Total pages in book: 194
Estimated words: 187754 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 939(@200wpm)___ 751(@250wpm)___ 626(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 187754 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 939(@200wpm)___ 751(@250wpm)___ 626(@300wpm)
“You’re not…that bad.”
I laugh and use my grip on her hair to pull her against me until my dick is nestled between her plump ass. “Careful,” I warn playfully.
“Are we seriously bonding over being terrible people?”
Grinning, I kiss her neck, and then I ask again as I work the shampoo through her hair, “So, why don’t you have friends?”
“My uncle wouldn’t let me.”
My hands pause as something cold and angry rises in my chest. “The fuck are you talking about?”
Aurelia tenses, and I force myself to chill the fuck out. Marston George hasn’t been the only villain in her life. The fact that I don’t want her to be afraid of me should be enough for me to leave this shower right now, but I don’t. Something changed after we got Aurelia back to the cabin, and I don’t want to ruin it before I can figure out whatever the hell this is.
“Tell me what you mean,” I demand a little gentler.
“It’s not a big deal, really. Haven’t you heard that it’s lonely at the top?” Aurelia tries to mask her pain by chuckling through it, but only stony silence follows. “I, uh…I wanted to be a singer since I was nine,” she explains. “When my dad died a few years later, my uncle became my guardian. He said I had to stay focused if I was serious about being a star. I had to make singing my whole world, so I did. Nothing came before it—not my mom, who was in rehab or even school. I dropped out before I even got to high school, and my uncle hired a private tutor and called it homeschooling, but most of my days were spent building my voice and learning how to perform.”
“What about others in the industry?”
“Oh, sure. There were people I met on my way to the top. My uncle even set me up to “date” or befriend other high-profile celebrities whenever I had a new album or tour coming up, but none of it was ever real. And I learned the hard way how fast clapping can turn to stabbing. My uncle didn’t have to convince me of shit after that. Life is the best teacher, right? Once I hit the big time and everyone knew me, the only thing that mattered was my image. My persona was so carefully curated and protected that I didn’t even recognize myself anymore. How could I ask someone to like me for me if I didn’t know who I was, you know?”
I nod but don’t speak as I rinse the shampoo from her hair.
Aurelia is pensive for a few moments before she says, “The last meaningful relationship I had was with my bodyguard. Tyler. He was the closest thing I had to a friend, but I knew if I ever actually believed it, my uncle would catch wind, and I would never see him again.”
Her voice softens when she says his name, and I stare at the top of her head as my hands continue their task. I barely keep the possession out of my tone when I ask, “And was Tyler more than just your bodyguard?”
“Huh?”
“You heard me.”
And just like that the spell that made her pliable and forthcoming is broken. “Crying over spilled milk, Thorin? That’s so unlike you,” she mocks.
Shaking my head, I snatch up the conditioner and apply a generous amount to her hair. “Just answer the question, Aurelia.”
“Why does it matter? He’s dead.” Choosing to step right over that, I don’t bother to correct her assumption. I just turn her around to face me and hold her stare until she submits in the only way Aurelia can—purely fucking infuriatingly. “What can I say, Thorin? A girl has needs.”
“He didn’t meet them.”
She looks taken aback at my confidence. “How would you know? You weren’t there.”
Wrapping both hands around her neck, I push her against the tiles and choke her until she’s clawing at my hands and arms for air.
And then I give it to her.
I let her throat go and force her lips against mine before she can even draw a breath. I give her the air in my lungs until she’s convinced she can’t breathe without me. And then I kiss her until she’s breathless again so that I can be the one to revive her.
One kiss and she forgets she wants to be saved. Instead, she’s clawing and panting for me, not freedom.
Instead of fucking her senseless like she wants, I pull away, only far enough to see the brown in her irises, while shoving a hand between her thick thighs and cupping her warm pussy. “Because I know what you need, and the only ones depraved enough to feed that fantasy were right here waiting for you, Aurelia. That’s how I fucking know.”
She rolls her eyes but, for once, doesn’t deny that she craves this. She probably even thinks she deserves it. Whether she does or not makes no difference to me. I would have kept her, anyway.