Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 80689 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80689 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
“I’m glad you’re okay,” I say. “But what the hell is wrong with you?”
“Boss, it’s cool, really,” Forsyth says. “Shit happens.”
“No, it’s not cool. Jonas, this is the second time today you’ve almost injured yourself from being clumsy. I can’t afford for you to break your damn arm right now. Or our chainsaw.”
Morgan and Forsyth look to each other like they wish they could slip away.
I know I’m overcompensating since I just want to fucking kiss Jonas now that I know he’s fine. But I have to show the guys I treat him the same as I would them. Although, I’d never bark at them like this. I need to dial it down.
“Sorry, Ryan. I was just…distracted. I wasn’t thinking.”
“That’s the problem. Just focus. You’re not the only one you could’ve gotten hurt just then.”
But it’s not just his clumsiness that’s getting to me. I want to know what’s got him so worked up. Made him this damn reckless.
After he recovers, the guys get back to work, and fortunately, when I suggest Jonas help me get the branches to the woods, he doesn’t resist. I guide him to the spot where we first chatted about Simon’s proposal. En route, I can see how stiff he is in the shoulders, how his thumbs rub at his hands uneasily.
“What the hell is going on?” I ask Jonas when I finally have him alone.
As has been his MO the past couple of days, Jonas doesn’t make eye contact. He glances around, as though suspicious of our surroundings.
“Simon said something to you, didn’t he?” I can feel it in my goddamn bones.
“I don’t know that we should talk, even out here.” He hesitates before rushing toward me. He halts inches from me, then leans closer still. His hot breath rushes against my ear, stirring a familiar desire, some innate impulse within me that’s got my cock shifting in my pants. My body feels hollow with him so close but not inside me.
“You don’t know that there aren’t cameras out here,” he whispers.
I knew it! Simon said something that’s making him freak out.
“Did he tell you he heard our conversations out here? Is that it?” I keep my reply low too.
“No, no.”
“Jonas, if he’d heard what we said, he would’ve given you the boot. Right? I’m telling you, we’re fine.”
He leans away, considering this.
“Now tell me what happened.”
“I know you said he has cameras on us, that we’re mic’d. But I guess I minimized it or didn’t want to think he was watching or listening to all of it. Maybe I needed to tell myself that to be able to keep doing this. But Simon approached me the other morning, while you were fixing a leak.”
I was suspicious of how Simon magically discovered a leak in his room that seemed to be caused by something cutting into his pipe. Of course, Simon breaks things occasionally to keep me busy. I hadn’t even considered it was to keep me busy while he chatted with Jonas.
“He was saying word for word things we mentioned while we were in your room, and then he did this thing where he was monitoring your movements around the house on his phone. I just think I underestimated what he’s capable of. After that, I was worried that if we talked in the woods, he’d be suspicious that I was meeting you to tell you what he said. Fuck, I’m still freaking out about it now. It just feels so fucking violating.”
He glances around uneasily once again, and an impulse moves through me. I rush up against him, and my hands find their way to either side of his face as I press my lips against his. Desire courses through me as my tongue greets his. Fucking around with him is different than when we first started—like we’ve found a natural rhythm. I wait for him to resist me, and I’m relieved when his arm hooks around me and he caves to this experience. I move one hand to the back of his head and slide the other down his neck.
When I finally pull away, I inspect his expression. The worry he wears reminds me of Kieran. But I see my plan worked, at least to some extent.
“There. Just take a deep breath.”
He winces before smirking, and this expression doesn’t remind me of Kieran; it’s so specific to Jonas. “Thanks for that,” he says.
A jolt of satisfaction ripples through me. My body seems primed to bring him relief.
“Simon’s not listening in on us out here, unless you’re wearing a wire or something.”
“Sorry, it’s all just getting to my head. If he finds out…” There’s terror in his expression; it would kill him if his sister’s help was ripped away from her.
“I know, but he’s not a god. He just wants you to believe he’s one. If he pulled out his phone to show he’s monitoring me, it’s because he wanted to show you that. Just like he told you things that happened in private between us because he wanted to get into your head. It’s all a bluff. Maybe to gauge your reaction. Maybe to keep you on your toes. Or both.”