Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 88262 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88262 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“But…”
“I don’t blame her, Max,” I told him. “I really don’t. I even still have some form of love for Lily. She is a good person.”
“She lied to you. And fuck, to me—”
“Money does strange things to people. Coming into contact with power like my father does, too. It’s for the better. It’s over now. I’m going to let it be part of the past, and you should, too.”
“If you think I’m not going to talk to my sister about this, you’re out of your fucking mind.”
It was a little strange, watching it happen in real time.
Watching Max start to comprehend how empty my world could be, even when it was so full of wealth.
I had everything, but really, not much of it was real. My horses, yes. The friendship I had with Dominic. The way I loved the mountains and the land here.
That was about all.
“Now do you see why I kept this from you? Why it’s not even fully my story to tell?”
He didn’t say a word.
There was still one thing I hadn’t told him, something I couldn’t, even as it pushed at my insides like an overinflating balloon.
There was one final secret.
That one moment when I’d hurt someone I swore I’d never touch.
His face, down in the dirt.
My hat, held in one hand.
His pulse, only barely still beating.
The secret lurked somewhere deep inside me, like vicious eyes peering out from a dark corner.
Why Lily really got cut off from Dad’s payroll.
Not my story to tell, either.
My stomach went cold. I was silent for a minute, feeling myself building a wall of ice between me and Max brick by brick.
Protecting him.
Taking the pain, shouldering the guilt, and keeping him at a distance like I knew I had to.
“Do as you please,” I told him. “This room is yours.”
I walked away, heading down the long hall toward one of the guest bedrooms instead.
Max didn’t call after me. Didn’t protest.
He let me go.
I woke to a hand on my arm, my breath catching as I shot up in bed.
“Fuck.”
My heart pounded. I’d been dreaming, vague, bad dreams.
“I tried six different doors before I found this one,” Max’s voice came through the dark room.
It was him.
I knew it would be him, or maybe I’d just been hoping it was him. Hoping this all wasn’t a dream.
I’d drawn the blinds shut and I could barely see anything other than the outline of his figure and the dim light from the doorway where he was standing.
I was disoriented, being in my house that no longer felt like mine, and being in a room I’d never slept in before. This room had mostly been used after parties, for anyone to crash in when they needed.
“This house does have a lot of doors,” I finally said, my voice heavy with sleep.
“Too many.”
I took in a slow breath, watching his figure in the doorframe.
“But you found me,” I said.
“I’m sorry,” Max said.
“Don’t be.”
“Well, I’m still sorry I disturbed your sleep,” he said.
My eyes were adjusting a little and I could make out his features now. He watched me for a moment before he stepped over on the hardwood floor, tossing back the blankets. The mattress moved under his weight, and I felt him getting into the bed beside me.
I groaned.
“Don’t,” I warned him.
But the side of his body pressed up against mine in the bed. My heart was slamming in my chest now as I felt his proximity.
Everything I want.
Right here next to me.
“Draven,” Max said. “I don’t want to sleep alone, and I know you don’t, either. I want to be with you.”
I could feel the resistance inside me being chipped away, bit by bit.
“Fuck,” I said softly.
“Just say it. Tell me what you actually feel,” he demanded, his voice getting more insistent. “Because I can’t sleep over there in your big, beautiful fucking museum of a room. I can’t sleep there alone. I feel like I’m an alien in this place, and you’re always just one step away from me. Close, but never too close. Rushing in to protect me or whisk me away, but leaving me cold in another room once I’m here. Just talk to me, Draven, tell me the truth—”
“You’re right,” I exploded. “You’re fucking right, okay?”
“Then just share that with me.”
“I don’t want to sleep alone,” I interjected. “I want to sleep with you. I want you to be near me all of the time, and when you’re not near me I’m starting to feel empty.”
“See?”
“And that’s not a good thing.”
“Bullshit. I don’t care,” he said. “I’m tired of you saying that.”
He was being defiant but for some reason I wanted to reward him for it more than I wanted to punish him.
His body was up against the side of mine, and I could feel the heat of his bare skin on my arm.