Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 69025 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69025 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
“Mason, you were taking forever down there. Did you find anything wrong?”
“No. It may just be one of those things. I have no doubt that it will come back on. Did you get some things to bring back to my place?”
“Yes. Mason, if I go to your place... I….”
“You can have your own bedroom,” he said. The last thing he wanted her to think was that he was trying to take advantage of her.
“I…I don’t want my own bedroom. I want to be with you.”
She looked at him, the candlelight illuminating her chocolate-brown eyes. Brandi looked so beautiful, so vulnerable. His cock twitched. He wanted to take her up on her offer, but if he made love to her tonight, he would be no better than Rodney.
“Brandi, you need a good night’s rest, then you’ll be able to think about it more clearly in the morning.”
“I know what I want. I was thinking about it while you were in the basement. And I want you, Mason. I want you very badly.”
He was so hard it hurt. “I want you, too, Brandi, but tonight isn’t a good time. We both know it.”
“I know no such thing.” She stood in front of him and cupped her hand over the bulge in his jeans.
Mason shuddered with pleasure. “Brandi….”
“Let’s get out of here.” She stood on tip toes to kiss the pulsing column of his neck. God, he wanted her.
“When we get back to my place, you’re going to have to behave yourself or I won’t be held responsible for what I do to you,” he said through gritted teeth.
She smiled. “That’s what I’m counting on.”
Rodney was parked down the street from Brandi’s house, but he was close enough to see Brandi walk out with that man. What the hell did she see in that white boy? He wanted to slash that motherfucker’s throat for being with Brandi when it should have been him offering her comfort.
It seemed lately that all his plans weren’t turning out the way he anticipated. After visiting the Thornton’s to check on Tina’s progress, it had been unpleasant to see that the brat was showing marked signs of improvement. The way she reacted to him had sealed her fate. He’d thought the little shit would be too traumatized to remember the night of the shootings. He should have killed her when he had the chance.
He could have spent the week working himself back Into Brandi’s good graces. Instead, he needed to take care of business. Torching the Thornton place was something that had to be done. He wished he could have stuck around to make sure none of them got out alive, but when he saw a man jogging down the sidewalk with his dog, he realized he had to get out of there fast. The way he set the fire, he was sure there couldn’t be an escape for any of them. Good riddance to them all, especially little Tina. Poor little Tina. Maybe she was up in heaven reunited with her dear old mom and dad. He laughed.
Jeffrey thought he could get in the way, too. Rodney had been eight when Jeffrey had come along, stealing all of their mother’s love and affection for himself. Until then it had always been him and his mother. There had been the occasional boyfriend, but nothing that Rodney couldn’t handle. It seemed that his mother’s boyfriends always took a dislike to him. It wasn’t his fault that his mother loved him best.
Unfortunately, his mother’s last boyfriend had left her with a souvenir: little Jeffrey. After three months of watching the pudgy little creature eat, sleep, and shit, Rodney smothered him. It felt so good.
How convenient that Jeffrey’s death had been attributed to SIDS. His mother’s love was all his again after the little bastard kicked the bucket. But then, not long after Jeffrey’s death, his mother was killed in an automobile accident. He’d bounced through the system from one foster home after another until he turned eighteen. Some of the homes he had been placed in were living hells, while others weren’t so bad. A couple of his foster moms even treated him affectionately, but Rodney had never loved a woman as strongly as his mother until he met Brandi.
After he had taken care of the Thornton situation, his adrenaline had been pumping; he needed to see his woman, only to find she wasn’t home. To get inside, he used the key he copied a while ago. He’d thought he could collect something else of hers before she returned from wherever it was, she went.
He’d been looking around when he caught sight of a family portrait of Brandi, her children, and Damon. How he hated seeing Damon’s smiling face staring at him, mocking him. Something had taken over him and he’d gotten a little carried away.