Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 98243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
“You haven't spent much time with him here. You both fighting too?” I ask instead.
“Ah,” Asher murmurs, and when silence falls between us, the air thickens. I knew it was coming. It was only a matter of time.
He shuffles closer, and the first wave of his cologne almost knocks me unconscious. “Are we fighting, Venom?”
If I leaned forward, just a smidge…
“There you are!” Camille pipes in, lowering beside Asher and dipping her feet into the water. “I thought I'd lost you.”
He reclines back on his hands, eyes pinned on me. “Not yet.”
Chapter 13
Ivy
I've always had problems falling asleep. I looked it up once and found myself on a website promoting crystals and telling me that I have a restless spirit. I rolled my eyes and laughed, before clicking “add to cart”.
They worked for a while. Until they didn't and I realized I was just drinking more alcohol than usual around that time.
I throw the blankets off my body and grab my phone, noticing a little yellow ghost in my notifications. Snapchat? I haven't been on this app for years, but I haven't braved myself to delete it since it holds so many photos of my younger self.
Ash J
I tap on it and his face floods the screen. Shit. I'm about to exit when he shifts the camera between hands, and that look—fuck, that look—nails me to the mattress. Distance doesn't matter. The alcohol swimming in his eyes doesn't matter. He cuts straight through every layer I've built. I’m thankful I can hide behind the camera at least, because if he looked at me like this right now, right here, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself. Weak? Probably. I can live with regret later.
The camera dips lower, crawling down his chest. He hooks his thumb through the belt buckle. My breathing turns shallow.
“Ohhh, Asher!” Someone slams into his frame, but that smirk carves deeper into his face.
I strangle the volume, afraid I’ll wake Parker. He shifts, his snores muffled through the room as his pillow hits the ground.
Am I going to hell for this?
No…you've done worse.
My fingers trail down my stomach, grazing lace as he rips his belt free with one savage pull.
“Are you making a sex tape?” Camille's voice scrapes like nails on a chalkboard.
“Yeah.” He keeps his focus welded to the lens. “Recording this for you for later.” He brings the camera close, his lips forming a silent command through the screen…. Lie.
“Hot. Best boyfriend ever.”
Jesus. How drunk are they all.
His hand vanishes beneath denim, and my heart kicks savage against my ribs, wild and untamed. Heat crawls across my skin, sweat gathering in the hollow of my throat as every nerve ignites, yanking me from nothing into fucking everything.
His tongue flicks over his lower lip, slow and deliberate, as he strips away my defenses.
Teeth sink into my bottom lip, choking back the moan clawing its way out. My thumb drags across slick heat, and my breath fractures. My hips roll against my own touch, chasing the lightning that shoots straight up my spine. Pressure builds beneath my skin, raw and electric. I can't stop the broken gasp tearing from my throat when I imagine his knuckles brushing my inner thighs.
His eyes never leave the camera, dark and consuming, while my fingers slide deeper. My vision bleeds into static as my body weeps for him.
Is he really doing this, right there, with others around?
And do I give a shit? Not even close.
That smirk of his cuts me open, and I picture his mouth on me, devouring, relentless. My thumb matches the fantasy, circling with brutal precision. I slip a finger deeper, grinding against my own hand. I should stay quiet, but Asher's chest heaves faster, the vein in his neck pulsing under ink, and when his teeth claim his lip, I shatter. Release hits like a storm, ripping through me in ruthless waves. My body jerks, the mattress creaking under the weight of my unraveling.
I crash back to reality and kill the video, laying still for a beat. Fuck. Does that count as betrayal? I'd never cheat on Parker. As much as I loathe him, I take my… marriage… seriously.
I wait for it.
For the shame to become suffocating, but as I grab Parker's shirt from the end of the bed, using it to erase the evidence, all I can think is…
That wasn't enough.
* * *
I blink back at Lucinda as she orders her coffee. The local cafe is nestled in the heart of Veilarath. Decorated with a flora of nature, it's hard to imagine a place more beautiful.
Unwinding her scarf, she places it beside her. “I noticed you and Parker sneak off last night.”
Caffeine isn't a hard enough drug to pull me up today, but I gulp it down, anyway. “It’s fine.”
She tilts her head knowingly. “No change from him?”