Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 36965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 185(@200wpm)___ 148(@250wpm)___ 123(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 185(@200wpm)___ 148(@250wpm)___ 123(@300wpm)
One of my favorite things about this manor was that we had all this room to run, hide, and play. This is where we were kids with no care in the world. We had a good childhood. The two of us were kept away from the realities of our fathers' corrupt, sinister dealings and shielded from the cruel reality of the world we were born into.
We used to laugh with pure joy as Ezra chased me through the trees, tackling me to the ground as we both rolled in the dirt. It was a simpler time. We weren’t worried about what would happen to us. We weren’t worried about the life we were born into or the crimes they would force us to endure. Back then, we didn’t understand that our lives were bound by blood and corruption. We had no knowledge of how we would protect the biggest perversions for the sake of the “greater good”—all for a world that should burn to a pile of ashes.
“What do you think will happen when I catch you, Fawn?” Ezra yells.
He sounds like an animal, something primal and wild. I hesitate over my current situation and the choice I just made. Four years ago, I would have trusted Ezra with my life. I wouldn’t have even blinked at it.
But something changed when I hit the age of fourteen. Suddenly, Ezra didn’t want to be my friend anymore. He had no desire to chase or sit and laugh with me. I went from being his best friend to an inconvenience he had to deal with because our fathers were best friends and business partners. But the way he kissed me back there, and the bolts of electricity that surged between us, tell me that as much as Ezra acts like I’m a rash that forcibly penetrated his skin, that kiss called him a liar.
I weave between two trees, jumping over large rocks buried in the ground. “I’m assuming you’ll fuck me like you did all those college girls.”
Ezra’s laugh booms through the air, mocking me. “You’ve been keeping track, Fawn? I’m touched.”
“You wish,” I bark, desperate to hide the sting of his words.
I don’t know if he’s been with one girl or a hundred. I’ve avoided his social media like the plague since he went to college. It’s one thing to be infatuated with him, but I don’t need to send fresh bullets blasting at my heart through brutal voyeurism. Emotional masochism was never my thing.
As I jump between two wild shrubs, the branch of one whips at my leg, making me stumble. “Dammit.”
“Fawn,” Ezra’s voice is panicked behind me. “Don’t move. You might have hurt yourself.”
I jump up quickly, ignoring the new slash on my calf, and start running. “I’m not made of glass, Ezra. A branch won’t break me.”
“No, but I will when I catch you for not listening to me.”
“Am I supposed to take you seriously? My father just sold me like I was a piece of property. I’m confident that whatever you do to me will be a welcome relief.” I grab onto a tree and start moving my legs up the trunk. This was so much easier when I was a kid.
A warm hand wraps around my ankle. “You gonna come down on your own, Fawn? Trust me, you won’t like the alternative.”
“You don’t seem to get it, Ezra.” My foot connects with his handsome, chiseled face, making him stagger back. “I don’t want to hear another man tell me what to do. I want to fuckin’ fight.”
Ezra drops my foot and rubs where I kicked him a second ago. I take the leverage the moment gives me to grip a branch and work my way up. I make a small amount of leeway when there’s a tug at the back of my dress. Resisting the pull, I concentrate on my task when my dress is torn from my body, and I’m left moving up the tree in my underwear.
“Lace and black, Fawn? I’m a little disappointed. I always thought you’d be a white cotton panties girl.” His arms wrap around my thighs, constricting my movement. “Fall back, Briar. I got you.”
Briar. He’s calling me Briar. Ezra isn’t taking me seriously. He started this game, and now he won’t see it through. Just like everyone else, he thinks I’m a joke.
I kick my legs out as my hands grip a thick hanging branch.
Ezra's hands trail up my legs and dip into my panties. “Fawns are no match for bears.”
My arms tremble as he glides the pad of his finger along my slit and presses down on my clit. I’ve touched myself before, even made myself come, but I’ve never experienced anything like Ezra’s touch. I’m unsure if it’s because I’ve had feelings for him my entire life or because he’s the first man to touch me this way. But at this moment, I’m pretty sure I’ll do anything to chase this high for the rest of my life. Sounds pathetic. All he did was touch my core, and I’ve become an addict.