Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 66839 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 334(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66839 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 334(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Never. I don’t think anyone can ever get tired of staring at that face.
“I know it shouldn’t shock me anymore, but damn is it crazy to me how many people live with secrets in their closets. Sammy and Lionel, cheating on each other, keeping two other entire-ass people hidden from sight. And for what?”
“Some people are fucked-up, Jace. They live off a sick thrill they get from cheating on someone. I don’t know, it’s fucked-up. But—speaking about coins—the other side of it is that there could be valid reasons to keep things under wraps. Look at us. We were pretty much together, and we had to keep that a secret.”
There, I said it. The weight didn’t magically lift off my chest and float away, carried by little singing blue jays, but it did lighten just a bit. Our relationship had been a massive elephant in every single room we entered since I arrived in Blue Creek. It was about time we talked about it.
“Not because we were cheating on anyone, though.”
“No, but still, it doesn’t change the fact that we had to keep things under wraps.”
I looked at Jason, the streetlights highlighting the rise of his cheekbones and the dip under his jaw. The part of him I loved to trace with my tongue.
“I hated that,” I said. “I wanted to tell everyone about us. We worked so fucking well together. It was magic. Pure fucking magic.”
Jason filled his lungs with a breath that slowly filtered back out. “You know why we had to do that. If Harry—”
“Harry wouldn’t have cared. He wants us both to be happy, and if that means us being together, then I’m sure he would have supported it. Trust me. I understand how it can get complicated when your brother is my best friend, but I don’t think he’d ever stop us if he knew how happy we made each other.”
Jason chewed his bottom lip. He shook his head, his brows furrowing.
“Matt… I think you’re wrong. Harry would care. I know he would care.”
“Why? What has he said? Did he ever tell you point-blank that we couldn’t be together?”
Jason slowed down at a red light, my house only a couple of streets away. He was hiding something. I could tell there was a revelation sitting on the tip of his tongue, yet he wouldn’t say anything. He shook his head and took another breath. Jason was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he missed the green light, a not-so-gentle honk coming from behind us and jarring him back into the moment. He had his fingers wrapped so tight around the steering wheel that his knuckles were pale white from the blood being squeezed out of them.
“What?” I asked. “What’s got you worked up?”
Jason blinked a couple of times, licked his lips. God, I could stare at those lips for an eternity.
“Relationships… secret ones… Matt, what if… this has nothing to do with us, but what if the link between the Pegasus victims, what if they were all in relationships?”
The conversation took a hard left. I tossed around his theory for a moment, thinking about the different victims: no similarities in financial status, gender, race, or age. They were scattered, without any links between them or the killer, none that we could see at least. But everyone had skeletons in their closet, so what if these skeletons happened to be the murderous kind?
“Shit, Jace, I think you could be on to something. Lionel was cheating on Sammy, and Julius, who was murdered in the Queen’s Throne, also had someone on the back burner. I have to look into the others, but two is very close to three, and for me, three marks a pattern.”
Jason looked at me, slowing down as he pulled up to my house. His smile was wide, dimples forming in his cheeks, his bright eyes crinkling in the corners. He had such a beautiful smile. It could light up the darkest night and compete with the brightest day.
I couldn’t help myself. No one was around, no one but us and my pounding heart. I crossed the distance between us and crashed with Jason, our kiss forming like two tidal waves pouring onto the beach together, a force of nature that could wipe out anything in its path. That’s how strong my passion for this man was. Iron and gold and steel and diamonds, none of it could hold up to the strength of my feelings for Jason.
The kiss continued, my hand sliding around the back of his neck, gripping him, fingers digging, tongue searching. The heat was rising, fueling the flames consuming my core. I reached down with my other hand and rubbed myself, moaning into Jason’s kiss. Fuck, I wanted him. So fucking bad.
“Come inside,” I said in a breathy moment, my lips grazing Jason’s. “Please.”