Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 67490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
I reached up and started to thread my fingers through the curls at the back of his head. It’d become a sort of habit.
In the two weeks since my sister had passed away, we’d spent a lot of time together.
However, our bubble was soon to burst.
I just knew it.
The funeral was set for a week from today. We had decided to plan it at a better time for all of us.
He had to start back at work tonight.
I had to start thinking about finding a job as well.
Though, for once in my life, I was thinking about finding one here and not so far away that I couldn’t come back home but for planned visits.
It was… surreal.
And was definitely telling, seeing as the man holding me like I was precious to him was the reason that I’d curbed my flighty ways.
Needless to say, our bubble wouldn’t be our bubble for much longer. Life had a way of taking that away whether we were ready for it or not.
He shifted, and his cock lined up more perfectly with the seam of my sex.
Still, neither one of us made a move.
We were comfortable just lying here, soaking each other in.
“That’s a bummer,” I said. “I watched a few YouTube videos, and though you aren’t as flashy as the rest of the ringmasters, you definitely hold the audience more captive.”
“I learned bullshitting at a young age,” he admitted, his hand starting to stroke lightly up and down the length of my back. “Plus, sometimes Dad took off to NASCAR races, or decided he wanted a night off, and just threw me into his place without a single moment of notice. I had to learn really quick to become good at it. If I didn’t do well, he would beat the shit out of me.”
I gasped and pulled away. “He what?”
He grimaced. “I know you probably heard about my dad years ago.”
“I heard some disgusting things, yes,” I admitted. “It rocked the country. How could I not?”
Years ago, it came to light that Keene’s father helped in the abduction of children who were then trafficked. It was investigated thoroughly, and it was found that a whopping seventy-three children had been abducted when the circus was in town, and Keene’s father had played a hand in every single one of them.
“On top of what you know from the media attention,” he said, his cock no longer hard and pressing against me. “My dad liked to abuse his own children, too.”
I pulled him close, but he didn’t stop talking.
“Along with just being a complete asshole to all of us,” he stated brokenly. “He used to really hurt Hades. I can’t… I can’t…”
He couldn’t talk about it.
It broke him up inside to even think it.
“You don’t need to say it,” I offered softly.
Mostly because I had a feeling I already knew.
Being physically abused was one thing. Being sexually abused was another.
“Hades is the only child who wasn’t biologically his,” he croaked. “That’s something we didn’t find out until a few years ago. But it didn’t matter that she wasn’t his. Truthfully, it made her better than the rest of us. She’s still our sister, blood or not.”
The fierceness in his voice had me grinning.
God, he was the greatest.
“The love you have for your sister is beautiful,” I whispered against his throat.
He squeezed me tight.
“The rest of us just got knocked around a lot. We were forced to work from a very young age, and the only thing that kept us educated was the fact that Simi’s mom forced us to get it in whenever we could. Usually, we all hit the books between shows. We lived on the road,” he murmured. “And when Simi’s mom died, I kept it up for the rest of them. Dad was proud of himself and rewarded us all by allowing us to go to school. And all of us did. Until the day he died and forced his hand again. We only thought we’d escaped him when we went off. I was in the Marines, fucking finally happy, when I got the call. We were to all come home. We had to spend the next years working the circus together, or it would be donated to charity.”
She paused. “That’s awful controlling of him.”
“That’s my dad,” he spat.
I could tell he didn’t like the man, but that level of anger was surprising.
I’d never really seen Keene angry.
I pulled away from him, deciding that we needed a change of subject. “Let’s go. If we hurry, I can grab snacks before I watch you.”
He groaned but allowed me to tug him out of bed.
We each went opposite directions after that.
Me to his guest suite shower, and him to his.
By the time we’d met back up, we were both dressed and ready to go.
Though, he’d had a little bit more time on his hands and had made us coffee to go.