Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 95950 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95950 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
When I stumble into the large space, she laughs. “Are you all right?”
“Fine. Just a little tired.” My words come out sounding strangely incoherent.
And my tongue…why does it feel so thick?
Like a piece of rubber sitting in my mouth. My brain feels so fuzzy. Kind of like when I was in the hospital and had my appendix removed. The pain meds they gave me made me feel like this.
How weird is that?
Aubrey giggles. “I think someone drank too much.”
What?
No.
I shake my head. I’m not much of a drinker. I’ve always been too focused on my grades, graduating from high school, and getting the hell out of this godforsaken town.
But I’m sleepy, garbling my words, and I can barely keep my eyes open. It’s like I’ve been run over by a Mack truck. Right now, nothing makes sense.
I glance around the room, but it’s dark and shadowy. There’s a small lamp on an antique side table near a curved sofa along with a pool table and another for cards at the far end of the room.
Wait a minute…aren’t there supposed to be people in here?
Where’s Austin?
I lift my hand to my face. Everything feels so confusing.
“You said he was here.”
The slurring is getting worse.
“Hmmm. I thought he was.” She saunters toward me before pressing down on my shoulder. The weight of it sends me crashing onto the couch. “Sit down and I’ll find him. He couldn’t have gone far. In fact, he’s probably looking for you.”
Is that what happened?
My body feels so heavy. Unable to hold myself up, I topple onto the cushions like a freshly cut tree.
“Timber,” I whisper before a giggle escapes.
“Jesus. You’re really bad. Hold tight, I’ll be back in a sec.”
“’Kay.” My eyelids feather closed, and for one blissful moment, it feels like I’m dozing.
The next thing I know, strong hands are sliding under my arms and lifting me up. My hair gets swept away from my face as my name is called. It sounds like the voice is coming through a long tunnel, barely able to reach me.
It’s annoying.
My eyelids flutter, but it’s a struggle to open them. It’s like they’re cemented shut.
I’m so tired. I just want to go to bed.
Right here.
Right now.
I don’t care anymore.
Just as I slip back into sleep, pain explodes in my cheek, and I squeak.
“Open your damn eyes,” a deep voice demands.
It’s one I recognize.
Where do I know it from?
When I don’t respond, my face is slapped again.
Only harder this time.
“Stop,” I force myself to say but don’t think it comes out sounding as it should.
“You need to wake up,” the voice says sternly.
“I’m awake.” It takes effort to get the words out.
Whether they’re actually coherent is debatable.
“We’re going to take some pictures. You like pictures.”
Do I?
Oh, right. Photography. Although, I prefer to be behind the camera rather than in front of it.
“Can you do that for me?”
I nod. “I want to go home.”
“Be a good girl and I’ll take you there.”
Good girl…
Didn’t Austin say that to me?
Yeah, he did.
And I liked it.
Liked the deep growl of his voice when it slid from his lips.
I’m repositioned like a ragdoll so that our faces are close. My eyelids flutter just before his lips crush mine. When he forces his tongue inside my mouth, I can’t help but think that something is off. There’s something different about his kiss, but I’m unable to put my finger on it.
Then again, I don’t feel like myself.
From somewhere nearby, a flash goes off and the burst of light hurts my eyes.
He smacks my cheeks again. “We’re not done yet.”
“Ow!” I bat my hand but my limbs, like my tongue, feel thick and heavy. Almost like they don’t belong to me.
It’s an odd sensation.
“You look hot. Let’s take off the sweatshirt.”
A jumbled sound leaves my lips as I’m manhandled.
“She’s barely awake,” another voice says.
Only this voice is different.
Higher.
That’s the last coherent thought that flits through my brain before I’m sucked back into the darkness and swallowed up.
Delilah and Austin’s story continues in Princess of Hawthorne Prep
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https://books2read.com/princessofhawthorneprep
See where it all began in King of Hawthorne Prep with Summer and Kingsley.
KING OF HAWTHORNE PREP
My gaze wanders over the water as white-capped waves roll rhythmically toward the sandy shore. When the wind picks up, a warm breeze rustles through my hair, and I tip my face toward the sun before stretching.
Could life get any better than this?
Doubtful.
A family friend was kind enough to let us borrow their beach house in Door County for the week. Mom and Dad surprised us with the impromptu vacation a few days before we were supposed to leave.
The house we’re staying at isn’t like one of the newly renovated million-dollar monstrosities that flank us with their gargantuan square footage, swanky pools, and perfectly groomed lawns. But it’s steps from the beach and has breathtaking views of Lake Michigan. At just fifteen hundred square feet, this house has three cramped bedrooms, an outdated kitchen, and a ton of seashell décor. Even so, there’s something charming about it.