Total pages in book: 12
Estimated words: 11601 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 58(@200wpm)___ 46(@250wpm)___ 39(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 11601 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 58(@200wpm)___ 46(@250wpm)___ 39(@300wpm)
In those two years, my nemesis — Colton Bennett picked up the broken pieces of my heart.
Colton is everything that I should have stayed away from. But he’s exactly what my heart needs; what my soul craves.
My affections for him are reckless.
But his love for me is what healed my broken heart.
Making myself vulnerable again for another man scares me, but what happens when Colton is not willing to wait for me anymore?
“It’s time for me to collect my debt, Sunshine.”
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
PROLOGUE
Riley
My eyes flutter open, and I’m staring at the most beautiful sky. It’s so bright, so blue. The warm breeze caresses my skin and a ghost of a smile whispers across my lips.
I stay like this, lying in the grass.
There’s something peaceful about this place. I can smell the flowers; I can hear the birds chirping and the distant sound of rushing water.
Warmth spreads through my body, but then I come to a slow realization.
What am I doing here?
What is this place?
Why am I here?
I slowly sit up. Is this a dream?
This doesn’t make sense.
I remember going to bed early last night. I had been so tired, my mind weary and my body feeling sluggish. The moment my head hit the pillow, I fell deeply asleep.
And now I’m here?
I rise to my feet and I spin around in circles, taking in everything around me. My lungs squeeze when I finally notice where I’m standing.
In a meadow of yellow lilies.
I’m surrounded by the most beautiful yellow lilies I’ve ever seen.
“Riley.” His familiar, deep baritone voice calls out to me.
My breathing stutters.
My heart ricochets against my ribs.
I hastily spin around and I see him — Colton Bennett.
Standing just a few feet away, in the middle of the meadow. He stretches his arm out, waiting for me to take his hand.
I take a step toward him. He grins…and oh God, he’s devastatingly beautiful.
“Come to me,” Colton rasps.
My feet move on their own toward him. Until I am standing in front of him, so close I can smell his unique musky scent and his rich cologne.
This is a dream. I know it is, but it feels so real.
As if we’re really standing here, just the two of us — away from the chaos of the world and our complicated story.
Colton takes my hand in his, entwining our fingers together. His other arm curls around my waist, pulling me closer. His body is warm and solid: hard and strong in all the right places.
Something catches my peripheral vision, and my eyes flicker to the single monarch butterfly. Its striking orange color is the prettiest I’ve seen. It gleams under the sunlight.
My palm rests against Colton’s chest, and I can feel his heart thudding. Steady and calm.
His heartbeat soothes me.
And I still can’t take my eyes off the butterfly.
Its wings flutter against the stroke of the wind before it settles on Colton’s shoulder.
“What are you thinking about?” he asks quietly.
“About how right this feels,” I breathe, my gaze roving over his face. Memorizing every inch of it. It’s his eyes, I decide.
It’s the look in his eyes that has me so captivated.
His grin widens. “I’ve been waiting here for a very long time. It’s been a little lonely until now.”
“Waiting for what?”
His head lowers, bringing our faces closer. “For you to come to me,” Colton rasps against my lips.
“Riley.”
Colton’s arm tightens around me.
“Riley.”
I hear my name again, but it’s not Colton saying it.
Confused, I look around the vast meadow of yellow lilies. Searching for that second voice. It’s familiar…I know who’s calling out to me.
A sharp pain pierces through my sternum.
Colton pulls back.
His face twitches with a flinch, and there’s a flash of pain in his eyes.
“Wait,” I tell him.
But he’s already slipping out of my arms…already walking away…
Fading right in front of my eyes.
Until he’s gone, and I am left with just the comforting scent of him and the ghost of his touch.
CHAPTER ONE
Grayson
My head hurts. What the fuck happened?
When I open my eyes, my vision is blurred. The place is dark; I can’t see much, but it smells dirty and musky. Like days-old rotting garbage. The scent is almost putrid and I fight a gag.
Blinking a few more times, I try to clear my vision. And I finally make out the shadows around me. It looks like an abandoned construction site. Oh shit.
I remember waiting for Riley at the park. And then she came to me. She was finally giving me a chance to explain myself, to tell her the truth behind our breakup. Riley had been ready to hear me out and maybe, just maybe…give me another chance.
I don’t deserve it, especially after breaking her heart the way I did — but fuck, I want another chance with her.
The pain in the back of my head is insistent. Someone struck me from behind, I remember now. A baseball bat. I didn’t see my attacker’s face but I had heard a familiar, callous voice that I would recognize anywhere. That sadistic voice follows me around in my fucking nightmares.
Goddamn it.
My father had been watching me, lingering in the shadows. Waiting for me to make a mistake. He was waiting for a weakness. And Harrison Avery found it. Her.
I blink, forcing myself to breathe. “Riley?” I call out, straining my neck to look around. My hands are tied behind my back, the thick ropes tight around my wrists.