Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 35656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 178(@200wpm)___ 143(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 178(@200wpm)___ 143(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
“I can’t swim,” she said.
“One day I’ll teach you.” He finished his other sandwich and watched her deep in thought. “What about school?”
“What about it?”
“Do you need me to get some books? Help you get settled in?”
“I don’t go to school.”
“Why not?”
“Dad pulled me out three years ago.” She pointed at her scar. “We left town, and I never went back.”
****
Faith knew she shouldn’t be surprised that she wasn’t going home. One day her father would push too hard, and he wouldn’t be able to talk himself out of shit. Caleb stared at her scar. There was no disgust on his face like there had been with other people, or even her father. He hadn’t been able to look at her when it happened.
Getting hit by a car had sucked, like, mega fucking sucked. What didn’t help, it wasn’t an accident. Nope! Her father owed a bad debt, and because he hadn’t paid up, they’d struck her down. It was at that moment, getting out of the hospital, that she realized to her father she meant nothing.
He’d hated what had happened to her, but part of her had been sure it was because she was damaged goods. He’d always been on her case to lose weight, to make herself beautiful. To do things that she hated.
“And that scar?” Caleb asked.
“That was business Dad couldn’t take care of.”
Caleb’s lips pursed. He was a handsome man. Dark, scary, but he was sexy with it. She glanced down at his hands, and his shirt sleeves were rolled up, showing off his inked arms. They were thick, muscular, and let her know without a shadow of a doubt that he could probably kill someone with his bare hands.
“Are you going to kill me?” she asked.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t kill little girls.”
“I’m far from little, and I’m not a girl.”
He shrugged. “You’ve done nothing to piss me off.”
“My father has.”
“Your father will be taken care of.”
She frowned. “Then why take me?” She’d finished her sandwich, and he took her plate.
“Your father is a piece of shit. I’m not going to lie to you. I imagine he’s in deep with a lot of people. I’m just the first guy to come calling. If he was willing to hand you over to me, what else do you think he’d be willing to do?”
She nodded. “Fair enough.”
“You’re not shocked by that.”
“I got this because of him. Nothing that man does surprises me anymore.” She wished it had. The only reason she’d remained with him after turning eighteen a few months ago was purely because she had nowhere else to go. If she had, she’d have been long gone.
Her father never scared her. His gambling habit had, and how far he’d been willing to go.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t try to sell off your virginity.”
She burst out laughing. “He’d have been pissed for sure on that one. You can’t sell something that’s not there.”
Her cheeks heated when he stared at her. “You’re not a virgin?”
“Did he tell you that?”
“He didn’t tell me shit.”
He didn’t seem angry.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“You’re eighteen. When did you have time to lose it?”
She smiled. “I’m sure you were younger than eighteen when you lost yours?”
“That’s beside the point. There’s a real difference here.”
“Oh, yeah, what is it?”
“I’m a man.”
“Wow, that is not sexist at all.”
“It’s the truth. It’s different for men. We have certain urges.”
She was shocked, and she couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, well, so do women as well.” Then her cheeks heated up.
“How old were you when you lost your virginity?” he asked, and she was more than pleased that he didn’t want to linger on needs.
Did she have urges?
Reading romance books, at least the ones with the dirty sex that were all the rage right now, she certainly wanted to know what it was like. The men described in the books were so devoted and loyal to their women. They didn’t just hump away, and leave you wanting for more.
“I was actually sixteen, and I made the decision myself.”
He kept on staring at her, and it made her very uncomfortable.
“I knew Dad would one day risk doing something incredibly stupid. I don’t know. I just, I wanted that to be … my choice.”
Silence fell between them.
“I notice you didn’t say special?”
Faith couldn’t help but laugh. “It wasn’t special. I promise you, it was anything but special.” It had hurt, and been over way before she knew what was really happening. It had been with a guy who kept noticing her and asking her out. She’d spent a lot of time at the local library, as her father had already pulled her out of school. At first, the guy had been interested because of her scar, which she found weird. Then, when she realized that it was her chance to do something completely rebellious, she’d used him. She remembered it was the first time a boy had ever noticed her. The entire thing hadn’t been great at all. She didn’t remember much from it, not even his name. She’d just blatantly asked him if he wanted to have sex. “I was safe though. Condom, and I even made sure I went for a check-up when we moved out of town to make sure he hadn’t given me anything.”