Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 90085 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90085 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
Damn. Her mother had taken her to a strip club? How old had she been?
Gathe chuckled and shook his head. “Here I was, thinking you had some fucking incredible luck.”
She smiled at him and scrunched her nose. “Sorry. I’m not actually going to take your money though. I did it mostly for fun. I never get to play anymore.”
“Yeah, you are,” I said before Gathe could speak.
“I mean, if she doesn’t want to,” he started, and I cut him off with a warning glare.
“No, that’s too much,” she said, shaking her head. “I was just seeing if I could still do it.”
“We were scammed by a girl,” I told her. “You’re taking the money. We deserve to lose it.”
She rolled her eyes at me, and then a grin tugged at the corners of her mouth. “You were scammed by a six,” she said smugly.
Gathe burst out laughing, but I continued to watch her. She was actually grinning at me. The kind of smile that made her dimples pop and her eyes twinkle. I liked it. Too much. I needed to not fucking like it, but I didn’t think that was humanly possible. Unless I found something out about her that made her the villain she was being accused of, I was screwed. At this point, I wasn’t sure she could do something that would make me not want her. Not to just fuck, but to savor. Slowly. In many ways.
“This was fun, but I need to finish my homework and get in bed,” she said, still looking at me.
There was a vulnerability in her eyes. One I wanted to define. The more I got to know her, the more I wanted to know.
“Don’t leave us already,” Gathe begged.
It was as if she struggled to tear her gaze off mine, but she finally turned to Gathe. “I have to. I’m sorry.”
“All right,” he said, standing up. “You can go, but I want a good-night hug first.”
She let out a small laugh. “A good-night hug?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I mean, you can give me a kiss instead if you want.”
I stepped around the bar as he moved closer to her. I knew why he wanted a fucking hug, and I wasn’t going to let that happen. I might strangle him if it did. If I couldn’t feel those tits against me, he sure as fuck wasn’t getting to.
My hand clamped down on his shoulder, and I squeezed hard.
His head snapped back to look at me. “What the hell?”
I shook my head and made sure he understood just how serious I was. He studied me for a moment, then sighed, giving in.
That’s right. The last time we’d tied up, I had won. We’d been ten, but still.
I looked at Montana. She was staring at us, wide-eyed.
“Good night,” I told her.
“Good night,” she said softly, then turned and went into the room.
I waited until the door closed before letting go of Gathe.
“What the fuck was that about?” he demanded in a hushed voice.
“You know what it was about,” I told him and went back to clean up the bar.
“You like her,” he said. “And you told her she was a six. Jesus. What has gotten into you? I don’t care what Linc says. The Than I know would be flirting his ass off with a female like that one, trying every move he’s got to get her panties off and legs spread for him.”
“Shhh.” I scowled. “Keep your voice down.”
“Don’t ignore the question. You’re here with her, alone, all the time. How have you not gotten a taste of that yet? Fuck Linc. He is the one making you hole up with her.”
I lifted my eyes from my task to glare at him. “Linc is doing what the boss told him to do. Is fucking her worth pissing off Hughes? I’d like to live to see twenty-five.”
Gathe shook his head. “He won’t kill you for that.”
I didn’t know what he’d do, but I did know that touching her was off-limits.
“I’m tired, Gathe. You got to ogle Montana all night. Go home.”
“All right, if you’re done with my engaging presence,” he replied and grabbed the deck of cards off the bar. “But I think you’re an idiot.”
Fourteen
Montana
My eyes opened, and I sat up, gasping for breath as I stared at the wall. I could feel my heart racing, and my body was coated in a sheen of sweat, causing my camisole to stick to me. The door opened banging against the wall, the light from the other room illuminating the darkness as Than came rushing inside. His eyes swung to me, and he stopped. I was already having oxygen-intake problems. The sight of Than in only a pair of boxers and mussed hair did not help.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice raspy from sleep.
I shook my head. “I, um…I…” I didn’t know what was wrong.