Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 102929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
No problems.
No bullshit.
No drama.
We were free from the demons for a second, living in a space between something sinful and holy.
Where Julius was on one end and I was on the other.
A couple of hours later, Isla had the giggles, which meant she was high as shit, and I couldn’t stop laughing. It was contagious. We were lying on my jacket, out in the field, where we could still hear the music but had some privacy.
“No, I’m serious!” she shouted, looking up at the stars. “Why is it called a shooting star if it’s not a star?”
I snatched the joint out of her hand. “I think you’ve had enough of this.” I sat up, leaning against the tree.
She followed suit, crawling over to me. “Hey!” She giggled. “You don’t tell me what to do!”
“Kitty, you’re cut off now.” I cackled as she lay her head on my thigh, gazing up at me through glossy red eyes.
“I think you should drink some of this.” She eagerly nodded when I handed her a bottle of water.
“Yes, sir.”
My dick twitched at her response.
Bringing the bottle up to her mouth, she leaned over on her elbow and drank the whole thing down.
I was pretty messed up too, but my breathing picked up when she suddenly sat up, closing the gap between us. Using the back of my fingers, I swept the hair away from her face as I took a sip of my drink.
Her intoxicating scent surrounded me, holding my attention. Though it was my curiosity about where she was going with this that led me to surrender to her.
Isla
I had to give him props for having the ability to get me to just let go. It was like this gift he had for me.
It was fun.
Easy.
Careless, but in the best way.
It was this high that struck when we were together, a euphoria we kept chasing despite the possibility of addiction. It felt good to laugh, to smile, to feel numbness in place of the pain. I knew it wouldn’t last, but for the time being, it was the distraction I craved.
The escape I sought was there under the full moon, dancing off the warehouse. I watched the wind blow through the trees, letting my mind wander to a time when things weren’t so complicated. Except that my life had always been challenging in one way or another.
The overwhelming emotions were too heavy to endure, and I knew he could see right through me.
In ways Julius couldn’t.
It merely added to the internal battle that surfaced in the forefront of my mind. It was a whirlwind of thoughts racing profusely.
From my mind.
To my heart.
To every bone in my body.
I didn’t move, cemented in place.
There was no hiding from it…
I wasn’t that girl. The one torn between two brothers. It wasn’t fair, but when was life ever fair to me?
If anything, this seemed right on par.
Fisting my hands, I fought with the words that already tasted like battery acid on my tongue, and I hadn’t even said them yet.
Leaning into his embrace, I shut my eyes. His hand was warm on my cheek and soft on my skin.
“If Julius doesn’t come home,” I said out loud, “where does that leave us?”
“Right now, it leaves us back home.”
I opened my gaze, repeating, “Home?”
“Yeah, Kitty.” He smiled, his eyes falling to my mouth. “Come home with me.”
My eyebrows rose. Hesitant at first, he gripped the crook of my neck, pulling me toward him to rest his forehead on mine.
“You make me want to forget Julius is my brother.”
I lightly sucked in a breath, not expecting his confession.
Of course he read my thoughts, following up with, “What do you think about that?”
“I think…” The question consumed me for a minute until I finally confided, “You make it really hard to remember what I’m supposed to do.”
“What do you want to do, Isla?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It does to me.”
“It won’t change anything.”
“Try me.”
“Kraven…” I stressed, leaning into him. “You know I care about you too.”
“Then how about you stop pretending it doesn’t matter.”
“That’s the problem,” I confirmed, trying to be as honest as I could with him. “It matters too much, and either way you look at it, someone gets hurt, including me.”
“Julius isn’t here, Isla, and that has to count for something. His loss is my gain.”
“I’m not a prize.”
“No, but you’re the only one who makes me forget how fucked up everything is right now. You’re the reason I stay, Kitty.”
I sucked in my bottom lip, trying to keep my feelings at bay. “Are you saying Julius left because of me?”
“No, he left because he’s broken, and I know because I’m broken too, but that’s not on you. You didn’t break anyone. You just made us realize how truly broken we are.”
“Kraven, I—”
“Run!” The sound of sirens echoed in the distance. “Cops!”