Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 125465 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 627(@200wpm)___ 502(@250wpm)___ 418(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125465 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 627(@200wpm)___ 502(@250wpm)___ 418(@300wpm)
I’ve been to arena concerts with my brother that weren’t this loud.
The stranger’s grip tightens, and he begins moving through the crowd much easier than I did, pushing me before him like the blade in front of a snowplow, pushing me back in the direction I just came until he’s wedged me into a dark corner of the room.
“What are you doing?” I shout, but the sound is swallowed up before it gets anywhere. He’s going to do with me what he wants.
And nobody even notices. The bodies close in again as soon as we pass them. It’s a heavy realization that nobody cares. Even Tessa didn’t see us—I can’t see around him and don’t know where she is. Panic bubbles out of me.
I can’t see her, which means she can’t see me, either. This guy is way too big, blocking me from everybody else.
My insides are churning, my body’s shaking, and I’m pretty sure this is what they call fight-or-flight, but it feels like a heart attack. My chest. It hurts so much. Am I dying?
“I can’t…” I can’t even breathe enough to tell this guy I can’t breathe. I’ve never felt this sort of helplessness. The weak little push I give him does nothing but leave him leaning in closer, pressing against me until there’s no moving at all.
He’s going to hurt me, and nobody will know. Nobody will hear me if I scream—if I could scream, which I can’t because I can hardly get enough air into my lungs to stay conscious. His frame is all-consuming. Every self-defense tip I ever heard runs through my head all at once, but there’s no use because I can’t move, much less slam a foot against his instep or drive an elbow into his nose.
His fucking wolf nose.
“I… I…” In a last-ditch effort, the words come out in a tremble. “I’m scared.”
There’s no seeing his eyes due to the mask, not to mention the darkness around us. All I see are two black holes, unnerving me worse than ever.
Did he even hear me?
Suddenly, his hold loosens.
He’s still got me pinned, but instead of gripping my arms like he wants to snap them, he’s merely holding them still. His touch, dare I say, gentle.
Delusions, that’s what I must be experiencing, making it up in my head because I need a grain of hope to cling to. His chest expands slowly in what seems to be a deep breath before he lets it out just as slowly.
Is he telling me to calm down? Demonstrating how to do it? It’s so dark I can barely see him.
Something in me reaches out to that idea and grabs it. He wants to help me. He’s trying to calm me down, just like Ren would.
I must be crazy. Why else does my chest loosen the instant that wild thought flashes brightly in my head? The mere thought of him is the pin that bursts the bubble, leaving me trembling as I begin to breathe deeper than before.
The brick wall in a wolf mask nods slowly, not saying a word—or maybe he is, for all I know. There’s no hearing him over the party. I can’t even read his lips in that mask.
He could take advantage of me, but he hasn’t. I understand now he was only trying to help me. He kept me from falling and pulled me aside to calm down. He’s not trying to hurt me.
Every ounce of intelligence I possess wants me to pump the brakes. Just because he’s not trying to flat-out rape me doesn’t make him a prince. It doesn’t even make him worth knowing.
But…
I’m so tired of being alone.
Untouched. It’s been so long since I was touched, and his hands are trailing up and down my arms, and it feels so good. His masculine scent, cinnamon, and something else I can’t quite make out, makes me want to press my nose to his shirt and breathe him in.
His warmth, his strength, his solid body…
I didn’t know until now just how deep my need runs. The need for connection. For somebody to give a damn again.
I want Ren. I need him. I’m falling apart without him. I can’t even make it through a party without longing for him, without my broken heart crying out for him every time I see a couple together.
I might need him, but it’s clear he doesn’t need me. He never did if he could turn around and essentially abandon me.
I’m going to have to start getting over him eventually. I should’ve started before now, truth be told. I look up at the masked stranger before me, and all I can think is how much I crave something other than loneliness.
8
REN
My Scarlet.
Mine.
Walking around a fucking college party wearing practically nothing.
What does she think is going to happen? She should know what always happens to girls who play with fire—they get burned.