Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45202 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45202 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
She blows out a breath, and her body language completely gives away the lie as she says, “Yeah, I’m good.”
I just stare at her and wait. Luciana never complains and will say she’s fine even if she’s not, but if I wait her out, maybe she’ll talk to me.
She twitches under my scrutiny and claps her hands together. “Uh, well, okay… let’s see. I guess it’s going about how you’d imagine. No money—”
I open my mouth, and she stops me. “No, don’t offer me money. So no money, but I have a car now, thanks to you. The attorney is working on my case, but I’m without a job and resources until that’s resolved. And… well, my mom is pressuring me to go back with my ex, so you can imagine how it is being at home.”
I take a step toward her, my hands fisted at my sides. I don’t even try to hide the anger in my voice. “She wants you to stay with the man that hit you?”
Her eyes never leave mine. “She thinks it was an accident.”
“But it wasn’t… was it?”
No matter if she tries to deny it, I’ll know the truth. A man never accidentally hits a woman. Right now, I’m just hoping and praying that Luciana knows the truth.
She blurts out a laugh. “No, it definitely wasn’t an accident.”
I hold my hand out to her, wishing she would take it. “Do you want to talk about it?”
She looks at my hand and then crosses her arms over her chest. “Not really.”
I know I should keep my mouth shut, but I don’t care. “You’re not going back to him.”
Her mouth drops open, and she shakes her head. “Dom, you don’t have the right to tell me what to do.”
Because I can’t resist, I walk over to her, and she tenses but doesn’t back down. I’m so close to her that I could wrap my arms around her and hold her to me, but instead I reach up and put my palm on her cheek. She may not realize she’s doing it, but she leans into my touch, which sends a thrill through me. “I know, Lucky. I lost that right a long time ago. But I won’t stand by and let a man put his hands on you. It killed me knowing you were with someone else, but the only thing that stopped me from following you was thinking you were happy.”
She lets out a little gasp and cries out, “But you didn’t want me!”
I clench my eyes closed because it kills me to see the pain in her face. Fuck, I hurt her so badly. I would give anything to go back and do things differently. When I open my eyes to look at her, I know it’s time to come clean. “I wanted you, Lucky. I always fuckin’ wanted you. Even now, I want you.”
Something akin to hope flares in her eyes, but she shakes her head in disbelief. “Don’t lie to me, Dom. Not after everything you’ve done to me, don’t fuckin’ lie to me.”
I know she’s mad by the way she curses at me. She never cusses, at least she never did in the past. Hell, she thought stupid was a bad word. I reach for her and hold on to her shoulders. She tries to pull away from me, but I refuse to let her go. “Stop and listen to me.”
She’s glaring at me, but I’m not going to give in. I know this is hard, but I can’t let her walk away from me now. “I have loved you since the first day I met you… and I never stopped. I never wanted to let you go, but I was going to prison, Lucky. What should I have done? Should I have asked you to wait for me? You were eighteen and about to start college. Should I have asked you to put your life on hold because I fucked up?”
“You slept with…”
I don’t let her finish. “I didn’t sleep with anyone after I met you. Hell, even to this day, the only action my cock gets is my hand.”
Her mouth drops open, and she shakes her head side to side. “I don’t believe you… why… you said—”
I know I’ve completely taken her by surprise, which makes me realize how much I messed up with her. I loved her so much, but it wasn’t enough. She easily believed me when I told her I cheated on her, and she should have known that there was never anyone I wanted but her.
“I told you I slept with Rita because I knew that if I told you I wanted to end things, you wouldn’t move on. I knew you’d try and wait for me.”
She rolls her eyes and drops a bombshell on me. “I did wait on you, Dom. I thought you’d come for me when you got out of jail. I thought you’d realize what we had and you’d want me back. It took a lot of therapy and time to move on.”