Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 75414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
It was such a small couch that our bodies touched from hip to knee.
“There’s a lot to think about.”
“Eventually, yes. Right now, not so much. All you have to do is try to unwind after all those years in that hellhole. Sleep better. Eat what you want. Don’t shower for a day. Let the floors get dirty. Take walks. Play with animals. It’s been less than a week, babe. And you can’t even count the days when you were driving here. Give yourself time to decompress.”
“That’s a sweet sentiment. But there are things that need to be figured out. It’s not just about me anymore.”
“I get that. But you can take a week, right? Just a week to decompress. I think it would be good for the baby, right? After all the stress?”
“Yeah,” I agreed, exhaling hard. “You’re right.”
“But?” he prompted, sensing it hanging in the air between us.
“But, on the topic of the baby, what am I going to do? I’m going to need prenatal care. I’m going to need to deliver the baby. And all those things would put me—and us—on the books somewhere.”
“Hm.”
“Hm?”
“I might have an answer to that.”
“Like what?”
“Like I know a team of doctors and nurses. Granted, they usually handle more trauma shit—knife and gunshot wounds, broken bones. But they would have all had training. And they’re used to not putting things on the books.”
“Really? That would… I mean, if I could afford that, it would be amazing.”
“It wouldn’t cost anything.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Eh. The woman who created this organization, one of my aunts, she has a soft spot for women who come from abusive situations. She won’t charge. I mean, we have to mentally prepare for the idea that if there are any complications, a hospital might become necessary. We can deal with whatever happens after. You don’t have to worry about that part. That’s my territory.”
It was the first time he’d mentioned the whole… outlaw biker thing.
I wouldn’t pretend to understand bike clubs.
But I knew that whatever Nave had been involved with back in the day had been very illegal. And a bunch of rough-and-tumble men probably weren’t all living and working together on a knitting project.
Men like them did illegal things.
And to do illegal things, sometimes you had to be willing to be violent to protect your empire.
“If that all works out, that’s amazing. But I will still need to figure out how to make a living.”
“There’s plenty of time to figure that out. Start thinking about what you like to do. There’s a way to monetize everything. And I can either get you a fake ID kit, or I can find a way to have the money funneled to you in a way that can’t be traced. This is the point where I get to be really mysterious and sexy and say I know people.”
He was right.
That was mysterious.
And almost absurdly sexy.
Honestly, I thought that part of me was gone. Dead. Buried. Never to be revived.
After years of occasional, but very clinical and awkward sexual encounters with Ben, I thought I’d never feel desire again.
But there was no denying that the little ache between my thighs was something distantly familiar, a long-lost part of me finding its way back.
“You’re right.”
“About being mysterious… or sexy?”
“It can’t be both?”
His dark eyes grew heated at that for a moment. Which only intensified that little throbbing sensation between my thighs.
“Well, I, for one, am glad you know people. Because I don’t know anyone.”
“There’s no one you left behind? When you moved in with Ben?”
“No. I’d just recently moved to the town where I started working for Ben. I hadn’t had a chance to make any friends. And I don’t really have any family. I mean, technically, I guess I do, but in practice…”
“Hey, you have people now,” he told me, reaching out to slide an arm around me, giving me a quick squeeze.
Did I lean my head into him?
Then turn my face into his neck, taking a deep breath of his scent, enjoying his calm, steady comfort?
Yes, yes, I did.
“Thank you.”
“Gotta stop saying that.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“Tired?” he asked when a big yawn escaped me.
“I shouldn’t be. But…”
“I think you have been in survival mode so long, and now that you’re safe, your body is trying to recoup everything it’s lost. Also, you’re growing a whole human being in there. It’s gotta wipe you out.”
“To be fair, there’s not much of anything there yet. But, yeah, the hormones are different. I scanned a pregnancy book at a store when I’d stopped to pick up some things.”
“That makes sense. A lot of changes going on. You should listen to your body. Go take a nap.”
I took that to mean it was time to move away from him.
“Okay.”
“How about I come back tomorrow to see if you need anything?”