Series: Cobalt Empire Series by Krista Ritchie
Total pages in book: 234
Estimated words: 226965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1135(@200wpm)___ 908(@250wpm)___ 757(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 226965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1135(@200wpm)___ 908(@250wpm)___ 757(@300wpm)
Ben Cobalt is number six. Not sixth place—in fact, he’d be considered at least third draft pick for the NHL if he didn’t quit hockey during college. And he’s not sixth-in-line for any throne. Though, most consider his larger-than-life, billionaire family American royalty.
He is the sixth-born Cobalt.
Out of a normal family of seven, he might get lost in the shuffle. But being the black sheep of the Cobalt Empire comes with its own intense spotlight. After he hits a major low at college in Philly, his four older brothers convince him to move in with them in New York City. Transferring to Manhattan Valley University—piece of cake.
Living in an apartment with all of his brothers while harboring a giant secret among a family who’s more tight-knit than a secret society—total effing chaos.
He has to find a way out of the tense living arrangement, especially as he clashes with his oldest brother Charlie. Ben turns to an unlikely source for help. A grumpy, punk-rock girl with a troubled past who's already pissed off one Cobalt brother.
So when an undeniable attraction ignites, Harriet Fisher is expecting the flames to die out. Except…what happens when they don’t? Falling for a Cobalt brother with secrets might be a Shakespearean tragedy she can't rewind.
BURN BRIGHT is the first book in the Cobalt Empire series, a new adult romance series about legacy, loyalty, and love
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
1
HARRIET FISHER
Itake my beer and my scowl to the wall. Me and the wall—great friends. My only current friend.
This party feels like an amalgamation of hipsters, jocks, beauty queens, and outcasts. A total Breakfast Club scenario. But instead of five people sharing detention there are a hundred-plus sharing a frat house.
My white crop top and red-and-black checkered, very low-rise pants—which I love in all their early 2000s punk glory—shouldn’t cause me to stand out that much. I’m positive I saw a guy wearing a spiked collar five minutes ago.
I take a stiff sip of beer.
Alone.
Avoiding direct eye contact with others.
Maybe I thought things would be different at Manhattan Valley University.
New city, new college, new outcomes. But I might be part of the problem when it comes to making friends. I don’t know how to be warm and inviting. I can blame it on my scowl and permanent Resting Bitch Face, but the truth is I could try harder to be softer. More approachable. Yet, the thought of being someone that people actively want to approach makes me scowl even harder. Is it weird? To want friends but also not want them?
Sure, the idea of friends sounds amazing. People to hang out with, laugh with, go to the movies and venture to the mall with. But friends also come with drama—like what if they judge me? Hate me? What if I do something wrong to mess it all up? Or worse, what if they’re amazing friends, and they start wanting more from me? So I’d have to start sharing about my life and get into my past, and all that sounds so incredibly taxing that I’d like to just fling myself into a dilapidated cabin in the South Pole where no one can find me.
Friends…sometimes the fantasy seems better than the reality.
And it’s not just girls that I struggle to connect with in that way. I’ve never had a friendship with a guy. I’ve never wanted to be adopted as one of the bros. I can’t wrap my head around what a guy’s girl even looks like. It sounds like phony fucking baloney.
I’m not even really attempting to make a friend tonight. Literally, my goals are on the floor. I just want to have a better-than-average time at this party.
When I go to the backyard for some fresh air, a thought slams at me.
I shouldn’t have come here.
Maybe I should’ve stayed inside and melted into the plaster. Kappa guys play beer pong on the grass while couples giggle-fight during a game of chicken in the pool, and I’m just trying to reach a corner of the fence.
“She’s so tiny,” a six-foot-something asshole with a humongous smile says. He wears an MVU Row Team shirt, and he elbows his preppy friend in the side. “Like a little Polly Pocket.” They snort together.
I try to walk around the jock for the second time.
He side-steps again. “Whoa, Polly, how tall are you?” He tries to pat my head, and I jerk backward.
“Leave me alone.” I raise my voice which contains rasp and grit.
But their glassy eyes say they’re four beers in and I’m as threatening as a Chihuahua. “Come on, you’re supposed to be fun-sized.” He downs a big gulp. “Be fun.”
His friend laughs, then leans into the jock to mutter, “Those are definitely party-sized, though.” Their heavy-lidded eyes drop to my chest.
Yeah, I have larger than average boobs. I’ve been told this super uninteresting fact since the tenth grade. Guys like to act as if it’s surprising to me. Like I don’t realize my tits are, I don’t know, attached to my fucking body.
I can see them.
I know they’re big.
And I wish I didn’t finish off my beer in the house. I’d throw it at his face. Cup and all. Instead, I flip them off with two middle fingers. “How’s this for fun?”
They snicker, like I’m playing around. Like this is just a game and I should lighten up. It’s a party, right? We’re at a frat house on campus. People aren’t taking anything seriously here.
I’m the buzzkill.
But maybe I don’t want to be the five-foot-one party favor.
“Seriously,” I growl. “Just let me through.” I try to slip past the jock.
He blocks me.
I glare. “Dude.”
“Polly.”
What the fuck?!
“Oooh, you made her mad, Cameron,” he says off my scowl.
“Does she bite?” Cameron laughs, then tries to pat my blonde hair again.
I swat his hand away. “Don’t touch me.”
“Aww, she’s a snapping turtle.” Cameron passes his beer to his preppy friend. “You know what turtles need?”
My pulse races. I try to back away, to return inside, but I barely even rotate before Cameron hoists me around the waist. I kick out as he tosses me over his shoulder and shouts, “Water!”
“Let me down!” I yell, banging a fist against his back. I squirm and try to pull away as he carries me to the pool. No, no, no. Panic envelops me alongside raw anger, and I fight against his rower strength.