Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 131330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 657(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 657(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
“Aspen, please,” I say, reaching for her, my hand falling to her waist.
She slaps it away as though it physically pains her. “Don’t touch me,” she seethes, her voice shaky and raw. “Don’t ever fucking touch me.”
“Aspen.”
“Turn the lights on,” she demands.
“Are you sure?”
“Turn the fucking lights on, Izaac. I need to see you for myself. I need to know that the man standing before me isn’t the man I think he is because the Izaac I know, the one I’ve been in love with my whole damn life, would never betray my trust like this.”
Guilt tears through me, and I feel the exact moment my heart cracks down the center. I should have made Casey turn her away. That was the whole fucking point of banning her from the club. Her picture was put at reception, and I gave Casey specific instructions to call me if Aspen were to show up again. I thought maybe she would in a few months out of sheer curiosity, but when Casey called and said Aspen was standing in reception, I couldn’t resist telling her to send her down to the VIP lounge.
The second the words were out of my mouth, I knew it was wrong. I wasn’t just betraying her trust by letting her walk through the door, I was betraying Austin’s as well. But the idea of getting to be with her again, especially after spending all day thinking about her entering her whore era with some loser from Tinder . . . fuck. I had to remind her just how fucking good it was between us.
I’d only just arrived at Cherry when Casey’s call came through, and before I even made it through the door, I was right back in my Escalade, speeding toward Vixen. It’s an eight-minute drive at this time of night, but I did it in five, and the whole fucking time, all I could think about was all the other assholes who were watching her at the bar while I sped toward her.
What the fuck is wrong with me? It’s one thing accidentally fucking my best friend’s little sister, but to take her intentionally . . . I’ve not just crossed the line, I fucking destroyed it.
Not wanting to keep her waiting, I move across the room and hastily tuck my dick back inside my pants before finding the tablet against the wall. I turn on the lighting and the room fills with a dim glow.
I’m almost too fucking scared to turn around.
Despite the noise and the distance between us, I can hear her gasp as she finally sees me, or maybe I’m just so in tune with her now that the agony in her tone just spears right through my chest.
I slowly turn and lift my gaze to hers, making a point not to linger on her body. She wouldn’t want that. It’s clear in the way she tries to cover herself, hiding the body from me that I’d just had my hands all over, my fingers buried deep inside, and my mouth roaming over those sweet nipples. But something tells me that’s a gift I’ll never receive again.
Regret rests heavily on my shoulders. How could I let it get this far? She’s never going to forgive me, and she shouldn’t. Last week was sheer coincidence, but tonight . . . This was a clear betrayal. A violation of her trust, and I’m fucking disgusted with myself.
“I . . . I don’t understand how this happened,” she says, shaking her head.
I inch toward her, my gaze not moving from hers as she stands there and watches me with the greatest sadness. Tears well in her eyes and slowly roll down her cheeks. She fucking hates me. “Aspen, I . . . I’m sorry,” I tell her. “I never intended for it to happen this way, and when I figured out the girl from last week was you, I just . . . I’m sorry. You have to know how fucking sorry I am.”
“You’re sorry?” she scoffs, her voice breaking with despair. “You were inside of me, Izaac. You took my virginity, and then you let me walk right back in here without saying a goddamn word. You’re supposed to be my family. You’re supposed to protect me from the people who want to use me like you just did. Isn’t that why you told Austin about my date today, or was it just so you could take advantage of me yourself?”
“Fuck, Aspen. It’s not like that. I just—I’m so fucking sorry. This isn’t how I thought it would turn out.”
She scoffs again, only this time, the heavy tears streaming down her face have her voice breaking into a million little pieces. “So what then? When the receptionist called and said that I was here, what were your intentions when you told her to send me down here? Were your intentions to fuck me again and hope that I’d never figure it out? To come by my parents’ home and smile and laugh with me like you hadn’t been inside of me? To drink with my brother like you hadn’t betrayed his trust?”