Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 58940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
He thought of his father and his pack of nearly one thousand wolves. He’d always been tense and angry. Always dealing with some crisis.
“Honestly, I hated him for a long time, but I guess I can see how embarrassing it must have been for the alpha’s son to be the one running amok. No wonder he threw me out.”
“But you didn’t do it,” Melissa burst out, leaning up on her forearm. “Why would he believe someone else’s word over his own son’s? And who cares if you embarrassed him? He should care more about you than looking good in front of his pack.”
Something dislodged in Cody’s chest. Something that had long been frozen and immovable shifted around. He couldn’t speak past the knot in his throat. Melissa’s passionate defense of him felt too damn good. And quite probably undeserved.
“Did he ever believe you didn’t do it?”
“Yeah. I think the girl came forward after I’d been banished. The guilt weighed on her, you know. Or maybe she stopped caring about protecting whoever had knocked her up. My younger sister tried to find me, then, but I stayed in the human world, where they had no connections. Not until word got around about a little pack in Colorado Springs did they figure out what had happened to me.”
“You should forgive him.”
She shouldn’t have said it. It wasn’t any of her business.
Cody’s head jerked up in surprise.
“I won’t forgive him, but you should. He sounds like an asshole, but he’s still your dad.”
Cody’s eyes traced her face and for the first time, she saw genuine fondness there. He smiled. “I’ll take that on advisement, Dr. Phil.”
She laughed. “Well, if you don’t, it’s just hanging on you, not him. It becomes your limitation.” Yeah, she was pulling a Dr. Phil, but she happened to know a lot about moving past trauma and getting on with your life.
“What do you know about it?”
She shrugged. She didn’t really want to get into the whole PTSD thing now. Not when she felt so wonderful lying in Cody’s arms. Her limbs were weak and rubbery from the two orgasms and she was high on all kinds of endorphins. Her ass still throbbed from the whipping—that part had been awful—but now she didn’t mind the after effects. The heat and sting somehow mingled with the aftershocks of her recent climaxes to make the pain almost pleasurable.
He tugged a lock of her hair. “I have ways of making you talk.”
“Oh, yeah?” Her voice sounded breathless, seductive. Not at all what she’d intended. “What torture would it be?”
“Forced orgasms. All night long. My tongue on your clit, my thumb in your ass, owning you until you begged and pleaded for me to stop.”
The choked sound that came out of her mouth was a failed attempt at laughter, but her body heated, nipples stiffening, pussy growing slick and warm. Because she honestly didn’t think she could take any more orgasms, she opted for the truth.
“I had a trauma last year. Some enemies of Ben kidnapped me to blackmail my sister into ruining him. Jeremy was part of it all—I owe him my life.”
Cody had stiffened at the mention of Jeremy, but he didn’t speak.
“I had nightmares for a while. When I saw a therapist, we worked on forgiveness. The guys who kidnapped me are dead, so there wasn’t a question of justice needing to be served. The therapist thought if I could forgive everyone involved, it might free me from…” She trailed off.
Cody turned and propped himself up on an elbow. “From what?”
Her nose burned. She didn’t want to cry—not tonight. Not now. “From feeling like a victim. Feeling powerless.”
Cody remained very still, his brows knit. “Did it help?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I think so.”
“I hope… Jesus.” Cody rubbed his face. “Please tell me I didn’t make you feel that way.” The stricken look on his face turned her insides to a warm goo.
She touched his face. “Not once. I felt strong and sassy arguing with you. And turned on. Mostly, I felt turned on.” She dropped her eyes, suddenly shy.
Cody’s grin warmed his face. He grasped her jaw in a commanding way and pulled her face toward his. “I think you know the feeling’s mutual, baby,” he growled before attacking her mouth.
10
Cody didn’t think he’d sleep lying beside Melissa, knowing she was panty-less beneath his threadbare t-shirt, but he woke to her climbing out of the bed.
He reached for her automatically. His body didn’t want to be separated from hers.
“I’ll be right back.” Her smile was sweet and soft. He loved this side of her, almost as he loved the feisty, back-talking girl he’d first met.
She padded to the bathroom, then returned with the rope in her hands.
“You want me to tie you up again?” he teased, interlacing his fingers behind his head as he lay on his back.