Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 137(@200wpm)___ 110(@250wpm)___ 92(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 137(@200wpm)___ 110(@250wpm)___ 92(@300wpm)
This time when I inhale, my breath is unsteady. “You should go. Right now. To your room.”
She stares at me, wide-eyed, like a doe in the wild that I stumbled across. A tasty morsel just waiting to be devoured. “Now!” I shout.
The boom of my voice jerks her into motion. She turns and runs out of the room, leaving behind nothing but the smell of her apple-scented lotion.
My knees turn to water, and I have to brace myself against the sofa table to keep upright. This girl has me in turmoil. My peaceful, planned existence has been turned upside down ever since I found her in the basement of my building two years ago.
I shoved her into boarding school as fast as possible to preserve my sanity, but she’s back, of age, and more tempting. I drag a shaky hand across my mouth and shove myself upright. I am Hendrix Mason. I built an empire with nothing more than my will and my own two hands. I will not give in to this…whatever it is. I won’t even put a name on it. I won’t define it because to do so would give it substance that it can’t have.
Lila is my young ward, and only the worst kind of person would take advantage of her. Better that I make her hate me than to allow her to get close.
That said, there is no reason for there to be any man in her life. I refuse to examine the reason for that. I just know that if I ever see her with a man, I’ll kill him and lock her up in a room in this house and never let her out. As I told her when I found her, she belongs to me, and I will never allow another man to lay a hand on her. Never.
10
LILA
How can time both drag by but also feel like it’s flying too? That’s how the last two weeks have been for me, at least. At times I think this is the best my life has ever been—which isn’t really saying much—while other days are hard to bear. My emotions are all over the place, and I have no clue how to deal with them.
When I’m with Beau, everything is right in the world. Being with him is the only time I actually feel like I belong here. He and I fit together so easily. He loves me unconditionally. Something no one has ever done before in my life. He doesn’t care that we’re not blood related or where I came from. I'm still his family. I wish I could say the same for Mason.
It’s when Mason is around that my life becomes unsettled. I don’t understand why he can’t seem to tolerate me. Sometimes I think he wants me to hate him. I’m slowly getting there. If it weren’t for Beau being here, I would rather be back at boarding school at this point. Being here is reminding me of the foster system to a degree. Except it’s way fancier. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful to have this. Especially for Beau. He deserves to grow up in a place like this.
I’m back to walking on eggshells, though, with Mason. I have this fear that if I don’t do what I’m told, I could be tossed out on my ass. With how much Mason is avoiding me, I wonder if it’s only a matter of time. Honestly, I don’t understand anymore why he’s so protective of me. He can barely tolerate being in the same room with me. What’s the point of taking care of me? It doesn’t make any sense, which leads me to believe it’s only a matter of time before he just tells me to get out. That would make his life easier. Then he can stop avoiding his own home.
The only thing I can think of is Beau. That’s why he lets me stay. With Beau, he’s different. He’s sweet and even does things with him. I glance over at the clock and see it’s almost ten. Every Saturday they go out and spend time together. They should be leaving soon.
A knock sounds at my door. It’s soft so I know it's Beau. “Come in.” I force a bright smile on my face as I sit up from my bed. Beau comes barreling into my room. He’s all decked out and ready to go. Both Beau and Mason are giant baseball fans. Mason took Beau to opening day a few months ago, and he still talks about it like it was yesterday.
“See my new hat?” Beau pulls it off his head, thrusting it toward me.
“I like it,” I say before slipping it back on his head for him.
“You wanna come with?” he asks, making me wonder if Mason put him up to it. That thought is short-lived. “I’m sure Drix won’t care.”