Total pages in book: 192
Estimated words: 189782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 949(@200wpm)___ 759(@250wpm)___ 633(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 189782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 949(@200wpm)___ 759(@250wpm)___ 633(@300wpm)
She’s hot.
Hot as fuck.
But also burning up.
That’s why she sought the open doors. She’s trying to cool down.
I’m a bastard. A creepy fuck with my dick hanging out. And I can’t even scrounge up a sliver of regret about it.
Stuffing myself away, I wipe my hand on my sweatpants, grab my phone, and lower the thermostat in the guest house.
Sleep, my beautiful girl. Dream of the life we had. The life we can still have together.
She retreats from the doorway and crawls into bed between Leo and Kody.
Resting her cheek on Leo’s chest, she drapes a leg over his hips and stares out the doors.
I should go. I’ve already lingered long past disturbing. But my infatuation glues me in place.
Her eyes grow heavy, and within minutes, the graceful curves of her face soften with sleep, drawing attention to the perfect bow of her lips.
Her long hair cascades around her, a fiery halo against Leo’s chest. Her pale skin and slender figure make her look ethereal. Otherworldly. A delicate, celestial creature too perfect for this harsh world.
Every ounce of me wants to drag her away from them and lock her in our room. In our bed. To feel her softness against me, to breathe in the cherry scent of her skin, to taste her mouth again, it would be my salvation, my deliverance from this damnation.
She’s the only one who can rescue my black soul.
Christ, I miss her smile against my lips, the feel of her body relaxing when I grab her hips, and the way she looked at me with mine in her eyes. Now there’s only hurt and anger, a barrier that keeps us apart.
She left a fierce ache in my chest, a burning need that never fades. Every time I look at her, I want to bend her over my knee and spank the resentment out of her. I want to choke her, bruise her, tie her to our bed, and fuck every hole in her body until her heart finds its way back to me.
But she’s too far away for that, even when she’s right here. The distance between us is a chasm that can’t be crossed until I earn her trust again.
Until that time, I’ll remain her devoted shadow, following her, watching her, never leaving, if only to feel close to her even when I’m not.
I despise what I’ve become and the lengths I’ll go to get her back.
Guilt festers in my gut, turning sour and foul. It morphs into something darker as the images of tonight replay in my mind, taunting me, unraveling me.
Every time she lets them touch her, she inflicts another wound, another scar inside me. The pain is ungodly, making it impossible to keep a clear head.
I start to turn away until I catch movement in their room. The bed stirs behind her. Kody rolls against her and buries a hand between her legs, groping her while she sleeps.
That’s all it takes. My boiling veins erupt, spewing venom and rage. Unable to contain it, I toss off the goggles and swing my fist, sending it into the half-moon window.
A crack splinters across the glass as pain shoots through my knuckles and shatters up my arm, making me angrier.
I lose my fucking mind, overturning furniture, the heavy wooden chairs crashing to the floor with a satisfying thud. Boxes go flying, the contents scattering across the room.
She was pregnant with our baby. A baby she lost because of me.
A son or daughter I’ll never meet.
My breaths come in ragged gasps. My vision fogs with fury. I grab a small table and hurl it against the wall, the wood splintering on impact. I attack old paintings, tearing the canvases with my bare hands.
I had a son. Wolfson. A son she loved and lost because of me.
A son I’ll never meet.
Because I refused to accept him.
I kick over a trunk, the tumble of books echoing in the room. The sound of destruction fuels my anger, pushing me further into madness.
All the money in the world won’t bring them back.
They’re gone.
Panting, seething, I collapse to my knees, surrounded by the chaos I’ve created.
I need to get out of here. Away from this house. Away from the memories. Away from the woman who’s driving me insane.
My body trembles as I force myself to stand and head for the door.
Moving on autopilot, I slip out of the crawl space, into the guest bedroom closet, and cover the opening with the shelving unit.
In my bathroom, I wash my hands, gritting my teeth against the hot sting of broken skin.
I pull on running shoes, grab the boat keys, and bolt outside.
The rain stopped, leaving the air fresh and crisp. Shirtless and out of breath, I sprint into the night, following the running paths away from the guest house, away from the torment of watching her with them.