Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 99766 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 499(@200wpm)___ 399(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99766 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 499(@200wpm)___ 399(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
“Good night, Jack.”
I tug my arm free and he lets go. My heart hammers in my chest as I race to my Jeep. There has to be a way to make my story come true for Zella. I want to be her knight in shining armor who saves her from the monster in her world and returns her to her parents.
That sweet girl deserves it.
The door is unlocked at Cal’s cabin, but the lights are off. After locking the door behind me, I blindly find my way to Terrence’s room. Dad wasn’t keen on me spending the night again “with Charlotte,” especially after this weekend and then today at school, but I wasn’t asking. I was telling. He knows I do what I want.
Light shines from the crack under Terrence’s door. Relief floods through me that he waited up for me even though it’s almost midnight. I push open the door and frown to see the mess everywhere. Terrence is sitting on the bed, leaned against the headboard, a stack of letters in his hand. He’s shirtless and in his boxers, which is distracting because he looks so good, but it’s his face that draws my attention.
Something about his expression kills me.
Despondent.
Devastated.
Hopeless.
I drop my bag and keys to the floor after closing the door and walk over to the bed. He doesn’t stop me as I clean off all the mail and move the box off the bed. His eyes don’t lift, even when I shed my clothes and crawl into bed next to him, wearing nothing but my panties.
“Hey,” I murmur, leaning in to kiss his cheek. “What’s wrong?”
He hands me the letters in his hand. “She’s been trying to reach me.”
I take the letters and read the first one. It takes me a few moments to read through them all. Dread twists inside me for reasons unknown to me.
“This proves you’re the father,” I say softly. “Zella is yours.”
“Which we already knew. You saw her that day,” he reminds me. “She looks just like me. I hate that she’s there all alone with him. We don’t know what kind of shit he does to her.”
I have a pretty good idea.
And she’s not always alone. Sometimes she has her knight.
“Samantha can do something with this, right? She can help?”
“I’ve already called her and sent her copies. She thinks she’ll have approval by tomorrow,” he murmurs.
“That’s great news,” I rush out. “Then we can bring her home.”
He takes the letters, stares at them for a long moment, and then sets the stack down on the end table. “We have to find her.”
Lacey.
He wants to find Lacey.
“I think she’s hiding because she’s pregnant and scared.” He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “She begged for me to come save her. I didn’t know. Penny, I didn’t know.”
“Shh,” I murmur, curling around him to give him comfort. “We’ll find her.”
And then what?
Will Lacey want to make up for lost time with him? Be a family?
Zella deserves that. Just like in her story. Problem is, that story fucking sucks for me.
“If I’d known, I would have gone there to save them,” he murmurs. “I would have. I wouldn’t have left them all alone. I hate that she thinks I abandoned them when they needed me.”
“But you didn’t know,” I whisper.
He’s quiet for a long time. Then, he flips off the lamp, scoots down in the bed, and pulls the covers up. I remain sitting up for a few minutes, wondering if I should stay or leave. For the first time since I’ve started this relationship with Terrence, I don’t feel wanted.
It fills me with dread.
Sick, oily dread.
The thought of not having this thing between us evolve into more feels like a bad joke. A tease. Nothing but a tiny glimpse into a future I truly wanted but wasn’t meant to have.
I don’t belong with him.
She does.
I start to slide off the bed, but a strong hand grips my bare thigh. “Don’t leave me, baby. I need you.”
My heart does a chaotic tremble. I slip back under the covers, lying flat on my back. He rolls on top of me, his lips fusing to mine in a needy way. His body finds its way between my thighs, spreading me open for him. The moment his cock rubs against me through our clothes, I let out a whimper.
“I want you,” I plead. “Please.”
“You’re not ready,” he murmurs.
I slide my palm beneath his boxers, gripping his firm ass. One of my hands slips between us and I pull his cock out of the front of his underwear. He grunts, thrusting against my hold on him. I try to imagine what it would feel with him inside me, stretching me to my limit. It sounds terrifying, yet also oddly thrilling.
I want it.
I want him.
He grips my hand, pulling it off his dick, to bring my palm to his lips. His kiss is sweet and gentle, but the way his bare cock grinds against my pussy that’s covered by a thin layer of material is anything but gentle.