Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 124923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
“That’s it, baby.”
My eyes squeeze shut, thigh muscles burning, and I break apart, coming harder than I ever have. “I love you,” I say, my lips against his ear.
Holden cradles the back of my head as he stands before lowering me to the cement floor, never leaving my body for a second. He pounds into me, ruthless and desperate between my spread thighs. “Say it again,” he begs.
“I love you, Holden.”
His eyes close, lips parting, as he fucks me harder. His body tenses, and then he spills inside me with a groan.
He rolls us over until I’m on top, never breaking our connection. His breathing is ragged, chest heaving beneath me as his fingers trail up and down my spine. Suddenly, it’s all too much. I hide my face in his neck, feeling raw and stripped bare.
Holden seems to understand that I need a minute to collect myself. I’m grateful for the fact that he holds me without asking questions.
“Ever since Danny died, I’ve felt like I was drowning, too.” His deep voice finally breaks the silence, the tips of his fingers ghosting across my shoulder blade. “Over and over again. In my dreams. When I’m awake. I forgot what it was like to breathe until you moved in across the hall. You breathed the life back into me.”
Holden
I lay there on the concrete floor of the conservatory for as long as I could with Valen on top of me. Eventually, my body couldn’t take it. I was too tired, my muscles sore and stiff from practice. I might have had to fuck the truth out of her, but she finally opened up to me. Finally let me in. I can still hear her voice in my ear, her breaths coming out in little pants as she told me she loved me. It’s enough to get my dick hard all over again.
We parted ways once we got to the dorms. Valen might’ve told me she loved me, but I don’t think walking in together looking freshly fucked with her limp ponytail and smeared mascara is the way she wants to announce it. I went to my room for a quick shower, and once I was out, I got a text from my dad that had me walking right back across the hall.
Thayer’s the one to answer the door when I knock. We filled them in on what happened with both Valen’s mom and Samuel when we got back the other day, and as far as they know, Valen came over in the morning after a fight with her mom when Samuel and my dad showed up.
Valen’s sitting cross-legged on one of the barstools eating a bowl of cereal. She’s still in my hoodie, her ponytail still slightly off-kilter.
“Did Dad text you?” I ask Thayer, holding my phone up.
“I was about to check it when you knocked. What is it?”
“The governor just withdrew his nomination.” I walk inside, closing the door behind me and read it out loud for everyone. “In light of recent controversy and concerns, Governor Greg Thomas has made the difficult decision to withdraw his nomination of Judge Samuel Ames to Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.”
The entire release is about four paragraphs long, explaining the vetting process, the importance of transparency, and his commitment to ensuring that all individuals in positions of public trust are held to the highest standards.
“Holy shit,” Valen says.
“They have something on him if the governor is trying to cover his own ass,” Thayer points out.
“It this good or bad?” Shayne asks, walking over to take my phone and reading it for herself. “I thought your dad didn’t want him to know he was being investigated.”
“Well, the cat’s out of the fucking bag now either way,” Thayer says.
I nod, suddenly feeling conflicted. I should be relieved. This is what I wanted all along. For Christian to pay for Danny’s death. For our uncle to pay for the part he played. So why do I feel this sense of unease settling like a brick in my stomach? “Something tells me that Samuel isn’t going to take this lying down.”
Valen
It’s been radio silence in the few days following the news about Samuel. He hasn’t so much as released a statement, and Holden’s dad assures him that he’s too busy dealing with lawyers, trying to keep his current position to even think about retaliating. Holden’s been on edge, though he won’t say it out loud. And for the first time since we’ve been together, I witnessed one of his nightmares. He woke up sweating and gasping for breath next to me in the middle of the night. I could feel his fear and guilt and grief like they were my own.
Feeling helpless, I pull out my phone and search Samuel’s name for updates, for anything that might point to what happened to Christian, like I’ve done the past couple of nights. I don’t know what exactly I’m searching for at this point since the details are still scarce, but I read everything I can find, scour every social media mention, every tagged photo while Holden sits on the floor in front of the couch between my legs. He’s oblivious to my scrolling as he plays video games, his arm hooked around my leg that dangles off the couch.