Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 84843 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84843 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Read Online Books/Novels: | Beast's Demands (Crude Hill High #3) |
|---|---|
Author/Writer of Book/Novel: | Sam Crescent |
| Language: | English |
| Book Information: | |
I’m a no one, the daughter of a mistress. My life was spared to keep my best friend Emily safe. Now she’s back with her men, and I’ve been taken by Earl Valentine—the Beast. The Monsters’ Crew sold me to him, and all he wants is my virginity. I’d die for Emily, so giving my body to this man is easy. But Earl’s not in any kind of rush. He wants to make me beg, to shatter all my defenses so all I can think about is him. No matter how hard I fight, I’m not trained to hate. With each touch, he makes me crave. With every kiss, I fall a little deeper. Under his spell, I have no power. He wants me enough to fight for me. I may have fallen for the Beast, but he’s also mine. I just don’t realize how much. Can I truly tame the Beast? Or is he acting the part to get me where he wants? | |
| Books in Series: | Crude Hill High Series by Sam Crescent |
| Books by Author: | Sam Crescent |
Chapter One
Ashley
I wasn’t used to being important.
All my life, I’d been told how useless I was. How I’d destroyed my mother’s figure. Stopped her from finding the perfect man. How men didn’t want a woman with a kid. Before we moved to Crude Hill, I either hid out in my old bedroom when she had guests or left. I’d spent many nights camped out at a park, or down by one of the lakes while she pretended to be a single woman.
I did all of that out of love.
I loved my mother.
So much.
She was the worst and best person in my life. I loved her more than anything. Then he came along. A man with smooth words, and within a matter of months, we’d gone from living a life of struggle to luxury. He was a married man with a family. He didn’t require me to leave. Knew all about the daughter, and for a short time, everything was perfect. Or as perfect as it could have been. He’d told me straight, I wasn’t going to get anything out of the arrangement that he wasn’t willing to give. While he had my mother eating out of the palm of his hand, he had a whole host of other plans for me.
Strange how life turned out.
The same man who held the threat of my life over my head was the same man whose daughter I befriended. I didn’t do it on purpose. Emily was … everything. She was the best friend I never had before. She didn’t have to stick up for me, but she did.
She was the first and last person to put her life on the line for mine. It was because of her that I was alive.
Staring across my room, I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the door. I had no choice but to focus on something. I would be sick if I didn’t.
Earl Valentine.
Emily said she’d seen him. I’d hoped she’d been wrong, but now, for whatever reason, I’d been taken. I was locked away on a boat. Damn it. I hated this.
Why did people think it was so cool to go out in open water?
It was fucking scary.
Sickness swirled within my gut. All I wanted to do was throw myself overboard and vomit.
I didn’t.
I couldn’t.
The door was firmly locked from the outside.
Fucking fuckers.
I hadn’t eaten in hours.
What was this game? More importantly, what was his game? I’d met Earl once, and I couldn’t even be sure if it was the same man.
Seven years ago, at the party that had changed my life, I’d danced with a man. He’d held me, stared at me, and for a short time, I’d felt like the only person who had existed in his world.
Was it the same man?
I’d thought about him often over the years.
This was what I’d turned into. A woman so desperate for attention and affection, she’d imagined a man into some kind of being.
I sucked.
Big time.
After running fingers through my hair, I glanced around the room while wrapping my arms back around my legs and keeping my body right. With how unstable everything was, I didn’t want to let go of anything.
The water.
Why?
Ugh. I was going to be sick.
As if on cue, the door lock flicked open, and Earl Valentine stood in the doorway. Seven years was a long time, but I would recognize those shoulders and hands anywhere. The scar down his face wasn’t scary or ugly, but sexy, showing how dangerous he actually was.
Neither of us spoke.
I watched him.
Waiting.
Terrified.
Curious.
I was a lot of things all mixed into one.
He was right here, in front of me, well, a few feet away.
“You’re awake.”
“I want to go home. This isn’t funny.”
Earl smiled, but it wasn’t a nice one. Something sinister and dark lay behind his gaze, promising. I didn’t want to know this man too intimately.
There was a lot more to this man than what met the eye. After years of seeing my mother move from dick to dick, I’d gotten a pretty good read on them. I recognized a keeper, a loser, an asshole, and the man you really shouldn’t catch the eye of. Earl Valentine was one of those latter men.
“You think I’m doing this for your amusement?”
“What do you want?”
“A lot of things.”
“Last time I heard, it was a cherry you wanted to pop.” I hated speaking the words, but I wasn’t going to cower from this man.
Seven years, Emily and I had formed a life together. She was sad most of the time, but there were always rare sparks of light in our darkness.
I loved her like a sister, and right now, being trapped on a boat with this man, it would leave Emily alone.
Earl tilted his head to the side, and I realized I’d surprised him.
Good. I’d grown up.
Since I’d been alone with Emily, we only had each other to count on. No men. No fathers. No mothers. Just the two of us, and we’d been doing quite well on our own.