Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 77718 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77718 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
“It’s not me he’s worried about.”
Ares’s brows pull together with confusion.
I sigh. “He’s worried that I’ll tarnish your reputation.”
His frown deepens. “He said that?”
“Kind of.”
“That’s bullshit.”
“No, really…even though I hate it, he actually has a point. My reputation is in the toilet. Yours is…you’re a great guy, Ares. And you’re in the public eye. Being with someone like me will hurt that.”
“You’re wrong.”
“I’m right, and you know it. If I were a random person, the news of what I did probably would never have come to light. But I’m your coach’s daughter, who was charged with a DUI and spent time in rehab. The press will go after us. It’ll hurt you.”
“I don’t care.”
“You should. It’s your career. I just think…it’s best if we keep this between us for now.”
“No.”
“Ares…”
“I don’t like lying, and I don’t fucking like secrets.”
“I know.” I take his face in my hands. “But it needs to be that way—for now.”
“I’ll talk to your dad. PR can handle it. They’re great at swinging things to fit public image.”
“My dad doesn’t want me riding in your truck, Ares. Trust me; he will not want this. And I want us to have a chance. Get to know each other properly before other people…start interfering in our relationship.”
“I don’t like this, Ari.”
He looks away from me. So, I climb onto him, straddling his body.
“I don’t either. But I just think it’s the best for now.”
He stares up at me. “I won’t lie. If someone asks if we’re together, I will tell them yes. And I sure as fuck will be telling my family that you’re mine.”
“Okay,” I say, agreeing.
“And, in a few weeks, Ari, we’re telling your dad.”
“A few weeks,” I agree even though I don’t think it’s nearly enough time for me to figure out how to handle my dad. I haven’t even spoken to him since our fight, except for that text.
Ignore and pretend shit isn’t happening—that’s how me and my dad coexist.
“I just don’t want anyone to come between us,” I say quietly.
He sits up, putting us chest-to-chest, one hand curling around the nape of my neck, holding me. “No one—and I mean, no fucking one, not even your dad—will come between us. I’m crazy about you, babe. That ain’t gonna change.”
“I’m crazy about you, too,” I whisper.
“Glad to hear it.” He kisses me deep and hard, his hand fisting into my hair.
I feel his erection press into my belly.
“Round two already?” I raise a brow.
“Definitely…” A kiss. “Ari?”
“Mmhmm.”
“You know that yoga you do?”
“Yep.”
“That means you’re pretty flexible, right?”
“Uh-huh. Why?”
A grin spreads across his gorgeous face. “Because we’re about to get adventurous as fuck. Hold on tight, babe.”
I awake with Ares’s warm, hard body wrapped around mine, making me smile.
My body is deliciously sore in the way it only can be from sex.
Especially amazing sex. Some of the things Ares did to me last night…the positions…my cheeks blush at the memories.
Ares really knows what he’s doing in bed. I maxed out at five orgasms by the time he was done with me.
Five!
I hadn’t even known that was possible.
Apparently, with him, it is.
It’s still dark out, so I check the time on my cell. Four sixteen.
I carefully disentangle myself from Ares, making sure not to wake him. I grab a nightshirt from my drawer, pulling it on, and then make a quick trip to the bathroom. Then, I go into the kitchen and get myself a glass of water, leaning my hip against the counter while I take a sip.
I have this permanent smile on my face and a warm glow in my chest, and it’s all because of that man sleeping in my bed.
I wander through my living room and over to the window, looking outside. The street is quiet. Not a soul around.
Then, I do something that I haven’t done in a while.
I take a seat on the stool in front of my easel. I put my glass of water down on the table, and I pick up a brush.
Clean and unused.
I brush it over the blank canvas, tracing invisible lines, thinking about Ares.
Him and me together.
Without conscious thought, I reach for my black oil paint. I squeeze some out onto my palette and sweep my brush through it.
And then I start painting.
The room is bright with the morning sun. I can hear the birds outside. The rumble of cars traveling down the street. And I’m still painting.
I’ve been at it for hours, and it’s starting to take shape already. It’s something new for me. It’s a still, but instead of a solitary person, it’s two people. It’s Ares and me, entwined, making love.
I’ve never done anything like this before, but I don’t want to stop, for fear that I’ll never start again.
I’m painting for the first time in seven months, and it feels good.
I hear movement behind me, and I stop and turn.