize exactly what this means. “Oh, shit.”
“What’s going on?” Rix asks. “First, you looked thrilled, now you look like someone stole your favorite vibrator.”
“Ha ha. Hollis has the go-ahead to travel with the team again.”
“Which is great for his morale but not so great for fingerbangs and make-out sessions,” she finishes.
I love that she understands, and that I can tell her things. And even if she tells Tristan, he’s good at keeping his mouth shut.
There was a zero-percent chance that I could keep what happened to myself. Plus, my buoyant mood was a real tipoff. And Hollis must have gone to the twenty-four-hour grocery store at stupid o’clock in the morning, because he left my favorite muffins on the counter. Without a note. But still. It was sweet.
I flop down on the couch. “I was kind of hoping we’d have four days with no one around so I could finally get my hands on his cock.”
“I still can’t believe you haven’t touched it. Like…” She makes the mind-blown gesture.
The apartment door opens three inches, startling the shit out of us, but the safety is engaged. “Want to let me in, Pegs?”
I hop off the couch and push the door closed, flipping the latch before I open it again. “You know knocking is a thing, right, Dado?” Then I see Hollis, standing behind my dad with his phone in his hand. Spending time with the two of them is hard these days. Part of me just wants to get it over with and tell him, but the other, bigger part is so scared of how hurt he’ll be. Mad and disappointed too, probably. How much it could change things.
“Sorry. Yeah. I keep forgetting. We got some good news, and Hollis and I were heading to the Watering Hole for dinner to celebrate. Maybe you want to join us?” Dad is all smiles.
“What kind of good news?” I pretend like Hollis didn’t send me a text message five minutes ago. Which means he told me before my dad. My heart gets all mushy and my nether parts all zingy while my bucket of shame over all the broken rules and lies we’re telling him gets a little heavier.
“Hollis is cleared to travel with the team. He’s not back on the ice yet, but this is a step in the right direction.” He claps Hollis on the shoulder.
“That’s amazing!”
“Isn’t it? It’ll be nice to have my roommate back.” Dad grins at Hollis.
He nods. “It’ll be good to get back to a normal routine. Or as normal as it can be, for now.”
“So, what do you say? Coming for celebratory nachos?”
“Yeah. Of course.” I haven’t been with my dad and Hollis together for any length of time since the fingerbang and him holding me to sleep. Which, oh my God, was literally my favorite way to fall asleep in the history of my almost twenty-one years. But I have no idea how to manage this situation now that his fingers have been inside me.
“What about you, Rix? Want to join us?” Dad asks.
“Uh…” She glances from my dad to me.
“Yes, please. Join us.” If ever I could use some freaking backup, it’s now.
“Cool. I’ll change into something that isn’t this.” Rix motions to her ratty sweats and old tank top that clearly belong to Tristan, based on the size.
I look down at myself. I’m braless and wearing jogging pants and an old shirt. Thankfully not Hollis’s. I sleep in that. “I’ll do the same. Do you want us to meet you there, or…” I let it hang.
Hollis checks his watch. “We’ll grab a table.”
“Cool. Yeah.” I give them the thumbs-up. “We’ll be right behind you.”
“Great. Don’t take too long, though,” Dad says.
“See you soon,” Hollis adds with a tight smile.
Once they’re gone, I flip the lock and the latch and turn to Rix, who is still standing in the kitchen. “Oh, girl.” She shakes her head.