Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 73462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 367(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 367(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
And that’s worse than rage.
That’s worse than tears.
That’s done.
Jake steps back. “You should go after her,” he says softly.
“I can’t,” I whisper, shame clawing up my spine.
I should have known better.
I’ve unearthed the past.
And I have no idea how to put it back in the ground.
Everything has shifted. The air feels heavier. Guilt clings to my skin.
Sienna’s face won’t leave my mind. Not her eyes, not the way her shoulders dropped.
She went through so much with Leroy, and now I’ve done the same thing to her.
“You love her,” Jake says.
“I do.” My voice is low. “But there’s always been this…thing. With you.”
Jake nods. “Yeah.”
We stand there for another beat, facing the waves. Neither of us reaching for the other. Neither of us backing away.
He exhales. “I don’t want to ruin what you have, Brett.”
“You didn’t ruin anything.” I let out a bitter laugh. “I did that myself.”
“You didn’t kiss me out of betrayal.”
“No.” I shake my head. “It was history. Closure, maybe.”
“Or honesty,” he says. “Something we never gave ourselves back then.”
My throat tightens. “Maybe it’s both.”
Sienna’s face is still burned into my brain.
I turn to him. “I have to fix this.”
Jake doesn’t argue. “I know.”
“I don’t even know where to start.”
“You start with the truth. All of it.”
“She might hate me for it.”
“Then she deserves that choice.”
I run both hands through my hair. “Fuck.”
“You’re not the same guy you were back then,” Jake says. “You were reckless and brilliant and impossible to pin down.”
“And now?”
“Now you’re trying to be good.”
That hits harder than it should.
Because I am trying. For Sienna. For myself. For all the mistakes I made when I was younger.
But maybe not enough.
We stand there for a few more seconds, two men bound by years, loss, and a single kiss that I never dreamed would happen.
Then Jake claps me once on the back—just like old times—and turns away, heading back toward the house like he didn’t just blow my world apart and walk off with the pieces.
I stay behind, staring out at the sea.
The breeze picks up.
I did love Jake.
Part of me still does.
But I can’t—won’t—sacrifice the future I started building with Sienna just to resurrect a past I barely survived.
Still…
That kiss.
It wasn’t just reminiscence.
It meant something.
I have to face the cost of that meaning.
I turn back toward the path that leads to the mansion.
Somewhere in that house is a woman I’ve hurt. A woman I might lose.
And if she never forgives me?
I’ll deserve it.
But I’ll tell her anyway.
Every word.
Every truth.
Even the one I wished so profoundly to forget.
I sigh.
How do you love two people at once?
What does that say about me?
Easy answer.
I’m totally fucked.
EPISODE 224
BABY COME BACK
Emily
“I love you,” River says through clenched teeth. “I love you so much it fucking hurts. And Emily, I’m going to fuck you so roughly, so thoroughly. that you’ll never so much as think about another man again.”
I draw in a sharp breath, my heart pounding. Fear, arousal, and a touch of indignation mingle together, creating a mixture of emotions that leaves me breathless.
River roughly grips me, his touch possessive, domineering. He's marking me as his.
I should object to such raw domination…
But I don’t.
There's an odd sort of satisfaction in that. A sense of belonging.
He crushes his lips to mine in a savage kiss, consuming me. I can taste the raw desire, the need for dominance and possession. We kiss and we kiss and we kiss. I let him take me, let him ease his anger with his lips and tongue.
A few moments later, he tears away from my lips and gasps in a breath. “You're mine, Emily.”
The blunt assertion sends currents pulsing through me.
For the first time in my life, I’m putty in a man’s hands.
He can do whatever he wants to me. Flip me over and bugger me. Even without lubrication. I’ll let him do it.
The thought should bloody frighten me.
But it doesn’t.
I want to be consumed by River Barrett.
I want to be his and only his.
He undresses me quickly and then glares at me, his gaze darkened with the intensity of his desire.
I tremble under the weight of his gaze. His hunger for me is palpable. It fills the room, making the air thick.
He gathers me in his arms and presses me against his naked chest. The heat from his body sears into mine—a stark reminder of what's about to happen. Of what he's going to do.
“Look at me,” he commands.
I can't deny him anything. Not now.
I meet his gaze. Raw need is etched on his gorgeous face.
He's not simply angry.
He's at war with himself.
The whole thing with Jake and the others is eating at him.
And what do I do? I bloody fuck Sebastian and make everything worse.
Still…he needs to know how I feel.
“You think you're punishing me,” I whisper, “but you're not.”
He stiffens for a moment before pulling back slightly to look at me, confusion marring his brow.