Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 94313 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 472(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94313 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 472(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
“I’m good,” I whispered back, kissing his jawline.
I wasn’t ready to lose his attention. I wasn’t ready for reality.
I stared at the roof of the car, refusing to let the tears in my eyes fall. He was being so gentle, so sweet, whispering how beautiful I was and how good I felt, and all I could think about was how badly it burned every time he moved.
I tightened my legs around his waist as he shuddered and his thrusts became irregular and awkward, holding him tight as he climaxed with a groan.
He pulled out of me and I stifled a moan of relief, lifting my face so he could kiss me softly, his fingers brushing the hair away from my face.
“You okay?” he asked, searching my face.
“I’m good,” I replied, trying to smile. “Why?”
“You didn’t come.”
I stared at him for a moment and then forced out a laugh. “You didn’t notice?”
“You came?”
“Uh, yeah,” I lied, laying my hand on his cheek. “You must not have been paying attention.”
“Not sure how I didn’t notice,” he said, a small smile playing on his lips. “Considerin’ all I can fuckin’ see is you.”
I smiled, not sure what to say. I wanted him to get off me. The knowledge that we’d been missing for a very long time and at any moment my cousin could find us naked in the front seat of his car made my skin break out in a cold sweat. I shivered.
“You cold?” he asked, kissing me once more before pushing up and away from me.
“Yeah,” I said softly, scooting out of the car. I shoved my skirt down over my hips and reached down for my underwear as something dripped down the inside of my thigh. Mortification made my cheeks burn as I hurriedly pulled the underwear on and shuffled them up under my skirt.
“Here, baby,” Otto murmured, reaching out to snag my bra and shirt off the hood of his car. Oh, god, had he already forgotten my name?
I put them on without a word, my hands flying frantically over the buttons. As soon as I was dressed, I reached up and quickly pulled my hair back into a ponytail. “Do you have my bobby pins?” I asked, glancing back at Otto.
He was leisurely buttoning up the flannel he’d been wearing over his T-shirt. I couldn’t even remember when he’d taken it off.
“Oh, shit.” He grimaced, looking toward the front of the car. “I think I dropped them.”
My stomach clenched with anxiety as I hurried toward where we’d been standing, kneeling down so I could run my fingers over the grass and pine needles. Every fear and anxiety that had disappeared while we were doing… all of the things we’d been doing, were back in full force. My panic was so thick it felt like it was choking me.
He lit the ground with a flashlight and I found two of the bobby pins, stuffing them into my hair. That was how Becka and Matt found us.
“What in the world are you doing?” Becka asked, startling me so badly that I yelped.
“I lost a couple bobby pins,” I replied, deciding to stick as close as I could to the truth without actually telling her the truth.
“Why did you take them out in the first place?” she asked, crouching down next to me.
“They were giving me a headache,” I muttered. “I took them out to fix them and he bumped into me and I dropped them.”
I had never been so thankful for the dark in my life. My face felt so hot that I knew my cheeks were beet red.
“Who bumped into you?” Becka looked over at Otto and made a noise in the back of her throat. “Otto Hawthorne?”
“Hey,” Otto said, his voice flat. I glanced at him to see if he was angry that I’d lied, but there was no expression on his face.
“I haven’t seen you in forever,” Becka said, leaning back on her heels. “How have you been?”
“No complaints,” Otto replied.
“You two know each other?” I asked, the bobby pins forgotten.
“Yeah,” Becka said easily. “We hung out a couple times last year.” She glanced over at Matt. “Before me and Matty got together.”
Mortification and betrayal burned in my gut. He’d said he didn’t know her. That he didn’t even recognize her name. Of course he’d been lying. Everyone knew Becka. She was pretty and smart and outgoing and willing to face any consequence as long as she was having fun. But why had he lied?
“Esther,” Otto said quietly, trying to get my attention.
I couldn’t even look at him. He’d seen every part of me. He’d been inside of me. Oh, god. How could I have been so stupid? The full ramifications of what I’d done in the darkness of the forest slammed into me. I didn’t even know him.