Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 137326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 687(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 458(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 687(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 458(@300wpm)
The world goes still for a moment.
Our harsh breaths echoing in the air, his body wrapped all over mine, his cock throbbing inside me.
My fingers stroke his rich brown strands, my eyes half open, my heart completely full.
I love you, I want to say.
But the words get stuck in my throat.
Though he said I’m only his, the fear that he’ll never get over my betrayal paralyzes me.
So I’d rather not make a fool of myself.
My hand falls to my side and I close my eyes to commit him to memory.
His warmth, his breaths, his loudly beating heart, his scent. His everything.
“Don’t sleep yet.” His husky voice echoes in the air. “I’m not done with you.”
My eyes blink open and Kane pulls out, his cum trickling out of me and onto the bed. I want to talk to him some more. I want to ask a lot of questions, but I want to bask in this moment for a while longer.
I want to just live in this moment.
He lifts me up in one smooth movement, and I squeal as I wrap my arms and legs around his neck and waist. He walks me to the shower with sure strides while I’m all over him.
“Kane?” I breathe, half exhausted, half thrilled.
“I’m going to fuck my cunt. This time, it’ll be rough.”
And then he does exactly as he promised.
And I wish this moment would never end.
I wish reality would never come.
34
DAHLIA
Imust’ve fallen asleep.
Because the next time I open my eyes, Kane’s not in bed.
It’s large and consuming and smells of him, but he’s not here.
Morning light spills through the large window, but the room is empty and desolate.
My throat closes and bile rises up, choking my breaths.
I think I’m going to be sick.
The silence sounds violent, cruel. There isn’t even the rain to distort it.
I look in the direction of the bathroom. “Kane?”
Even as I call his name, I know he’s not there. His presence is gone and so are his kisses, his dirty and soft whispers.
“Go to sleep now, Dahlia.”
Those were the last words he told me, after he dried my hair and held me to his chest. After I asked him about his tattoos and he said the crow represented freedom and the serpent was about control.
After he let me stroke his chest and mumble incoherent words against him. After he kissed my forehead and I felt like a little girl who was just too exhausted and needed sleep.
Because his arms were safe.
His voice was safe.
So I thought if I closed my eyes a little, he’d be here when I opened them again.
I thought because he lathered my body with soap, carried me in his arms, and dried me, he might forgive me.
I thought because I saw the concern and cryptic emotions in his eyes, he might keep me.
But maybe I thought wrong.
Because he’s gone and I’m the only one in this vast bed.
Maybe he can’t get over my betrayal after all.
My breathing comes in slow, chopped sounds, and I think I’m having a panic attack.
Breathe.
Just breathe.
Who the hell do you think you are, Dahlia? Keep you? A rat from the streets who shouldn’t even look at him, let alone touch him?
His father was right.
Megan was right.
Preston and Jude were so right.
He’s a Davenport.
No matter how hard I try to erase that last name, it defines him.
And now that his father is dead, it is him.
I pull my knees to my chest and a whiff of his cologne fills my nostrils. It makes me want to cry.
Why did he treat me that way if he was going to discard me?
If he were crueler, it probably wouldn’t have hurt this much.
A phone that’s plugged into a charger lights up on the nightstand.
It’s mine, I realize.
My fingers shake as I grab it. There are a few worried texts from Megan because she hasn’t heard from me in a while. I text back that I’m fine and it’s a long story.
I should get up, locate my sister, and—
My heart nearly stops when I find texts from Kane.
A few of them are from when I disappeared in the village, but the ones that make me shake all over are the latest ones, from an hour ago.
Kane
I need to take care of Grant’s death fallout. Don’t move. Call the kitchen from the room’s intercom and they’ll prepare whatever food you like. We’ll talk once I get back.
PS. I’ll take you to visit your sister once I’m done.
My fingers shake around the phone. The only words I see go in and out of focus.
We’ll talk once I get back.
We’ll talk.
We. Will. Talk. Will I have to pay a price for what I’ve done? I don’t regret any of it, but I know how Kane will perceive my actions.
Betrayal.
Or maybe it’s something else?
Against my will, a flicker of hope spills in the dark corners of my chest.