Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 81787 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81787 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
“Is that so? You want to stand there, naked, with my mouth on your cunt and tell me you saved yourself for me?” He shook his head as a shadow passed over his heavy-lidded eyes. “I was giving you time to be sure I was what you wanted, and you wanted fucked so bad that when I wouldn’t do it, you went off to college and gave it to some fucker who didn’t deserve it.”
What? Shock and confusion at his words silenced me. Was I hearing him correctly?
“You think I went and slept with Sylvia because I wanted her? Think about it, Oakley. I was so damn obsessed with you. Why would I make that mistake? I know about the guys at college. I know you were living your life and sowing your wild oats. When I found out, it destroyed me. It felt like someone had reached into my chest and ripped my damn heart out with their hands.” He turned and stalked away from me. His body rigid. “FUCK, Oakley! I didn’t want to talk about the past. It’s done. Those are your words, right?” he asked as he spun back around to glare at me accusingly.
I opened my mouth and closed it, still horrified. Shaking my head, I managed to find my voice. “I never had sex with anyone in college,” I choked out. “I lost my virginity to Sebastian, Wilder, and you had already divorced Sylvia by that time.”
He said nothing as he stood there and looked at me. His dark, piercing gaze hardened. “You’re lying.”
A humorless laugh full of pain escaped me.
How had he even thought I would do that? Had he not picked up on the fact that he was all I wanted in this life? I told him several times a day that I loved him. I’d even worried that I had driven him away because of my constant texting and need to talk to him.
“I’m not.” My voice sounded hoarse from the tears clogging my throat. “Ask Sebastian yourself. He was the first guy to see me naked. I’d been a nervous wreck. Then … when we finally had sex, well, he can tell you that I was a virgin. All I wanted back then was you. I wasn’t throwing myself at you because I wanted to have sex. I just wanted you.”
Wilder shoved his fingers into his hair as a wild look lit his eyes. “Tell me this is a fucking joke, Oakley.”
I shook my head. “No.”
His shoulders lifted and fell hard as he breathed. “That can’t be true.” His voice was laced with steel.
“It is.”
The veins on his neck stood out, and his face flushed red. “NO, IT CAN’T BE!” he shouted. “IF IT IS, THEN-” He stopped and stalked across the room, as far from me as he could get. Balling his hands into fists, he hit them against the rock wall and dropped his head as he leaned there, holding himself up.
“Why did you think—” I started to ask and stopped.
His body was so rigid that I wasn’t sure I needed to push this right now. But he had believed I was cheating on him? I couldn’t wrap my head around that. I had worshipped the ground he walked on. Everyone knew it. His friends made jokes about it. My roommate at college had teased me about all the pictures I had of Wilder on my side of the room.
“She told me,” he said with an enraged breath. “Sylvia told me, and I believed her.”
Wrapping my arms around my naked chest, I suddenly felt exposed by my nudity. The reminder of Sylvia and the things she had done to hurt me was the last thing I wanted. How she had made sure people thought the worst of me. How my father had preferred her over me. But Wilder was the one I had trusted. He had known me, seen me, and … the thought that he would believe her over me was a new hurt I hadn’t been prepared for.
He dropped his hands, and I bent down to get the sweatshirt off the floor. I needed to be covered. I had to get some space. My chest was so tight that I didn’t think I could breathe.
“She had pictures of you at parties. One with a guy, and your hands were around his neck. He was holding you around your waist.”
I blinked as I held the shirt in front of me. What picture? I shook my head. I didn’t know what he was talking about.
“You can’t deny a fucking picture, Oakley. You might not have been having sex with him, but you sure as hell were cozy with him. Do you have any idea how seeing another guy touching you and how fucking happy you were about it destroyed me?”