Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 36551 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 183(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36551 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 183(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
“It was just a stupid kiss. Don’t be such a prude.”
But it was more than that. I woke up from my sleepover with her lips on me, fingers probing me beneath my shirt, and hot breath in my ear. At first, I thought I was having a nightmare.
It was Lucy.
Kissing me and fingering my nipple.
I kind of freaked the hell out and she played it off like I was being ridiculous. We never spoke of it again. In fact, I did my best to shove it out of my mind as something silly. Now I’m not so sure.
“You think Lucy did something to Ophelia over the summer? Her own cousin?” I ask, my heart hammering wildly in my chest.
“I do. And whatever it was, it was bad enough to make Ophelia lose it. It explains how, when away from her cousin, she recovered, but when reintroduced to a private setting with her, she would rebound.” Cason flicks the phone screen. “Now, with Leigh’s posts, I feel like my suspicion is confirmed.” Then, he turns his probing stare on me. “Question is, why would Lucy turn on you?”
My face turns beet red and I cut my eyes to the floor. “I don’t know.”
“Bullshit. What did that bitch do to you?”
Tears well in my eyes. I shrug my shoulders. “It was stupid.”
Cason sets his phone and drink on the dresser and then makes me sit on the bed beside him. “Tell me. I’m your brother. I have always believed you. I won’t stop now.”
With bile creeping up my throat, I blurt out the sleepover from hell.
By the end of it, Cason’s jaw muscle is ticking, and violence is gleaming in his eyes. Not good. An angry Cason means someone’s life is about to get turned upside down.
“When was this?” he demands.
“A couple months before school ended last spring.”
“It makes sense now, Adds. Think about it,” he says, voice low and angry. “You sent that picture. An innocent thing on your part. She took it as permission to put the moves on you. When you reacted badly and turned her down, she then saw you as a threat. That her secret would get out. So, what does she do? She sends your picture to your teacher.”
My stomach hurts and my head throbs. “Why do you think she waited until I got back to school to start tormenting me?”
Cason shrugs. “Could have been she just wanted her smear campaign to have more impact. Or, perhaps after Leigh protecting Ophelia over the summer, she was just pissed off and needed an outlet. To feel in control of something.”
“How do we make her stop?” I ask, knowing I’m about to open a big can of worms.
“I have a plan up my sleeve.”
“Should I be scared?”
He bumps his shoulder into mine. “It might get messy, but I won’t do it without your approval.”
“Messy, how?”
“I’ll expose it all on my YouTube channel. Ask questions. Get people talking. Who knows, maybe other people will come forward who are just too scared? Your ex-bestie is a predator. It’s time to put her down.”
I’m feeling lighter by the time I reach Theo’s apartment. Cason loves investigating people and exposing secrets. I’m glad he’s on my team versus the other side. He’s a menace for those who aren’t.
Theo opens the door and I grin at him.
“Hey.”
He grabs my hand and hauls me inside. “Come here, you.”
I fall against his chest and grin up at him. His mouth crashes to mine, kissing me like he’s been waiting an eternity to see me. I run my fingers up his solid chest to his shoulders and then spear them into his dark hair. Kissing him is my new favorite thing.
Our kiss intensifies. He grabs my ass, encouraging me to put my legs around him as he lifts me. I want him to take me to his bedroom, but he stops by the couch.
“Not here,” I breathe against his lips. “Please.”
He’s frozen for far too long. Then, he curses. But I win because he takes me to his room. Once there, he smoothly transitions us onto the bed with me beneath him. His body is strong and big, pressing me deep into his mattress. I could stay like this forever.
“This is dangerous,” he warns. “I want things I have no business wanting with you. Especially so early on in a relationship.”
I nip at his bottom lip and grin at him. “Relationship? What are you saying?”
He kisses me, groaning as his cock grinds against my pussy through our clothes. “You’re mine. My girlfriend or whatever you want to call it.”
“I accept,” I tease, breathing heavily at his intense grinding. “Boyfriend.”
“We’re taking this slow, though.”
“For the record, I hate this idea. We want each other. Why are we delaying what we both want?”
His mouth breaks from mine and then he nips at my jaw before moving down to my neck. “You’re so fucking precious to me, baby. I don’t want to hurt you.”