Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 74226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Scarlet giggles before spinning around and exiting the dining room.
I’m about to follow her upstairs when Quinton steps in my way. “Hey, about earlier. I just wanted to say thanks. You didn’t have to take a bullet for me, but you did without thinking.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I say, like it was no big deal. “I just didn’t want to hear you whine about a bruise all the way home.”
“Sure,” Quinton slaps me on my shoulder. “Just say you’re welcome and move on, asshat.”
“You’re welcome, prick.” I slap his shoulder back.
“I wanted to thank you too,” Aspen says, coming up beside us.
“You don’t have to thank me,” I tell her honestly. She doesn’t owe me anything after what I did to her. “If anything, I owe you an apology… for what I did at Corium.”
Quinton stiffens at me mentioning the past. He is still not completely over it, and I don’t blame him.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s water under the bridge. But just so you know.” Aspen takes a step closer. “If you do anything to hurt Scarlet, I’ll kill you myself… slowly.” She smiles sweetly while rubbing her round belly, as if she didn’t just threaten me with a violent death. I guess she is a Rossi after all.
“I swear I won’t do anything to hurt her,” I promise. Quite the opposite; I would do anything to keep her safe.
Aspen nods, seemingly satisfied by my response, she takes Quinton’s hand and pulls him away. I watch them walk out of the dining room before following them a moment later.
I walk upstairs to the guest room that has become mine. I’m only a few doors away from Scarlet’s room and the dirty fantasy she put in my mind runs rampant in my head. I wonder if she is taking a shower right now, touching her wet little pussy thinking about me. Is she moaning my name? I’m so curious, I almost walk past my door to get to hers.
Forcing myself to behave, I stop at my room and open the door. I walk in thinking about taking a quick shower myself. It’s probably a good idea with my cock being so hard. Cold shower it is, I decide.
Peeling my clothes off quickly, I make my way into the attached bathroom, turning on the cold water in the shower. I step under the spray right away, letting the icy water cool my heated skin. I stand under the spray until my dick is completely deflated, and my muscles ache from the cold. When I step out, I wrap myself up in one of the large, fluffy white towels. This is much nicer than downstairs. I’m glad Xander trusts me enough by now to let me spend my time up here. And with no stress to worry about, I hope River won’t appear again anytime soon.
Thinking of my split personality makes me remember the notebook the doctor gave me. With everything going on, I haven’t had a chance to even look at it. I haven’t written anything in there myself, but I wonder if River has.
I dry off my hair and pull on a pair of sweats before I seek out the notebook sitting on my bedside table. I open it up and see my familiar handwriting on the first page.
Ren,
I’m starting to think she likes me more than you. Why else would she come so hard when I fingered her through the bars? She was so fucking wet for me when I called her my little slut and promised next time I would fuck her ass. Maybe you need to fuck her better and then she’ll tell you all her secrets like she tells me. Unless she’s told you about the baby growing inside her already.
River
I read the note twice, then a third time, letting the words sink in slowly. There is too much to digest in these few lines, and they’re so monumental I’m not sure if I can believe them.
Did my angel really lie to me again? Betrayal settles in my stomach like a deadly poison. Jealousy, shock, and a sense of loss mingles in my chest. I don’t know what to think or what to believe. Can Scarlet really be pregnant with my child? We didn’t use protection, and we had plenty of sex, but why wouldn’t she tell me, and why would she tell him? Does she really like that side of me better? The bad side? Does she like it when I hurt her and degrade her? Or is River simply playing mind games again? Although he hasn’t lied to me, at least not that I know of. Could this really be true?
My mind spins. And it won’t stop until I know the truth.
23
SCARLET
Freshly showered, I dress in the cutest pajamas I can find. They are not as sexy as I hoped, but it’s not like I have lingerie lying around here. Plus, I still have to walk out in the hallway, and sneaking to Ren’s room is risky enough without being half naked.