Total pages in book: 186
Estimated words: 176552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 883(@200wpm)___ 706(@250wpm)___ 589(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 176552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 883(@200wpm)___ 706(@250wpm)___ 589(@300wpm)
“Do you wanna tell me what happened last night?” I asked, hoping the question might shift the energy. Or at least distract me long enough to pull my thoughts out of the gutter.
“Aside from Deadweight running his mouth and disrespecting you?” His tone was cold but controlled. “I let him talk long enough to show everyone exactly what he was.”
“Meaning?” I turned the sink on, the rush of water masking the erratic rhythm of my pulse as I rinsed my bottle.
“He’s jealous. Desperate. Still clinging to something that was never his. He thought saying he had you first would shake me.”
“He said what?” I turned my head and looked at him. Surely, I’d misheard.
“He claimed he had you first. I think he forgot you’ve always been mine. So I told him the truth.”
“The truth?”
“I let him know that when you finally end up in my bed, you’ll find out what it feels like to be worshipped head to toe. And fucked so hard you forget any name that came before mine.”
I almost dropped my water bottle.
He’d never been so bold with me before. So direct, so shamelessly sure of himself.
God help me—I liked it.
I wasn’t a prude. Not even close. But something about hearing him say something like that, Ryder Voss, with that razor-sharp calm and eyes holding mine, lit me up from the inside out. My face burned, heat blooming down my neck, and my thighs pressed together on instinct. My body didn’t care that this was a disaster waiting to happen. It only knew who was standing in front of me, and exactly what he was promising.
“Why would you tell him that?” I asked. The words came softer than I meant them to.
“I told you, he needed to hear the truth,” he said simply.
My lips parted, no words coming out. He used my silence like an open door and closed the distance between us.
“I warned you,” he murmured. “And that line you’ve been clinging to? It’s gone. I have no problem bleeding him or anyone else who wants to get in the way, dry over what’s mine.”
“What are you actually saying right now? Where is this coming from?”
“Remember the other night? I let you say your peace, even though every word was a lie. You knew it. I knew it. Now it’s my turn to speak mine.”
“This isn’t remotely the same thing.” I gestured with my hands.
“One of us had to end this fucking repetition we’ve been caught up in. We haven’t been us since the night you kissed me. I’m done pretending that meant nothing.” His eyes burned into mine, unrelenting.
“Then… where does that leave us, Rye?” My voice trembled, but I couldn’t look away.
“It leaves us exactly where we should’ve been all along. No more in-between. No more hiding. No more acting like we’re just friends. I won’t let you keep running from what’s already yours.”
“Ryder…” I shook my head, my chest tight. “This is actually insane.”
“I’ve never claimed to be sane,” he murmured, leaning in, his body brushing mine and stealing what was left of my breath. “But when it comes to you? I’ve never seen clearer.” His words wrapped around me, sharp and reverent all at once.
“After last night, I knew I needed to come here for three things. To make sure you were okay. To tell you this is happening and remind you who you belong to.”
I pressed a hand to my chest like I could steady the chaos inside. “I don’t get a say in this?”
His eyes didn’t waver. “No.”
“No?” I echoed.
“What is there to say?” His hands moved to my waist, fingers digging in just enough to ground me—or trap me. He pressed me back against the nearest surface, his body caging mine completely. “Tell me you don’t love me the same way I’ve always loved you. Tell me you regret kissing me. Tell me you don’t want this, that you don’t feel me in your fucking bones,” he demanded, his hands sliding up to cup my face, holding me steady. “Lie to me, Sass.”
I didn’t want to. I couldn’t.
I’d never been any good at lying to him, and he knew it.
Still… “You have a girlfriend,” I whispered, the words brittle, my last pathetic shield.
“I’ll handle her when the time’s right.”
The words came out like a death sentence.
“So you’re just stringing her along until then?”
I tried to twist away, but he wouldn’t let me. His grip only tightened, his thumbs stroking my jaw in a touch so tender it felt cruel. “You know me, Sass. You know nothing I do is without reason,” he murmured, his forehead dropping to mine. “You have forty-eight hours, give or take, to process.” His voice grew quiet, almost gentle, but beneath it was that dark, unyielding edge. “After that, I start making moves for us. Our future.”