Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 57526 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 288(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57526 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 288(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
“Stop! Stop talking. I don’t want to hurt you, Harper. I really don’t, not physically, at least, but I’m close to losing my fucking shit, and I don’t know what will happen when I do.”
His confession has me pressing my lips into a tight line. With my chin to my chest, I stare at the floor. Closing my eyes to get away from him, I somehow manage to drift off to sleep.
A short while later, I come to. Warren is carrying me. Lifting my head off his chest, I notice that we’re at his house.
“I want to go home,” I mumble tiredly. All of this back and forth with him is exhausting. I just want to go to my place right now.
“Yeah, that’s never going to happen. You belong to me now. I don’t know why you can’t get this into your head. When I tell you to jump, you’ll ask how high? When I tell you to spread your legs, you’ll ask how wide? When you go to class, I’ll be there waiting for you. You. Are. Mine.” He speaks each word with a deepness and darkness that makes me believe him.
As soon as we enter his room, he tosses me onto the bed like a doll, and I scurry backward and away from him. All my sleepiness is suddenly gone, leaving me wide awake and on high alert. He shuts the door, the sound much too soft for the raging storm that I know is brewing inside of him.
When he turns to face me again, it’s like every shred of who he is, who I’ve known him to be, is gone. Even in his darkest moments, I could still see the human beneath the mask, but right now, I can’t see any humanity.
“It’s funny, you were so tough-sounding over the phone. Where is that girl now? With her strong backbone and spitfire tongue?” He’s taunting me, trying to get me to fight back, but fighting back is what he wants, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to give my bully the bullets he needs to shoot me in the heart.
“Warren, please? It doesn’t have to be this way.”
He tilts his head to the side and even as devilish as he is, he still manages to look gorgeous, “It does have to be like this, and it always will be, because of you. You made us this way.”
Watching him stalk over to the bed, I tell myself I can’t do this. I’ll fight back. I know what’s coming. He’s going to take from me, take the last thing I have to offer him. It was always meant to be his but never like this.
Grabbing onto my ankle, he tugs me to the edge of the mattress. Tears fill my eyes, and I contemplate my next move. Blanketing his body with mine, he leans into my face. His eyes searching mine, and I shiver at the darkness inside of his. What happened to the boy I loved? Who hurt him? Who destroyed what we had?
Licking his lips, he whispers, “Cry for me, Harper, let me see your tears. I want to taste them, see if your fear tastes as sweet as it looks.”
I shake my head, “What happened to make you hate me so much?” I croak, choking on the emotions in my throat. “Just tell me.”
In an instant, Warren has his hand wrapped around my throat. The tears I was trying to keep at bay spring from my eyes and trail down my cheeks, leaving cold rivulets behind. He gives my throat a squeeze, and the air in my chest feels like a ton of bricks.
Darting his pink tongue out, he licks the salty tears from my eyes. It’s fucked up, so fucked up, but it’s also intimate. I don’t understand how to explain it.
“I’m going to fuck every ounce of hate I have into you.” He licks down to my cheek, stopping at my ear, he nips at the tender lobe. “I’m going to make you feel all the pain you’ve made me feel. I’m going to destroy all the good inside of you, just like you’ve destroyed all the good inside me.”
Fear pulses through my veins at his words, but to my utter shame, there is a need as well, a need for him to touch me, make me feel what he feels. Maybe that’s the only way I’ll be able to understand. If he won’t tell me what I’ve done to hurt him, maybe he’ll show me. It’s a risky move… and I shouldn’t even consider giving myself over to him, but if this is the only way, then I’ll do it.
11
Warren
I’m doing everything I can to keep myself in line. I want to hurt Harper, mark her body, but something is stopping me. There is a softness in her eyes that I don’t understand. She looks afraid, but she also looks like she’s willing to give herself over to me, as if she knows deep down that’s what she needs.