Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 83520 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 418(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83520 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 418(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
The pleasure at his touch along with the hurt that sliced through me when he pulled away, walking out of the room without so much as a backward glance. His gaze stays locked on mine as his pace slows before he eventually comes to a halt a few feet away.
His cheeks are pinkened from his exertions and his breath is labored. “You’re up early.”
I squint and shield my eyes from the rising sun that pours down on him. “You, too.”
With a shrug, he glances over the water. “Couldn’t sleep.”
I press my lips together, refusing to ask where he spent the night and if it was alone.
“I wanted to take some pictures before the sun got too high.” I sweep my hand toward the lake. “It’s gorgeous.”
Instead of following the gesture, his eyes stay locked on mine. “It is.”
Our conversation stalls and I shift beneath his penetrating gaze. Even though the answer is obvious, I hear myself ask, “You’re out for a run?”
“Yeah. I needed to clear my head and it always helps.”
“How far did you go?”
He glances at the black sports watch wrapped around his wrist. “About three miles. I made it to the lighthouse before deciding to turn back.”
“I was thinking about checking it out and taking some pictures. I’ve never seen one up close.”
“It’s pretty cool.”
After last night, it’s obvious that we’re both tap dancing around each other. It’s as if there’s a magnetic force pulling us together. Does he feel it too or is it all one sided?
I wish I knew.
Almost desperately, I want to clear the air so we can put the past behind us and move forward. I want him to hear me out and realize once and for all that his accusations are unfounded. My tongue darts out to moisten my wind-chapped lips as I gather my courage.
It’s now or never.
Before I can get the words out, he asks, “Did you want to head back with me?”
I blink as everything sitting on the tip of my tongue melts away. I’m loath to ruin this moment between us. One where he isn’t glaring or laying his hands on me in anger.
Even though my plan had been to stay away from the mansion as much as possible, I hear myself say, “Yes.”
Spending time with him, being close, outweighs my decision to keep my distance from my classmates. I have no idea if that need will ever dissipate.
It’s a depressing thought.
Silently, we fall into line and set out down the beach. Instead of focusing on the beauty of the scenery, I’m hyperaware of his bigger, muscular body dwarfing mine. The shift and play of his muscles as we walk.
Even though there’s a breeze, the scent of his woodsy cologne mingled with sweat from his workout overpowers my senses, cocooning me in familiarity. Images from last night fill my head before exploding in my core, making it throb to life. There is nothing like the feel of his dark head buried between my thighs, licking me, tormenting me until there’s no other choice but to splinter apart.
“Did I mention we vacationed here this summer?” he asks, knocking me from the whirl of my thoughts.
I glance at him in surprise. “Before you moved to Hawthorne?”
He nods as we walk at a leisurely pace as if neither of us is in a hurry. “Yeah, we rented a house from a family friend in Chicago.” His green depths ensnare mine, holding them captive. “I didn’t realize it at the time, but that’s when Summer met Kingsley.”
My mind tumbles back to the beginning of the school year and my brows draw together. “Really?”
“Yeah, it was a pretty messed-up situation when we first arrived. I can’t get into the specifics, but the issue has been resolved.”
When the twins first started at Hawthorne Prep, Kingsley made Summer’s life a living hell. There didn’t seem to be a way for them to set aside their differences and get along, much less date. And yet, that’s exactly what happened. They’ve become inseparable.
A little pang fills my heart that I’ll never experience that with Austin. We’ll never make it to the other side. Whatever took place between Kingsley and Summer, it can’t be as bad as what’s happened to us.
“I’m glad for them,” I say quietly.
Maybe even a little jealous that they’ve found their happily ever after.
But I keep that comment to myself.
“He’s an okay dude,” he says with a shrug. “As long as he continues to treat her right, I don’t have a problem with them together.”
A companionable silence falls over us as we make our way back to Kingsley’s sprawling house. It reminds me of how it was before Jasper destroyed it with the photographs. I’d do anything to recapture those few precious moments.
“Austin?” His name is out of my mouth before I can reel it back in.