Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 78850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
“She told me she was disappointed in me. Not just because of the necklace…but how I’ve chosen to live my life.” The tears rekindled and watered my already wet eyes. “She left me…and then these monsters came.” Tears fell down my cheeks to my lips, coating the skin with salt that I could taste without moving my tongue. I could still see her perfectly, see the way she left me behind…again.
“She’s not disappointed in you, Camille.”
“I’m a whore. Of course she is.”
“No one should ever be ashamed of what they do to survive—including you.”
I sniffled and wiped away the tears.
“And no mother is ever disappointed in her children. It’s just not possible.”
I sniffled again.
“Just a nightmare. Means nothing.”
“Maybe…but I still feel like shit.” My arms crossed over my body, suddenly freezing cold when I’d been sweaty just moments ago.
His hand slowly reached out and stopped several inches away, as if waiting for permission. When I gave a nod, his hand rested on my knee, his calloused thumb brushing my soft skin. It remained there for a while before it slid up my thigh to cup the inside of it. “Come on.” He got to his feet then extended his hand to pull me up. “Get some sleep.”
I let him pull me to my feet, but I didn’t slide back into bed. “I can’t now. I’ll just watch some TV for a while.” I moved to the couch in my long t-shirt and plopped down before I grabbed the remote. I turned on the TV, the bedroom flooding with blue light, chasing away the monsters hidden in the shadows.
Instead of leaving the room, he took the seat beside me, pretty much naked in his small shorts. His muscular legs were covered in dark hair, but his chest and back were nothing but tanned skin. He relaxed against the cushion, one foot propped on the table.
“You don’t have to stay with me.”
Quiet, he watched the TV.
“I’m sure you’re tired.”
He grabbed the blanket hanging off the back of the armchair then patted the cushion beside him. “Come here.”
The last thing I wanted was to be alone right now. There was no greater feeling than lying in his arms. I knew how it felt, briefly, and I still missed it. Even if his actions were solely out of pity, I couldn’t reject the opportunity. I slid to his side and felt the blanket cover me. My face rested against his shoulder, and my arm hooked through his without invitation. The heat from his body was sweltering, like midday at the beach. My legs rested over his, and I felt his arm curve around me, bringing me close.
Now, it was like the nightmare had never happened.
His chin rested on my head while his fingers lightly stroked my arm. For a man who claimed to be incapable of so many things, he was awfully gentle. In a still moment like this, he made me forget the need for survival. I hadn’t felt this content since the moment before I found out my mother was sick—the last time my world felt whole.
“Why is this necklace so important to you? Other than the fact that your mother gave it to you.” His voice was quiet, but still audible over the sound of the TV. The volume was on low, and it was a rerun of an old show.
“It’s all I have of her.” I curled into his body more, no longer needing the TV to chase away the horrors in my mind. “When she passed away, I couldn’t afford to pay for anything, so it was all lost. Creditors took all the furniture. That necklace is all I managed to keep. It’s like a family heirloom now…a memory of when life was good.”
Heavy silence passed, lasting for an eternity. “Where does he keep it?”
“His bedroom. I snuck in when he had a party and managed to get it in my hands, but he caught me. That was when I came to you. I hoped that if I convinced you to kill him, I could get that necklace back.”
His fingers continued to caress my arm, his calloused fingertips tender and loving against my skin. He brushed the hair from my neck, and the slight touch to my sensitive skin made me break out in bumps. “I’ll get it back for you.”
It took a second to accept his words, to convince myself I hadn’t imagined them. My body moved from his so I could get a look at his handsome face, to study the sincerity in those dark eyes. “You will…?”
He pulled me close again, his lips brushing across my temple. “Yes.”
When I woke up the next morning, the usual coldness I felt was absent. I was still wrapped in a bundle of warmth. My eyes opened, and I saw that the TV had been shut off sometime in the middle of the night. I also realized the hard surface underneath my head wasn’t the armrest—but his powerful chest.