Total pages in book: 187
Estimated words: 184867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 924(@200wpm)___ 739(@250wpm)___ 616(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 184867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 924(@200wpm)___ 739(@250wpm)___ 616(@300wpm)
Fuck.
Caleb stands up and looks down at me, licking his top lip like he’s admiring his artwork. But the harsh look on his face slowly begins to change into something less violent, more … aghast. Eyes bore a hole into my face and chest, his facial muscles tightening and releasing as he grimaces.
What is going through his head?
And why do I even care?
“Caleb?”
The sound of his father’s voice has both of us on edge.
He swiftly tucks his dick back into his pants, steps out of the tub, and snatches the knife off the edge.
RIP!
He slices through the shower curtain and then unfurls the shower hose from my other wrist, releasing me from my bond.
He bends over and grips my chin. “Don’t ever say a word about this to anyone. Ever.”
But before I can even open my mouth, he’s already opened the locked door and marched out, slamming it shut behind him.
CALEB
She’s consumed me already.
With just one look, one touch, she’s beguiled me.
Fuck.
I should’ve known following her that night of the party was a bad idea, but I just had to go and stalk the girl Ares was obsessing about … and now I’m obsessed too.
I have to get out of here.
I storm down the hallway in her mother’s house, angry as hell.
I should not have fucking done that.
But fuck, I wanted to so fucking badly I couldn’t stop myself any longer.
She pissed me off with her Little Miss Innocent ruse and her incessant need to say no straight to my face, but most of all, that delicious fucking body I just can’t get enough of.
I knew I would one day go this far when I saw her touching herself.
That I would take without asking.
That I would taste her in my mouth and be so overcome by the desire to claim her as my own that I wouldn’t be able to stop myself.
I hate her for it. I hate what she’s done for me. I hate that I barely know her and still want her to think only of me.
If Ares finds out, he’ll definitely kill me.
And there’s no way Crystal will be able to clean up the fucking mess I made and still look presentable. Dad’s gonna see her and know what I did.
Fuck.
I have to get out of here.
I storm down the stairs and walk straight past the dinner table.
“Caleb?” my dad calls as I head for the front door. “Where are you going?”
“Away.”
Her mom looks at me like she’s seen a ghost.
“But we haven’t even finished dinner yet,” Dad says, frowning at me. “What happened?”
“Have fun,” I growl. “I’m out of here.”
And I slam the door shut behind me.
Crystal
I steady myself against the wall as I step out of the tub, but I pause when I see the girl in the mirror. A pretty face … destroyed by a boy who wanted to teach her a lesson.
I fish my phone from the sink and tuck it into my pocket. I open the faucet and gurgle to spit out his taste, then grab my toothbrush and clean my teeth and tongue, but nothing I do can rid me of the stain that is Caleb.
My mother invaded his dad’s life, and now he’s invaded mine as a punishment.
But I never gave up, and I won’t.
I clean my face off with a paper towel and throw it away, then I brush through my hair with my fingers and get rid of any last blotches. But my face still looks like I got run over by a freight train.
And the girl underneath is far from the one I remember.
His little jewel… slowly cracking.
Two years ago
“Dad,” I mutter, yawning as I open the door to his workshop. “What are you doing up so late?”
He cuts the last few stems of the roses and places them down on his workbench. “Oh, just finishing up this order. Did I wake you?”
I saunter into the shop and marvel at all the beautiful bouquets he’s made that weren’t here a day ago.
“You did all this tonight?”
He nods. “A fickle customer. They decided to change their order at the last minute, and I wasn’t prepared.”
I look at the clock in the corner. It’s already way past midnight. He should be sleeping too.
“Dad …” I sigh. “You need your sleep too.”
“I’ll be fine, don’t worry,” he replies.
Always the stubborn one. He can never say no to an order, no matter how hard it is to create or how many bushels of flowers it’ll take. Despite earning only so little on his craft …
I touch the red and white roses, which smell like perfume and feel as delicate as silk against my fingers. “If they’re so difficult, why not just cancel the order?”
He places down the knife he was cutting them with. “Oh no. There is no canceling. Not with this customer.” He swallows, almost as if he finds it hard to admit. He approaches me and grabs my face, placing a gentle peck on my forehead. “But you don’t need to worry about that. I’ll make it work. Just go to sleep.”