Total pages in book: 178
Estimated words: 170884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 854(@200wpm)___ 684(@250wpm)___ 570(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 170884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 854(@200wpm)___ 684(@250wpm)___ 570(@300wpm)
“Completely by chance.” Her brows arched. “I saw Julius at a meet and asked about you. He told me you’d died, and I was—” Her voice quieted. “—upset. Because I owed you, and finding out I would never get the chance to repay you was beyond frustrating. He asked how badly I wanted to relieve myself of that debt, and I told him I would have done anything. That was when he suggested meeting Lexi.” She stroked my son’s hair and A.J. reached up, pulling her arm down to hug it close as he watched the screen on his lap. “And when I met this little thief, he stole my heart.”
Where was this going? “Why are you telling me this?”
Molly looked at me with meaning. “Because I need you to understand that I’m ready to protect your family, to the death if necessary.”
She meant what she said. I could tell.
“Hopefully, it won’t come to that,” I muttered. “My son seems to like you alive.” And that meant something to me.
Her eyes rested on the little monster in her lap and she smiled softly. “It doesn’t matter what he wants. If it comes down to it, I’ll shield him with my body.” She hugged him, and A.J. smiled up at her, unable to hear what she was saying. She smiled through her words. “And I’ll kill anyone who tries to harm him.” When her eyes settled on me, she sobered. “Anyone.”
Good. We were definitely on the same page.
I looked back down at my phone. My voice was low.
“I knew I liked you, Molly.”
Chapter
Twenty-Five
Ling
As I sat on a stool, wearing nothing but his shirt, my eyes smiled at the beautiful man cooking for me.
“So I told him—” He paused to flip the frying gözleme. “—he’d better fucking watch his mouth or I’d add another hole to his head.” He turned to grin at me. “And I’m pretty sure I watched a grown man shit his pants.”
I chuckled under my breath, shaking my head. He was ridiculous, my beautiful Turk. And he was starting to mean more to me than anyone in the world. So I needed to tell him.
He was bare-chested, and my eyes roamed the muscular planes of his body. As he turned back to cook, I cleared my throat, then spoke up, “I found him.”
Aslan stilled. He kept his back to me a long moment before he twisted to face me, his expression unreadable.
“Yeah.” I ran a hand through my long hair and sighed. “You were right.” My eyes met his. “He’s back.”
Az searched my face, before drawling, “And how do we feel about that?”
We.
Ugh. He was killing me.
“We,” I started, “feel betrayed and hurt.” And rejected. My gaze drifted down to the counter, and I ran a perfectly manicured nail over the cool marble. “We don’t know what to think or what to say.” I sighed then looked him in the eye. “But we don’t feel good about it.”
“Right,” he said lightly a moment before he turned off the stove and moved the pan off the heat. With his back to me, he uttered a quiet, “And where does that leave us, baby?”
The fear in his voice called to the fear in mine.
“I don’t know,” I muttered honestly.
He spun on me, those dark eyes darker than I’d ever seen them. His voice was low, dangerous. “Do you want him back?”
Again, honesty, plain and simple. “I don’t know anymore.” I lowered my eyes. “I thought I did.” My heart pounded. “But I don’t think so, because...” I swallowed hard, avoiding his blistering gaze, and speaking low, “I have you.”
Aslan had filled the gaping hole inside me. I no longer wanted or desired Twitch. I needed the man standing right in front of me, the man by my side, despite the odds being ever against us.
Despite the fact that no one would want us together.
Despite the fact that the man I loved was married and was never leaving his wife.
We were royalty in our own right but would never rule together. We were a tragedy in the making, and that only made me want him more.
I watched as his body drooped, losing some of the obvious tension in his face. His lips parted and he let out a long breath, running a hand across his nape.
Our desperate stares met across the counter, and everything wrong in the world melted away.
My voice was whisper-soft. “I love you.”
Az closed his eyes, and he kept them closed as he responded in kind. “Love you too, Ling.”
The tightness around my heart loosened, and I watched the man who had won me over with damaged roses and soft kisses breathe a sigh of relief.
Let Twitch have his little family.
I had something better.
***
Twitch
I felt her watching me in the open doorway. As I pulled my hoodie on, I heard the quiet words she spoke.