Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 21917 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 110(@200wpm)___ 88(@250wpm)___ 73(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21917 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 110(@200wpm)___ 88(@250wpm)___ 73(@300wpm)
Could it be that I misread everything? Maybe he doesn’t want me. Maybe he’s disgusted by me, and being here at the lake house with no one else around is driving him crazy. Maybe he was hard because guys get hard from time to time. How the hell would I know? Not like I have any experience with them.
Or maybe when he said I deserve better, what he really means is he deserves better—better than some virgin girl throwing herself at him like an idiot.
God, the humiliation is suffocating. I can barely breathe as I press my face into my knees and start to cry. Tears burn from my eyelids. What a fool I’ve been, begging him to touch me while he just puts distance between us.
I cringe at the thought. The way I pressed myself against him, exposed myself to him, acted like I knew what I was doing when in reality, I had no idea.
“Lily?”
Colt’s voice nearly causes me to jump out of my skin. I can’t look over at him. Can’t face those brutal eyes after last night’s rejection.
“Go away,” I tell him.
The porch creaks under his weight as he comes over and sits beside me, close enough that I can feel his warmth but not close enough that he’s touching me.
“Look at me, Lily.”
“No.” I shake my head.
“Come on.” There’s something in his voice—a rawness that somehow causes me to raise up and look at him, like he has some power over me.
He looks wrecked too, like he hasn’t slept either. His hair’s disheveled, and his jaw is shadowed with stubble. His hands grip his thighs, and his forearms are trembling slightly.
“I—I’m sorry,” I manage to whimper. “I’ve been so pathetic the way I’ve been throwing myself at you. You clearly don’t want me, and—”
“Stop.” His command is sharp and enough to cut off my rambling. “Lily, you seriously think I don’t want you?”
“Well…you keep leaving…”
He laughs, but there’s no humor. It’s dry, almost like he can’t believe what I’m saying. “Leaving is all I can do, Lily. Before I do something I can’t take back.”
I wipe the tears from my eyes, blinking away the blur as I stare back at him. “What if I want you to?”
Colt’s jaw locks. “You have no idea what you’re asking for.” His eyes pin me. My breath catches. “I’m too much, Lily—possessive, jealous. If I taste you once, I’ll need all of you. No man touches what’s mine.”
His words coat me like warm honey, heavy and hot.
“That doesn’t scare me, Colt.”
“Christ.” He drags his fingers through his hair, eyes to the sky like he’s praying for salvation. “Don’t say things like that.”
“Why? It’s the truth.” My body moves closer to his, as though pulled by invisible strings. “I knew the moment I saw you. It was like—like we’d already met, and every cell in my body was screaming for you.”
He shakes his head. “You’re eighteen, Lily. And my stepsister.”
“And I’m old enough to know what I want.” I reach out for his hand, and surprisingly, he lets me take it. The calluses on his palm send sparks through me. “When you look at me, Colt, I feel something I’ve never felt before. And what, just because our parents are dating, I’m supposed to ignore that?”
“Yes!” he snaps, standing. “I mean—right? That’s what everyone says.”
“Maybe everyone’s wrong?” I suggest.
He sighs deeply, causing his chest to rise, showing off the massive muscles beneath his T-shirt. “You don’t know what you do to me.” He strokes my knuckles with his thumb. “I’ve tried so hard to stay away from you, to be the responsible one. But every time I close my eyes, I see you.”
“Don’t fight it, Colt.” I don’t know where I’m getting this courage from. I’ve always been a shy girl, never one to talk to guys. Maybe that’s one of the reasons I’ve never had a boyfriend. But with Colt, I want to open up to him. Because I trust him. I want to fall into his arms day after day.
He looks at me—like really looks at me, and I see the desire he’s been trying to hide. The want, the need, the barely contained lust that’s dripping from his eyes.
“If I kiss you, Lily—”
“When,” I correct him, standing. “When you kiss me…”
The hint of a smile forms on his lips. “When I kiss you,” he agrees, his voice low, so sexy it’s almost threatening. “Everything changes. There’s no going back. We won’t be able to just pretend nothing happened. This can’t be a fling, you understand?”
“I understand.” I nod like I’m taking communion. Colt’s presence is a spell that has me all wrapped up. “I’ve been yours since we met, Colt. I don’t want to be anyone else’s.”
Something shifts in the way he looks at me. It’s like a decision slowly forming in his eyes. His free hand rises up and gently cups my chin, causing goosebumps to form all over my body.