Total pages in book: 195
Estimated words: 185573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 928(@200wpm)___ 742(@250wpm)___ 619(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 185573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 928(@200wpm)___ 742(@250wpm)___ 619(@300wpm)
By the time I make my way up along the ridge, darkness has settled in. I can’t see much since there’s very little light pollution out here. After falling and skinning my knees twice in the first few minutes, Birdie’s warning makes sense. I pause where I’m at to look down at the houses dotted along the landscape, which I can only see by the distant lights. For a moment, I consider the possibility of hiding in the bed of a truck if I can find one, hoping whoever owns it will leave the compound in the morning. But that means spending the entire night there without Madden or someone else finding me. And I have a gut feeling that even if I got that lucky, they’d still probably check the vehicles as they leave.
I think my best bet is to navigate over the ridge and back around to the main highway. Then I’ll have to flag someone down, assuming there will be traffic on that road this time of night, and hope they aren’t any worse than my current situation.
It all sounds fine in my head, except for one glaring problem. The whole idea just makes me nauseous because I don’t want to leave. Not really. The farther away I get, the more it sinks in. There are two choices ahead of me. Run back to my life on the streets and be miserable without him or stay and be miserable over the fact that he will turn me in at some point, if he hasn’t already.
I try to squash down my emotions as I sit to take a breath, curling my knees into my chest. It’s only meant to be a small break, but the longer I sit there and the colder it gets, the less I want to move. I figure I’ve made it this far, and Madden doesn’t know where I am yet. I can probably wait until the sun rises and then move in the light of morning when I have a better chance of catching a ride, anyway.
Those are my intentions when I lean my forehead against my knees and close my eyes. I’m hoping I can rest, and surprisingly, it isn’t long before I find myself curled on my side, drifting off.
I don’t know how long I’m asleep before something startles me awake. I bolt upright, glancing around frantically for the source of the noise even though it’s impossible to see. I sit in stillness with bated breath, listening for signs of life, but there’s nothing. After a few minutes, my heart rate calms, and I try to reason that I’m just on edge. But as I stay there, trying to relax again, it’s not happening. So I get up with the intention of moving somewhere else. Only the minute I do, a strong pair of arms grab me from behind, and a scream erupts from my throat.
“Leaving me again, peaches?” His voice sounds like honey in my ear, but it’s laced with arsenic. I don’t have to look at him to know he’s pissed.
I force my body to relax against him, and when he tries to turn me in his arms, I break free and run. But I only make it two feet before he snatches me again, and my head bounces off his hard chest. Then, before I know what’s happening, we’re both in the dirt, me on my back and him on top of me.
“You aren’t going anywhere,” he growls into my neck.
I release a strangled sound as his teeth scrape along the sensitive skin, leaving his mark behind. His palms slide up under my dress, grabbing handfuls of my ass and squeezing before he settles one between my thighs and cups my pussy.
“What did I tell you about this?” He yanks my thong aside and smacks my clit.
“That it’s yours,” I cry out.
I arch up in surprise when he shoves two fingers inside me, and he tortures me the way only he can. He knows exactly what I like. Exactly what I need. And he brings me to the knife’s edge before he stops, doling out his favorite form of punishment.
“Madden,” I beg. “Please.”
“You don’t get to come,” he grunts.
He emphasizes his point by dragging his wet fingers out of me and slapping my pussy again. I whine, but it falls on unsympathetic ears as he unbuckles his belt and pulls out his cock. His breathing changes, and I can hear him stroking himself as he considers withholding that too. Before he can decide, I reach out and shove his hand away, replacing it with mine.
That only lasts for a minute, and he’s taking back his control, sliding his cock against me before he enters me with one deep, powerful thrust. I shriek as my body stretches to accommodate him, and I claw at his back, trying to bring his face toward mine. I need more from him. I need his lips. His sweet. But all he has to give me right now is bitter.