Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 31778 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 159(@200wpm)___ 127(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31778 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 159(@200wpm)___ 127(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
“Depends on how you look at it,” he grumbled, shaking his head. “You know how I told you that my family is Mafia?”
I giggled and nodded. “Um, yeah. Those orgasms you gave me didn’t completely wipe out all of my brain cells, and it’s not something I’m likely to forget.”
“They’re the ones he owes the money to.”
“Ahh, I get it now.” I shuffled closer and wrapped my arms around him. “Nothing my uncle did is your fault. Or your family’s. It’s all on him.”
“I’m lucky you’re so damn sweet.” He brushed a kiss against my temple.
I tipped my head back to smile at him. “And I’m lucky that you’re…you.”
He captured my mouth in a deep kiss that left me wanting more when he finally ripped his mouth from mine. “You have no idea how much I want to spread you out on this mattress and take you again.”
“Do I get a vote?” I wagged my brows. “Because I like the sound of that.”
“Sorry, dolcezza. I hate to leave you when you’ve just learned that your bastard of an uncle owes money to my family, and that’s why he’s pulled all of this shit.” He stroked his thumb against my cheekbone. “But I need to take care of something urgent. If it could wait…”
“Then you wouldn’t go,” I finished for him with a soft smile. “I know that.”
“Like I said, you’re too damn sweet.”
I winked at him. “You can make it up to me later.”
Lying back on the mattress, I curled against Matteo’s pillow while I watched him get ready. It was a show I would’ve gladly paid for, even more so when he was taking his clothes off instead of putting them back on his gorgeous, tattooed body.
When he was done, he gave me another kiss before he walked out of the room.
He left his extra leather vest for me, like he’d done every day since we met. I tugged it over my outfit with a smile before heading downstairs to see who was around.
It was impossible to feel lonely around here because there was always someone to hang out with. Not that Matteo had left my side often.
Another thing I loved about staying at the clubhouse was that nobody minded if I used the big kitchen. And there always seemed to be someone there who enthusiastically volunteered to eat whatever I made.
Today, I found a trio of pregnant women at one of the tables when I walked into the kitchen. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think there was something in the water around here.”
“In the water?” Violet asked, her brows drawing together.
Thea pointed at her still flat belly. “Yeah, to get knocked up.”
Courtney snorted. “If Ink is anything like his club brothers, he doesn’t need water to make that happen.”
My cheeks filled with heat as I hurried over to the pantry to peek inside.
“I’m going to take that as a yes…Ink is very much like the rest of the guys around here after they’ve claimed us,” Violet teased.
Echo glared at his wife and growled. “No thinking about what any other man gets up to in bed.
“That’s not what I was doing,” Violet huffed.
“We were just kidding around with the new girl,” Courtney chimed in.
“Yeah,” Thea agreed with a nod.
Onyx shook his head and laughed. “Gotta love how the sisterhood sticks together around here.”
Violet crossed her arms over her chest. “Are you making fun of us?”
“He better not be,” Echo warned.
Before the conversation spiraled out of control, I called, “Anyone in the mood for a fresh cobbler?”
“Me,” they all yelled back in unison.
I had only been staying at the Hounds of Hellfire compound for less than a week, but I already felt more at home here than I had in my own house since my parents died. It had taken everything that had come to light about my uncle for me to finally realize he had tarnished so many happy memories of my childhood home. My dad was probably rolling over in his grave due to how his brother treated me.
The last time I cooked anything from my mom’s family recipes was less than a month after their accident. I made my grandmother’s famous peach cobbler with homemade vanilla bean ice cream and had been so excited to share it with Uncle Alec.
But his reaction was the opposite of what I expected. His nose scrunched as though he smelled something bad, and he made a tsking sound. “You really should pay closer attention to what you eat, Annika. It would be a shame if you gained any more weight.”
My parents had always told me how beautiful I was, so his words had come as a shock. From that point on, I never baked another dessert. Until today.
I pulled several large cans of fruit out of the pantry. “It’s better with fresh peaches than canned, but I can make do with these.”