Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 78487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
“I want you to know. But I don’t want you to be frightened of me. I would never hurt you.” His brows draw together. “The person I was accused of murdering was my girlfriend.”
The sharp inhale of breath rushes through my teeth.
His girlfriend.
My heart speeds up.
“Belle was the girl next door, and she was my first love.”
There’s clear pain in his voice.
Just as there’s apprehension in mine.
“What happened?”
“Her parents didn’t want her seeing me. Like the rest of the town, they were afraid of me. We used to meet in secret. I come from a small town where everyone thought I was some kind of genetic freak. Even my father hated me because my mother died giving birth to what he referred to as a monster, and everyone followed suit after that.”
His words punch me in the heart.
“Belle was different. She was sweet and kind and could see past my size and awkwardness. One night when we were seventeen, we met at the old, abandoned theater in town. It was a safe place to meet without anyone seeing us. Afterward, we were attacked by three college kids out looking for fun.” His voice becomes very low. “Once I was incapacitated, they raped and murdered her.”
My hand shoots over my mouth. “Oh, Ares…”
“Despite my concussion, stitches, and the overwhelming evidence that I didn’t do it, I was found guilty.”
“How were you found guilty when they had evidence to say otherwise?”
“I didn’t know they had the evidence at the time of my trial…” He takes in a deep breath. “It wasn’t until years later when one of those innocent project-type people looked into it and unearthed all the suppressed evidence. Turned out the three overprivileged college kids had some big family connections. One was the son of a senator, the other a judge. The third one was an up-and-coming football star. Nobody wanted to see their lives ruined. It was easier to put away the mutant everyone was so afraid of. I did nine years before I was cleared.”
I’m horrified.
Nine years.
His big arms rest on the side of the bath.
I reach for his hand and tangle my fingers in his. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
His eyes soften, and he gives me a gentle closed-lip smile. “Now you do.”
A tender look passes between us.
What he shared with me has pulled us closer together.
Whether we like it or not.
He clears his throat. “There’s a party at the clubhouse next Saturday to celebrate the crop harvest.”
I lift an eyebrow at him. “Didn’t you just come from a party?”
“That was the family-friendly version. Next weekend will be a lot different. Less family, more boobs.”
I can’t help but giggle. “And?”
“And I’m thinking it’d be a good idea if you were there.”
He looks so uncomfortable it’s almost adorable.
I slide across the tub and curl my arms around his neck. “Are you asking me out on a date, Ares?”
Feeling my pussy rub against his cock, his expression turns downright carnal.
“If by date, you mean I take you to a party at the clubhouse and then get to fuck you into the early hours of the next day, then yes, it’s a date.”
He’s downplaying the date, keeping it on a physical level. Reminding me that this is casual, that it’s just sex, and we owe each other nothing.
But I like that he does.
Because at least one of us must keep a level head.
And, at the moment, it definitely isn’t me.
Kissing him hard, I sink onto his cock and ride him all the way to nirvana.
A week later, I stand in the middle of my bedroom and start to panic.
Ares is due to pick me up in a few minutes, and I’m not even dressed.
It took me an hour to get my makeup right, but there’s no saving my hair today. In the end, I pulled it into a messy bun on top of my head.
I sigh, staring at the small number of clothes left in my wardrobe.
When I arrived in town to find Ares, I never expected to be invited to the clubhouse for a party. And I definitely didn’t expect him to ask me out on a date.
Now, there’s a pile of discarded clothes on my bedroom floor as I stress about what to wear. I’m worried about how I look because it feels like I’m about to meet the family of a boy I really like.
And why does it matter so much to me that they like me?
This isn’t me at all.
Hanging out with the man I asked to kill my rapist stepfather is beginning to fuck with me.
And that doesn’t fit in with the plan at all.
ARES
I feel like a fucking king walking into the clubhouse with Rory on my arm.
She looks gorgeous. Red lips. Short skirt and boots. Blonde hair pulled into a messy bun on top of her head with small pieces escaping around her beautiful face. Seductive eyes that make promises of what she’s going to do to my cock later.