Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 46619 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 233(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46619 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 233(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
I fill my days with so much work leaving myself no time to socialize with others.
What if everyone, like my mother, thinks I’m not even worthy of the air I breathe…?
People in Hudson have been nice to me, but I always tell myself it’s because they don’t really know me, so I never give them the chance to.
I have conformed so much to my mother’s degrading view of me that I can’t seem to break away from my shell.
Even with the miles between us, her words keep pulling me back to that dark place I tried so hard to escape.
She lives in my head, constantly beating down my self-confidence. So, I’ve never craved for more, and I’ve always contented myself with just existing.
I never counted myself worthy of being desired, so I never tried.
And when the walls of my heart start to close in on me, I take my pain in stride and smile brightly for those around me. I’ve gotten used to this bland existence and was fine with it.
Then, Abram Harden came into my life and slowly started to chip away my self-doubts and insecurities.
These days I find myself wanting more.
I’ve often thought about what it would be like to explore my desires with him… To let go and get caught up in a whirlwind of passion.
Maybe it’s because he keeps contradicting everything I knew about myself for the past twenty-one years, slowly driving away the domineering image of my mother.
You’re amazing, Melody…
You’re beautiful, Melody…
You’re perfect…
He keeps saying these things to me, and I keep wanting to believe him.
I keep wanting to get lost in those endless blue-green eyes that look at me like I’m truly special.
I keep wanting more.
Now it seems like I’m caught up between an overwhelming past and an unfamiliar but enticing present.
My life feels like it’s at a point where I can’t seem to move forward or go backward.
I don’t know if I should give in to this thrilling desire to let go and live freely or run as fast as my legs can carry me.
The room is suddenly flooded with light.
I blink rapidly, trying to adjust my sight to the sudden brightness.
I turn around, and my gaze falls on the main object of my thoughts.
Abram is standing by the stairs, his eyes fixed intently on mine.
My throat goes dry as my eye glides down to his shirtless chest. All rational thought immediately flies out of my head as I gawk shamelessly at his strong-looking abs.
My fingers itch to glide over his chest, down to his abs and…. I catch myself in time and raise my eyes slowly to his.
Abram’s lips pull up in a small knowing smile.
I duck my head, embarrassed to have been caught gaping.
“Can’t sleep?” Abram asks, walking toward the fridge.
I let out an inaudible breath of relief, glad to be momentarily free of his perceptive eyes.
“Yes,” I reply quietly.
I wonder if he knows that he’s the reason why sleep evades me.
“Yeah, me too,” Abram says, coming toward me with a full glass of milk. He sits beside me on the couch and holds the glass. “Here, drink this. A glass of milk will help.”
Our hands brush as I take the glass out of his hand.
Electric tingles shoot up my arm from the contact. Our eyes meet and hold for a tense second.
I lower my gaze and raise the glass to my lips with shaky hands, stupefied by the raw desire in his eyes.
An awkward silence falls between us.
“What about you?” I ask after a while, a feeble attempt to break the ice. “Would you like to have some milk? I can get you a glass if….”
“What I really want to do is kiss you, Melody,” Abram says, cutting off my mindless ramble. I freeze in shock at the bluntness of his words. “Thoughts of you keep me awake every night, and now it seems like they’re driving me crazy. I keep telling myself to be patient and take things slowly, but I want you so bad it’s killing me slowly. I....”
“Me too,” The words slip out of my mouth unconsciously.
Abram looks surprised. “What?”
“I can’t stop thinking about you, too,” I admit without looking at his face. I can barely hear myself above the roaring sound of my heart, but I forge on bravely. “I think about what it’d feel like to have your body against mine and....”
Adam leans forward swiftly and seals his mouth over mine.
My entire system freezes up with shock.
I have imagined this moment a million times, but it feels almost surreal now that it’s actually happening.
His mouth moves against mine, driving away all sane thoughts from my head. His lips are soft against mine, moving with delicious expertise that makes my toes curl from excess pleasure.
I raise my hands hesitantly to his shoulders, unconsciously pressing myself further against his chest. Abram exerts gentle pressure on my lips until I open up beneath him.