Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22339 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 89(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22339 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 89(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
“I already told you I was taking her home,” Colter growls, reaching into the car, and decking Alex in the nose.
“Beat it before I rearrange your face.”
“What the fuck,” Alex screams, holding his nose. I hit him with my book bag for added measure. “I’m going to make you pay for this, you bitch.”
“Say something like that to her again, and you’ll be eating through a straw.” Colter pulls me into his arms, dragging me away from the vehicle. Alex’s brows rise while he quickly messes with the gearshift and then speeds off without bothering to close the door.
“I thought you left.”
“And trust the wolves that circle?”
“Hell, you’ve been gone for a year. Do you think that they just circled now?”
“Just because you didn’t see someone there doesn’t mean someone hasn’t been watching.”
“What does that mean?” So that crazy, sick bastard had been right.
“That means I’ve been making sure no one goes near my woman.” A twisted part of me loved that he was stalking me from a distance.
“Now, if you’re ready to go back to Holly Hills, let’s go because this is the only chance I’ll give you.”
“Only chance?”
“I’m about two seconds away from tying you up and kidnapping you.” In my head, the idea sounds fun, but I’m not sure I’m ready for this. My trust in him is broken. I was physically safe, but my heart wasn’t.
“Fine, let’s go somewhere safe where we can talk until the weather is safe to head home.”
He takes my bag, tossing it over his shoulder before taking my hand in his. I try to free myself, but he only tightens his grip. “Enough with the nonsense. You can fight me on this later. Let’s get out of the snow.”
We get into the car and start driving, but he doesn’t head toward the highway. Instead, he hits a main road and then pulls off into a large structure. “Where are we? Did you need to pick something up?”
“Come on. I’m taking us somewhere to talk.” He snatches my bag which has my keys to my house in it. I reach for it, but he’s too freaking fast and he has my hands locked in his. “Behave and I’ll tell you in a minute.”
“Is this where you work?” He rolls his eyes.
“No.” He takes my hand in his, and we enter an elevator which takes us to the fifth floor. “Damn it, Bethany Faith, have a little faith.”
“Where are we?” He unlocks the door and leads me inside.
“Home,” he finally answers.
“Home?”
“Yes, where your new home is. Let me take your coat.” We take off wet shoes as he locks the door behind us. I take off my coat and hand it to him where he puts it away in a closet near the front door. I walk further into a lavish yet inviting condo that reminds me of my home.
“Colter…is that…” I look at the wall, and there’s a portrait of us that an artist sketched at a fair two years ago. We took it as a joke, pretending to be a couple. He said he’d forgotten it at the fair, but when we returned for it, the guy said it must have gotten lost or tossed.
I turn and stare at him. “I lied. I didn’t lose it.”
“I don’t understand,” I sob.
Chapter Four
Colter
“Beth, please don’t cry. Shit, I never want to see your tears.” I pulled her into my arms, scooping her up and carrying her to the sofa. “Love of my life, it’s hard for me to explain my actions other than to say my love for you has made me insane. All my life, I wanted to work hard and to become a doctor, but then I met you, and everything went out the window. Every year, that dream became harder and harder to want because it seemed to keep me away from you.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“I didn’t have money for school. We were a middle-class family, which means no funding for college, but enough work ethic to dream of it.”
“But you got scholarships.”
“Yes, a few. Nothing to pay the tuition. You might not remember, but I worked nonstop throughout high school. Hell, I didn’t even meet you until you started working at the bakery.”
“Yes. I thought it was to pay for your dates. You were so much older than me. It felt like a world apart. I had a crush on you from the first time I had to sign for a package.”
“Same here, even though I knew it was wrong. I did my best to avoid you.” I brush my knuckles against her chin and then across her cheek.
“But James told me you had a girlfriend last year. You weren’t fucking pining away for me.”
“Fucking hell.” I slap my forehead. “I only told him that because I was speaking highly of Holiday and he was starting to get pissed, so I told him I had a woman I was dating which in my head was true. Because Bethany Faith, to me, you’ve always been mine.”