Series: Sean Moriarty
Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 113805 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 569(@200wpm)___ 455(@250wpm)___ 379(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113805 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 569(@200wpm)___ 455(@250wpm)___ 379(@300wpm)
Knowing he has me cornered and perhaps enjoying it a bit, Jude closes the distance between us to tower over me.
Looking up at him, I can’t help but be intimidated.
I don’t know if it’s his size, what I’ve seen him do, or what I know about him, but I know I need to tread carefully.
Tipping his head down, some of his hair falls into face. Making him look even more sinister.
“This is not a request, Eden,” he says firmly and reaches down, cupping my cheek. “This is going to happen, whether you like it or not. This townhouse is not at all suitable for my family. It’s too small, for one, and lacks basic necessities.”
I pull away and shake my head in denial. There are so many ways I could counter that argument. Such as pointing out that I haven’t agreed to anything.
Instead, I stubbornly say, “I have everything I need.”
Continuing to squirm and twist in my arms, Abel reaches for Jude.
Smiling as if he’s pleased, Jude drops his arm and lets Abel grab his hand. “You don’t even have a washing machine.”
I watch in disbelief as Abel clutches Jude’s fingers, trying to pull himself out of my arms.
If I thought he had any clue about what’s going on, I’d think him a traitor.
I scowl at Jude. “The laundromat is not far.”
“Not far?” Jude scoffs.
I feel that scoff all the way down to the core of my pride.
It’s taken a few years, but I’ve come to accept I’ll never have money. I’ll never have nice or new things. The things you see people have on TV, the way they live… Well, that will forever be out of my reach.
And that’s okay.
Not everyone can be rich, and I have it better than many others.
There’s more to life than things.
As long as I have the basics—food, clothing, and a roof over my head—I’m blessed.
Though I would love to give Abel more… I’ve always planned on teaching him to appreciate and be grateful for what’s important.
These plans haven’t changed even with the promise of my uncle’s money.
We’ll still need to make it stretch and last for years and not waste it on superficial shit.
But Jude looking at me, looking at how I’m raising Abel and finding it lacking…
Is a little humiliating.
Since the day I became a mother, I’ve felt a judgment that didn’t exist before. Suddenly the bar was raised over my head, out of my reach.
Nothing I do will ever be good enough, no matter how hard I try.
I’ve felt it from Kyle, of course, and his family. From the neighbors. Even from random strangers I’ve met in public.
Now him.
This man who is barging into my life without permission and trying to completely take it over.
I open my mouth, ready to tell him to leave again, but a phone starts to ring.
Sighing, Jude glances towards the kitchen in irritation. “Hold that thought.”
Abel starts to cry when Jude pulls back and walks away.
Rocking and bouncing Abel to quiet him, I hear Jude snap out a, “Yes?”
A few seconds later he says incredulously, “Now?”
My curiosity getting the better of me, I drift towards the kitchen.
“Not possible, Simon,” Jude says firmly. “Today I’m—”
His back to me, I watch Jude rake his fingers angrily through his hair as he listens to whoever is on the line, the action causing all the muscles in his back to flex. “Fine. But I’m bringing my—”
Sensing me behind him, his shoulders straighten and he turns around.
Eyes glittering like black ice, the look he gives me sends chills down my spine. “No, I don’t go anywhere without my—”
A look of supreme annoyance passes over his features and his hand reaches back to grip the edge of the counter.
“This is fucking ludicrous!” he growls.
He starts shaking his head hard in disagreement, but then a few seconds later he seems to give up on the argument.
“I understand,” Jude snarls.
Angrily, he disconnects the call and slips his phone into his pocket.
“Everything okay?” I ask, feeling suddenly nervous.
Jude shakes his head again and some of his hair falls into his eyes. “No.”
The fear that I’ve been made washes over me, making my knees weak.
My throat tightens. “What’s wrong?”
Jude stalks towards me and grabs me by the back of the head.
Before I can shift Abel so I can push him away, his mouth crashes into mine.
His lips crush against my lips in a hard kiss.
I stiffen but it only makes him kiss me harder.
He doesn’t relent until I finally give into the pressure.
Accepting him.
Accepting what he’s pushing on me.
Then he pulls back, leaving me shaking and breathless. “I have to go to work for a bit.”
I open my eyes to see him staring intensely at me.
That dark thing inside him that scares the shit out of me lurking just beneath the surface.
“Don’t leave this house.”
The second I part my lips to tell him he doesn’t get to order me around, he kisses me again.