Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 96404 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96404 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Because at this rate, I’m heading to the point of no return.
My hand feels as cold as Kyoto’s freezing winter as it snuggles in Akira’s arm.
I want to pull away, to run, hide.
Run and hide and be chased.
But my brain keeps me planted in place with a makeshift smile taking over my lips.
I try to focus on the small talk Akira is making with Asher or on how Reina is asking me all sorts of questions, but it’s impossible.
My attention flits back to Sebastian every time. To the way his mesmerizing eyes have turned glacial cold while the sharp edges of his handsome face have hardened. To how his jacket hugs his wide shoulders and narrow waist. To how a strand of his hair has fallen on his forehead or how a shadow falls over his cheekbones.
I can’t stop looking at him.
Or observing him.
He awakened something inside me when he wrestled me and fucked me against the wood floor of his living room.
A beast that recognizes his prey.
A hungry being who simply can’t get enough.
I spent a sleepless night tossing and turning in bed, replaying every detail in my battered head and torturing my starved body.
What we did was wrong, forbidden, and absolutely deviant on so many levels.
And yet, I’ve been aching for more.
And yet, it’s all I’ve been able to think about.
Because that’s the thing about forbidden fruit. One taste isn’t enough. The desire keeps mounting and climbing, reaching heights that would only lead to demise once thrown off of it.
Maybe that’s what I’m actually supposed to do.
Fall.
Dark red manicured fingers slip around Sebastian’s bicep like a snake.
My head snaps up to see a beautiful redhead with full lips, a long, elegant neck, and striking hazel eyes. She’s wearing a strapless golden dress that hugs her tall, slim figure. A figure that’s currently snuggled up to Sebastian’s side with easy familiarity.
A dazzling smile appears on her mouth and it’s only directed at him.
And then something happens.
He smiles back.
It’s like a knife slices through my dying heart and protrudes from my back. I never thought I’d feel this way after that black day, but the scene in front of me proves otherwise.
Logically, I know I don’t have the right to be like this. I don’t have the right to feel wounded or hurt or cut fucking open, but the need to curl into a ball and cry hits me out of nowhere.
I never thought I’d come to Sebastian’s house under these circumstances. Or the house he grew up in, anyway. Money shines in every corner of the Weaver mansion, hinting at its owners’ sophisticated taste. But it’s cold—impersonal, even.
His grandparents gave the same vibe when Akira and I talked to them earlier. No wonder Sebastian turned out the way he is. Maybe it runs in the family.
“I see the circle has grown without me,” the redhead tells Sebastian, and even her voice is as elegant as she is. “Introduce me, Bastian.”
I suck in a breath at the intimate name she calls him and it takes everything in me to appear unaffected.
If the earth ever planned to suck me into a hole, this is the time to do so.
“Aspen,” he says in his cold, unaffected tone. “This is Naomi and Akira.”
My husband shakes her hand, then I do, too, contemplating if I could break it if I squeeze hard enough. I swiftly let go of her and the murderous thought. Or try to, anyway.
The chatter continues despite the simmering tension. Or maybe I’m the only one who’s about to flare up and burst into flames.
The more Aspen glues herself to Sebastian’s side, the closer I get to the point of combustion. It doesn’t help that Sebastian completely ignores my existence and only indulges her.
But what did I expect anyway? That he’d swoop me up in his arms while everyone is watching?
That would be a disaster.
But then again, that’s what we’ve always been, he and I. A sweet, cruel disaster that’s impossible to end, no matter how much we try.
It might have started with that bet, but it was going on way before that. I thought the distance would lessen it, would eventually erase it, but it merely made it hotter, stronger, and absolutely unstoppable.
At least for me.
Reina grabs me by the arm and smiles at everyone. “Would you excuse us? Girl talk.”
She doesn’t wait for anyone’s reply as she basically drags me around the corner.
Her gaze flits to either side of us and once she makes sure there’s no one around, she releases me and places a hand on her hip.
Our queen bee has aged like fine wine, becoming elegant and a productive member of Blackwood. I heard she’s into social work and organizes countless charitable events.
Heard as in stalked her social media. What? I had to keep myself in the loop, even from Japan. I’m a professional stalker who never leaves any likes or comments and just observes from a distance.