Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 65429 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65429 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Beau chuckled. “All in good fun, Elizabeth. You know how much Ethan and I enjoy busting each other’s balls. Besides, you have two men battling for your affection. Ethan may claim your past, darling, but we all know I have your future.”
“Claiming her past isn’t the only thing that’s mine forever.”
“Ethan,” I snapped.
Beau didn’t hesitate, snapping, “What do you mean by that?”
“I mean.” Ethan stepped toward him, getting close to his face. “She was my first, and don’t you ever fucking forget that, Beau Hunter.”
With a calm, cool demeanor, Beau didn’t miss a beat. “You’re right. She was. But at the end of the day, I’ll be her last, Ethan Carter. Now, if you’ll excuse us, my fiancée and I have an engagement party to attend.”
With that, Beau grabbed my hand and led me out of the bridal suite, and I couldn’t for the life of me stop looking back at Ethan as he stood there cemented in place with our past very much…
Alive and present.
Ethan
I love her.
I stood there, debating if I was truly going to allow her to go through with this. I finally managed to pull myself together enough to walk through the doors and into her future through the walls of an ancient castle. The second I walked inside, I saw her, stopping dead in my tracks just to take her in again.
She was a vision.
There was no beauty in this world quite like Livvy Collins.
Except she was wrapped around her fiancé. She looked breathtaking, smiling at everyone. Blinding them with the millions in jewelry she was wearing on her body. I could see the diamond on her ring finger from clear across the room as if it was a fucking flashlight.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her, and it took everything inside me not to make a scene. I couldn't control the internal battle that surfaced in the forefront of my mind. It was a whirlwind of emotions. Livvy would eternally own every part of me. My heart was hers since before I knew what her having it even meant. She suddenly looked down at the ground as if she felt me. The look on her face exposed the girl I grew up with, the same girl who couldn’t hide her emotions from me.
Her face frowned.
Her mouth parted.
Then she stared right at me.
There was no wandering in her gaze as she found mine from the corner of the room. We looked at one another like there was no one else with us in the massive ballroom of this castle. I didn’t care if anyone saw us. She placed her hand on her heart, almost like she was trying to hold it together.
My feet moved of their own accord as I followed her out onto the balcony. Once I stood behind her, I set my hands on the railing in front of her and on either side of her body. Quickly inhaling her sweet honey scent made my cock twitch. Bringing me right back to the first time I kissed her to get her to shut up when she yelled at me.
“Ethan, please…”
Slowly, I slid the tip of my fingers down her naked back, right along her exposed spine before I spun her to face me, and she immediately shut her eyes.
Leaning in, I murmured close to her mouth, “Okay, but only because you asked so nicely.”
I kissed the corner of her lips, softly kissing the only spot that wasn’t crossing the line. Although, a line was never drawn between us.
She belonged to me.
Plain and simple.
“Where’s my necklace,” I questioned, needing to know.
Since I gave it to her all those years ago, this was the first time I hadn’t seen her wearing it.
“Ethan…”
“Did Beau make you take it off?”
Our emotions were running wild, trying to surrender to the connection in our souls that would always be there. I fought a battle I knew I’d never win. The emotional turmoil ate away at me. The second she felt my mouth on her skin, she opened her eyes and locked them with mine.
“What are you doing?” she let out, changing the subject.
“I’m just congratulating you on your engagement. All I want is for you to be happy, Livvy, and if Beau makes you happy, then that’s all that matters to me. I’m here for you, and I’m not going anywhere. As your man of honor and as your best friend.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Ethan.”
“I’d do anything for you.”
It was the wholehearted truth. Right then and there, I knew what I had to do. I wouldn’t stop the wedding. If I did, I could lose her in the process, and there wasn’t a chance in hell I’d risk that. Instead, I had to make her realize she was making a mistake.
First, I’d start with…
Proving to her she really was just a trophy to him.