Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 76541 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76541 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
And when he fucked me, he did it by putting me on my hands and knees and driving into me with almost a brutal sense of determination. He pulled my hair, slapped my ass, and pinched my nipples so hard they bruised, but I kept begging him for more.
Face flushed, I shove the photo in my pocket. Using the feather duster, I attack the marble pedestal and try to drive those memories out of my head. If I don’t, I’m apt to go lay myself across Asher’s bed and get myself off. I’d then wipe my wet fingers on his black satin duvet cover and wonder if he’d smell me later.
“Ugh,” I growl out in frustration. I can’t stop thinking about him or the sex we have, and it worries me.
It worries me that he has a power over me that has nothing to do with the ridiculous amount of money he’s given me and will continue to pay me to be his fuck toy.
“Stop thinking about it, Hannah,” I chastise myself out loud, hoping it makes a bigger impression on my conscience.
A text chimes on my phone, and I nab it from my pocket. It’s my mother, and her words are just what I needed to make me smile. Thinking of you. Know you are loved.
Carol Brantley was dealt a hard life from the moment she was born in Gaffney, South Carolina to a deadbeat dad and an alcoholic mother. The oldest of five kids, she had to go to work at the age of thirteen to help support the family. She didn’t graduate high school, ending up pregnant with me shortly after she’d turned seventeen. My dad left as soon as he found out he’d knocked her up. I’ve never met him. My mom was unlucky in love a second time, too, and married Toby and Frank’s dad. He left shortly after Toby’s birth, so it was just the four of us. My mom raised three kids on a bartender’s salary.
To say life was hard is an understatement, but it’s also molded me into a hard-working woman with grit and determination. I started working when I was just twelve—after school and in the summers—to help with the family expenses. It was usually cleaning the neighbors’ houses or raking leaves to earn a few bucks here or there. Every little bit helped, and I routinely contributed to buying groceries, school supplies, and thrift store clothes for my brothers and me.
I was determined to break the family tradition, though. After I graduated from high school, I went to community college for one year. But then I met Nelson, who was attending a conference in Columbia while I was working part time at a coffee shop there. He swept me off my feet, and I jumped at the chance to run off to Nevada with him. I was just nineteen when we married. Not a day goes by that I’m not guilt ridden for leaving my mom and the boys behind, but my mom was happy for me. She wanted nothing more than for me to pursue my dreams.
I text my mom back. I love you. You’re my hero.
She replies with a heart emoji.
It doesn’t take me long to finish dusting the foyer, and I leave a note for Asher on the counter that says, See you at ten.
By the time I’m walking out of his apartment and locking the door behind me, I’m making a mental calculation of the time I have left in the day. I was going to work a four-hour shift this afternoon doing customer service support, which I can do from home. I did not quit that job as the hours are flexible. Since Asher wasn’t keeping me busy all day, it was a good way to pick up a little extra cash that I stashed in a Christmas pot I would use to buy Hope something special.
Instead, I decide to go car hunting. The daily Uber charges to get to and from Asher’s apartment, as well as to The Wicked Horse, are adding up. I’m sure I can get a cheap used car for a lot less than what I’m spending on Uber and far less than getting my repoed car back. I only had to put down a five-thousand-dollar retainer for the attorney to take the case, which was the original bonus Asher had given me. The lawyer will require another five thousand to file the motion, so that’ll leave ten grand in my savings account. I figure I can get a car for hopefully less than half. I consider it a wise investment, especially since I’ll be getting Hope tomorrow. The last thing I want to do is pull up in an Uber at my ex-husband’s house. I don’t want to deal with the humiliating remarks he’ll make when he learns my car has been repoed.