Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 87961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
I see him nod in my peripheral vision. He moves to get up, and I don’t know why, but I panic. I reach for him, wrapping my fingers around his thick forearm. He twists around, glancing over his shoulder at me.
“Wait. Don’t leave,” I whisper.
He runs his hand over his chest, staring at me for a few seconds. Nodding, he sits on the edge of the bed, eyes locked on the floor. The thought of staying in here by myself makes me panic. “Just...stay in here.”
I watch him in the dark. His brow creases as he sighs, settling back against the headboard. He stays there, not saying a word and staring at me for what feels like hours. I feel safe with him, and how twisted is that? Eventually, he lays on his side, propping his head up with his hand and looking down at me.
I close my eyes, suddenly exhausted. I’m tired. I’m tired of the constant internal war that I’m waging with myself, as the old Ria fights to maintain even a shred of the person she used to be.
He gently brushes a fingertip over my cheek. “You are stronger than this.”
I roll my head to the side and look at him, barely able to make out the outline of his face. “What if I’m not though?” My voice breaks.
His eyes narrow, glinting slightly. “You are.” I feel his fingers brush against mine, and I reach for him, for whatever reason…I reach for him. He winds his fingers through mine. It’s such an innocent gesture for him that, for a moment, I freeze, waiting for the penny to drop. He moves his thumb in circles across the back of my hand, and to my surprise, that feeling eases some of the tension.
“If I could take it back, I would.” His voice is so quiet, I’m almost not even sure if I heard him properly.
“I know,” I whisper into the darkness, and he squeezes my hand tighter.
“Go to sleep, Tor.”
I fall asleep with my hand still entwined with his, and for the first time since the day I was plucked from my perfect life, I don’t close my eyes to images of knives and sick, twisted smiles.
I wake the next morning with my face pressed against something hard and hot. I lift my head and glance down at Jude’s very bare, very muscled, and very male chest. Shit. I try to slide away from him slowly, but his arm is wrapped around my waist. When I try to move, he groans and tightens his hold possessively, pulling me back to him.
I glance down the length of his body and can’t possibly miss the bulge tenting the front of his boxers. My thigh is barely a few inches from his package. Oh, my God. I’m wrapped around him like a fucking vine. A slutty vine. I feel my face heat up like a furnace as I try and slowly pull my leg back. His cock twitches and he groans again. He rolls over and bends his knee, pressing his thigh between my legs in his sleep. I squeeze my eyes shut as I try to control my hammering pulse. He moves again, pressing everything against me, everywhere. My body lights up like a fucking traffic light.
His arm moves across his chest and cups the side of my face, his fingers winding into my hair. Part of me gravitates toward him instantly as that weird pull he has over me kicks in. It’s a primal reaction. My hormones are overriding rational thought. At least that’s what I tell myself. Yeah, that’s it.
He’s holding me so close, and his body is like an open flame. I’m burning up. I try to move again, but fucking hell, he’s strong. In the end I resort to poking him in the ribs. He grunts and stirs underneath me. I just need to separate my body from his as soon as possible.
My eyes slowly come into focus. I squint against the bright sunlight pouring in through the window and realize my fingers are tangled in hair. Tor’s warm body is pressed against mine in a death grip. Her legs are draped over me, and her lace-covered pussy is pressed up against my thigh. Fuck! I grit my teeth and try to think of anything else, but all of my blood has already shot to my dick, which is so fucking hard it hurts.
She wiggles, trying to free herself from me, and it’s really, really not helping matters because every movement just rubs over my skin. Parts of her that don’t need to be touching me are all over me, warm and firm. My fingers clench against the soft skin of her neck. I release my hold on her as she presses her palm into my chest to push herself up. Her face is flushed, her eyes wild—a look I find hard to resist. I have to bite back a groan.