Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 22971 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 115(@200wpm)___ 92(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22971 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 115(@200wpm)___ 92(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
Chapter Four
NOLAN
My house is on the other side of town, and it takes a lot longer to get there than it would under normal conditions. I know the routes the plows are taking tonight, so I stick to those since they’ll be the easiest to drive on.
“I didn’t know it was this bad,” Mia says after she sees a few cars already in ditches.
“Where are you coming from?” I look over, and she bites her bottom lip like she’s nervous to tell me. “Hey.” I reach out and take her hand, and despite how warm the truck is, her fingers are cold. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“It’s fine, I’m just used to hiding. I kind of stole my mom’s car and took off. You won’t tell anyone, will you?”
I shake my head. “Your secrets are safe with me.”
“I had to hide money because anytime she found my stash, she spent it on drugs. I saved up enough for a deposit, and I took her car. I was the one that paid for it, but the title was in her name.”
“I don’t think anyone is going to find it where you left it,” I tell her, and she grins.
“Good point.” She looks out the window again and is thoughtful for a long moment. “But I don’t think she’ll bother to look for me. She’s only thinking about her next hit.”
“Do you have a job lined up?” I ask, and that seems to get her attention.
“Mr. Murphy was supposed to get me a job cleaning his rental properties, but I’m not so sure about that. After seeing the state of that place today, I can’t imagine what he thinks is dirty.”
I make a growling sound in the back of my throat, and I have to release her hand so I don’t squeeze it too hard.
“I’m going to have a word with him the next time I catch his ass downtown.”
“Why would you do that?” Mia looks genuinely surprised by my reaction.
“Because he knows what he does and he doesn't give a shit. The people he rents to aren’t able to do anything about it. He preys on people in situations like you where they have no other choice but to live in his slums.” I squeeze the steering wheel and pretend it’s his neck. “He’s long overdue for some karma.”
“Oh.” When I glance over, her cheeks are flushed, and she looks at me with soft eyes. “That’s kinda sweet of you.” And to my surprise, she reaches out and pats my leg.
Fuck if my dick doesn’t get hard all over again. Jesus, what kind of magic pussy did she put on me? I haven’t been this horny since I was fifteen. It might have to do with all I do anymore is work. Sex hasn’t been on my mind. Fuck, women haven’t, but now it’s all I can think about.
“This is my place,” I say and nod up ahead because I don’t know what else to say. The urge to have her straddle me is strong, but I know she needs to eat first.
“Seriously? This is your house?”
I’m trying to look at my house through her eyes, and I wonder how she sees it. I built it a few years ago, but it’s way too big for one person. Part of me knew deep down that if I had a house this size, maybe one day I could fill it with a family, but no one ever gave me the urge to fully want it. Glancing over at Mia, I feel a spark of hope that she could be the one to do it.
“You still have power?” she asks when she sees the light on the porch.
“I’ve got a generator for the emergency floodlights outside. I can use it to run the heat too, but mostly it’s for safety.” I pull into the overside garage I had designed especially to fit my truck. “I’ve got a fireplace to heat the house when it goes out.”
“I can see now that it was a mistake not to have one,” she teases, and I turn off the truck.
“Sit tight. I’ll come get you down.” I grab her bag of stuff out of the back seat and then walk around to the other side of the truck. When the garage door closes, it blocks out the wind, but my truck is lifted, and she’s too short to climb in and out on her own. “There you go,” I say when I put her on her feet. “Come with me.”
I don’t realize what I’m doing until her hand is in mine, but I pull her behind me and lead her inside. As soon as we get to the living room, I get a fire going. She watches me and rubs her arms like she’s cold, so I stand up and take my jacket off.