Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 85183 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85183 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
I narrow my eyes on those woods, listening to my breaths as they grow deeper and angrier. I miss him, and every time I think about him the only thing I can see is the way he looked when I found him. All I can see is the bullet hole, and his vacant, milky eyes and grey skin. I can't even fucking have my memories because they're ruined. My pulse is hammering in my ears, my skin hot. Tension twists down my neck and across my shoulders. Drawing my hand back, I slam it into the rail, leaving divots from my knuckles in the soft wood.
I exhale as I turn and reach for the door and walk into the living room. Something on the stove is sizzling, and the rancid aroma of burnt tuna assaults my senses. I glance over and Marney's whistling, stirring something in the pan.
"God, Marney, what the hell are you fixin'?"
"Tuna melt," he says, hovering over the stove. "Want one?"
"Hell no."
"They came and got the head. Don't want her pitching another hissy fit," he chuckles.
I can't help but laugh a little. "Where is Tor?"
"Probably upstairs still sulking." He jumps back from the stove like he's burnt himself. "Shit. Damn grease," he says shaking his hand.
I shake my head and walk up the stairs. On my way to the bedroom, I hear the shower running, and push open the bathroom door. The room is full of steam, and I can just make out Tor's silhouette behind the glass door of the shower.
I stare at her shadow. I haven't seen her entirely undressed since before she left me. She won't take her shirt off in front of me. Tor told me she doesn't want me to see her naked because of the brands. She's afraid I'll be disgusted... like anything about her could disgust me. To me, she's fucking perfect, no amount of scars will change that.
Her head is tilted back, her hands running through her hair as she washes it. She leans back farther into the stream of water which causes her back to bow. Just the thought of her completely naked and wet and pressed against my body is giving me a motherfucker of an erection. With her, I need to take control of the situation sometimes. I kick off my boots and jeans and grab the handle to the door.
Steam billows out as I step inside. And as soon as the door clicks shut, Tor freezes, keeping her face to the wall. My eyes immediately land on her back. The raised scars from where Joe branded her have reddened from the heat of the water. The longer I stare at them, the more my chest tightens. That fucker will pay. I swallow as I gather her wet hair and drop it over her shoulder.
She pulls in a breath. "Jude..."
"You're so fucking beautiful," I say before I place my lips to the top of her spine.
I tenderly kiss over the thick scars marking her back. I want her to know I don't fucking care. Every mark I kiss over causes my stomach to knot because I know it represents a day I didn't fucking get to her. He did this to punish me, not her, and it enrages me to the point I have to consciously calm my racing pulse. I trail a few more lingering kisses over her skin and trace my fingers down her arms before wrapping my arm around her waist. She tenses, her hand bracing the wall, and I hear her breathing hitch.
"Just let me touch you, Tor, please," I whisper against her skin as I skim my fingers along her sides. She's so thin that my fingers bump over each of her ribs as I make my way over her body. She hardly eats, and when she does, she throws it up half of the time. The stress of everything has really taken its toll on her. I brush my hand lower, slowly making my way between her legs, and I stop, my hand resting on her tight stomach. What the fuck? There's a slight bump underneath my palms. I slide my hands back up toward her breast, and I feel ribs, then back down, and her stomach is rounded. I grab her shoulders, spinning her around to face me. Her eyes are closed, her lips pressed together like if she doesn't look at me she can hide from me. My eyes dart down to her stomach where a small bump protrudes between her hips. I watch the water trickle over it, and then force my eyes up to her face. She staring at the shower floor, and she's biting her lip.
"Tor?" She doesn't lift her eyes. I feel the blood pulsing through my temples, my fingers twitching and tightening ever so slightly on her arms. Surely she's not. She would have told me.