“You can’t afford to lose him. He’s your father and your only family.”That brings tears to my eyes because the meaning behind his words hits me straight in my barely-beating heart. He knows how much Dad means to me, so in order for me not to lose him, he’ll risk losing him.He’ll risk being tossed aside for me.He’d rather be abandoned again than have me go through it.And that hurts. Because he’s not supposed to take the fall for me when he doesn’t do feelings. When he stopped touching me instead of trying to fight forme.“I’m going to take responsibility for my actions, Nate. You don’t have to sacrifice yourself for a fuck buddy.”A muscle jumps in his cheek and he tightens his jaw. I can tell he’s pining for patience, because he breathes heavily before he speaks. “That’s not what you are, so stop using those fucking terms, Gwyneth.”“That’s what people my age call a sexual relationship. Fuck buddies. Isn’t that what we were?”“If you were my fuck buddy, I wouldn’t have honored yo
NathanielThe splash of water is loud, but it isn’t louder than Gwyneth’s shriek.It’s the first time I’ve heard that sound from her. The terror in it tears through my chest and clashes against my bones.Fuck.I don’t want her scared, terrified, or any of the negative emotions she’s written on her list.But now this has happened, and in hindsight, I shouldn’t have touched her when King was around. Even if he was napping, because he’s a fucking hyena and if he’s suspecting something, he won’t sleep. He’ll be roaming and digging around like a fucking lunatic until he gets what he wants.But I couldn’t stop it. And it’s not for lack of trying.I gave her the space she demanded, even though I hated it, because it was the right thing to do. I wasn’t going to drag her into my mess or give her hope that doesn’t exist.However, every day I spent without her was absolute fucking hell. Concentration? Zero. Sleep? Nonexistent.And it’s not about her body or how perfect she feels in my arms. It’s
The fucking idiot. If he kills me, he’ll go to jail and no one will be there for Gwyneth.That’s when I hear her hysterical cries for her father to stop, but he’s too far gone to listen to her.Or anyone—aside from the demons in his head.My lungs burn and I swallow the chlorinated water in my attempts to get some air. My grip loosens from around his arms and black dots fill my vision.Ah, fuck.I thought he’d try to kill me. But not that he’d actually succeed.Still, all I can think about is Gwyneth’s tear-streaked face and how she’ll probably lose both of us now.Me to death.King to jail.Then she’ll be all alone again.The pressure of King’s hand disappears from my head and I think I’m crossing over to the other side, but then soft palms grab me by the cheeks and lift me up from the water.I gulp in a sharp intake of air and splutter water as I cough up everything that I swallowed. The scratch and burn in my throat don’t disappear, but none of that matters.Not when Gwyneth is hol
But I nod again, because if she doesn’t, he’ll turn the crazy up a notch.She hesitantly places her hand in his and he pulls her out of the water in one sweep.I take a breath and start to climb out. When I’m halfway there, he jams his foot against my chest and shoves me back into the pool again.Motherfucker.“Dad!” I hear Gwyneth’s shriek when I resurface, coughing from the water again. At this rate, I’m not getting out of here. But hey, it’s better than being drowned.I swim to the edge and he’s waiting up top with a dark expression on his face, probably ready to push me again.But I climb out anyway.Before he can act on his plans, though, Gwyneth steps in front of him, holding her hands wide apart. “Stop it, Dad. Please, stop.”“You stay out of it. I’m going to deal with you later.” He starts to push her away, but she keeps her feet planted long after I’m out of the pool, dripping all over the ground.“I can’t stay out of it, because this is about me, too. I chose to be with him.
KingsleyPeople spend their entire lives avoiding crime—or try to.Not me.I knew that I’d do it one day. That at some point, the crazy genes, as my father and his bitch of wife called them, would catch up to me and I’d snap.That’s why I chose law. It definitely wasn’t out of a warped sense of justice. I just had to learn law to get around it and apply self-restraint so that I didn’t end up murdering someone accidentally.Or intentionally.It’s been easier with Gwen around, because I have someone to focus on, someone not to get caught for. I had to raise her, to be the parent my own parents weren’t. I had to be the person who protected her from the world.But I couldn’t protect her from my motherfucking friend.Ex-friendbecause I’m going to blow his brains out in about five minutes.I always knew I’d kill. I just didn’t know it’d be the man I considered a fucking brother.Nate and I didn’t start our friendship the conventional way. We were rivals for way too long, then we saw similar
In the past, Nate was never the type to hold back, not for any reason. But right now, he’s lessening the blow of his punches, no matter how much I hit him, and I don’t think it’s because I’m still recovering from the accident.The same damn accident that caused me to leave Gwen alone with him and the fucking woman who gave birth to her.When we’re finally spent, I roll to sit against the chair while Nate winces and leans against the wall, his legs outstretched in front of him.He wipes his face and grunts. “Fuck you, King. Fuck you for being a goddamn motherfucking dick.”“And fuck you for stabbing me in the back. She’s a fucking kid. She hasn’t lived yet and you ruined everything.”“She’s not a fucking kid. She stopped being that a long time ago, but you keep overprotecting her to keep her with you forever. She’s strong and knows how to take care of herself, and you need to start getting used to that.”“Shut the fuck up. You don’t get to tell me how to treat my own daughter. You will
Her head snaps up and the green in her eyes rushes forward. “No, Dad. No. He didn’t use me. Never. If anything, I made the first move, okay? I kissed him on my eighteenth birthday because I had this major crush on him that wouldn’t go away, no matter how much I told myself it was wrong. I even wrote the wordcrushon my list, but I couldn’t desensitize myself to him. Still, I tried, I really tried, Dad. I dated and went out. I forced myself to think of him less, but it became more. My feelings were unrequited for such a long time that I hated myself for having them. But you know what? I’m not going to apologize to you or him for the way I feel. I love him and it’s none of anyone’s business. It’s mine and I choose to have these feelings, Dad. I chose to love him. No one made me do it.”She’s breathing heavily, chest rising and falling in a frantic rhythm, and a tear slides down her cheek.Fuck. Fuck.Fuck!She’s too far gone for the motherfucker—whose death I will make the most painful po
GwynethDad came up with a plan.Or more like expulsion.He told Nate to go to the Seattle branch of W&S; it’s been around for a couple of years and has been growing noticeably. That way, he can stay away from me.It’s not that Dad cares about the Seattle branch, it’s that he wants to separate us with everything he has.Over the past week, he’s been setting things in motion for the separation of property and threatened Nate to shred the power of attorney agreement. Nate did it because he’s been mostly placating Dad. Besides, he doesn’t need power of attorney now that all properties legally belong to my father.Then Dad insisted that he divorce me, and that’s when Nate said no. He also said no to leaving because, “Fuck you, King.”Those were his exact words the other day.I don’t see him much anymore, because Dad has kicked up the overprotectiveness a notch. Obviously, I intern with him now and he takes me everywhere, including to his ruthless showdowns with Susan that he usually doesn
“You shut up, shut up! You ruined my life, you fucking asshole, and you don’t even remember it, so don’t stand there thinking you’re better than me. You’re not.”“Oh, I don’t just think I’m better than you, I am. It’s a fucking fact. I didn’t throw away a few hours old baby in the cold, not caring whether she lived or died. I raised her, I took care of her. I became both her father and mother when you were living your life with not a care in the world. So go back to that life and leave us the fuck alone. You vanished once. Surely you can do it again.”“I didn’t vanish. And who the hell are you to judge me? Were you there when I carried her in my womb when I was a fucking kid? When I couldn’t sleep at night, terrified something would happen to her?”“No, but I was there for the following twenty years when you fucking weren’t, witch. And I will continue to be there when you’re gone.”“I’m not going anywhere.”“Yes, you will.”“You can’t make me, Kingsley.”“Fucking watch me.”Tears are
NathanielI knew something was wrong the moment I saw Gwyneth sneaking up behind a car.Then came King’s fucking loud voice, because he doesn’t know how to stay quiet.Then Aspen’s full-body shudder as she barely remains upright.But the only person I care about is the girl who’s standing in front of them, her mouth falling open and her nails clinking against each other fast, as if she’s on a mission to injure herself.I step to her side, holding her elbow because she’s on the verge of something, and it’s not something good.Her gaze slides to mine and it’s a myriad of confused, muted colors as she gulps. “Nate…they said…Dad…called her my mother. It’s not true, right?”I tighten my jaw, then glare at King, who’s clenching his fists because he knows he fucked up. He couldn’t just keep quiet. No, he had to make a scene and have her find out this way.He hasn’t been subtle at all since he woke up from the coma. Even I could see that his animosity toward Aspen was uncalled for. She hit ba
“No. Look at me while I fuck you, wife.”I open my eyes and our gazes lock as he thrusts into me slow and long and deep. So deep that he hits a place I didn’t think existed.With each roll of his hips, he not only fills up the emptiness, but he also engraves himself into that large space in my heart that he’s been occupying for years.The space that kept growing without my permission and wouldn’t stop.His lips find my forehead, my cheek, my nose, my collarbone as he whispers, “You’re so fucking beautiful. So fucking addictive. So fucking mine.”And then he claims my mouth, his tongue emulating the same depth of his cock. They both pick up speed, his tongue and his cock, making the table hit the wall with each powerful rock of his hips.He kisses like he fucks, with maddening urgency and impeccable control. He kisses like he never wants to separate his lips and tongue from mine. And I’m a goner for his possessive dominance, for the way he handles me with sure command, for the way he k
“I miss you, too. I…it hurts, Nate. Everything hurts.”“I’ll make it better. I promise.”“But Dad—” The words come to a jolting halt when he places a finger to my mouth.“Don’t mention him when I’m about to fuck you.”A wildfire erupts in the bottom of my stomach and I gulp as he slowly removes his finger from my mouth and replaces it with his lips. I open up with a moan, reveling in how my nerve endings erupt to life.I’ve been dead for so long and my resurrection to life hurts in a bittersweet kind of way.For someone who doesn’t do kissing, Nate is the type who swallows you whole with the mere act. There isn’t an inch of me that doesn’t belong to him right now. And the dominant way he grabs me by the hair and neck to deepen the kiss turns me delirious.As if that’s not enough, he trails his lips to my neck and sucks on the skin of my collarbone. I hiss in sharp intakes of air, feeling the hickey already forming.“I’ve fucking missed your vanilla scent.”“I thought vanilla was borin
GwynethDad came up with a plan.Or more like expulsion.He told Nate to go to the Seattle branch of W&S; it’s been around for a couple of years and has been growing noticeably. That way, he can stay away from me.It’s not that Dad cares about the Seattle branch, it’s that he wants to separate us with everything he has.Over the past week, he’s been setting things in motion for the separation of property and threatened Nate to shred the power of attorney agreement. Nate did it because he’s been mostly placating Dad. Besides, he doesn’t need power of attorney now that all properties legally belong to my father.Then Dad insisted that he divorce me, and that’s when Nate said no. He also said no to leaving because, “Fuck you, King.”Those were his exact words the other day.I don’t see him much anymore, because Dad has kicked up the overprotectiveness a notch. Obviously, I intern with him now and he takes me everywhere, including to his ruthless showdowns with Susan that he usually doesn
Her head snaps up and the green in her eyes rushes forward. “No, Dad. No. He didn’t use me. Never. If anything, I made the first move, okay? I kissed him on my eighteenth birthday because I had this major crush on him that wouldn’t go away, no matter how much I told myself it was wrong. I even wrote the wordcrushon my list, but I couldn’t desensitize myself to him. Still, I tried, I really tried, Dad. I dated and went out. I forced myself to think of him less, but it became more. My feelings were unrequited for such a long time that I hated myself for having them. But you know what? I’m not going to apologize to you or him for the way I feel. I love him and it’s none of anyone’s business. It’s mine and I choose to have these feelings, Dad. I chose to love him. No one made me do it.”She’s breathing heavily, chest rising and falling in a frantic rhythm, and a tear slides down her cheek.Fuck. Fuck.Fuck!She’s too far gone for the motherfucker—whose death I will make the most painful po
In the past, Nate was never the type to hold back, not for any reason. But right now, he’s lessening the blow of his punches, no matter how much I hit him, and I don’t think it’s because I’m still recovering from the accident.The same damn accident that caused me to leave Gwen alone with him and the fucking woman who gave birth to her.When we’re finally spent, I roll to sit against the chair while Nate winces and leans against the wall, his legs outstretched in front of him.He wipes his face and grunts. “Fuck you, King. Fuck you for being a goddamn motherfucking dick.”“And fuck you for stabbing me in the back. She’s a fucking kid. She hasn’t lived yet and you ruined everything.”“She’s not a fucking kid. She stopped being that a long time ago, but you keep overprotecting her to keep her with you forever. She’s strong and knows how to take care of herself, and you need to start getting used to that.”“Shut the fuck up. You don’t get to tell me how to treat my own daughter. You will
KingsleyPeople spend their entire lives avoiding crime—or try to.Not me.I knew that I’d do it one day. That at some point, the crazy genes, as my father and his bitch of wife called them, would catch up to me and I’d snap.That’s why I chose law. It definitely wasn’t out of a warped sense of justice. I just had to learn law to get around it and apply self-restraint so that I didn’t end up murdering someone accidentally.Or intentionally.It’s been easier with Gwen around, because I have someone to focus on, someone not to get caught for. I had to raise her, to be the parent my own parents weren’t. I had to be the person who protected her from the world.But I couldn’t protect her from my motherfucking friend.Ex-friendbecause I’m going to blow his brains out in about five minutes.I always knew I’d kill. I just didn’t know it’d be the man I considered a fucking brother.Nate and I didn’t start our friendship the conventional way. We were rivals for way too long, then we saw similar
But I nod again, because if she doesn’t, he’ll turn the crazy up a notch.She hesitantly places her hand in his and he pulls her out of the water in one sweep.I take a breath and start to climb out. When I’m halfway there, he jams his foot against my chest and shoves me back into the pool again.Motherfucker.“Dad!” I hear Gwyneth’s shriek when I resurface, coughing from the water again. At this rate, I’m not getting out of here. But hey, it’s better than being drowned.I swim to the edge and he’s waiting up top with a dark expression on his face, probably ready to push me again.But I climb out anyway.Before he can act on his plans, though, Gwyneth steps in front of him, holding her hands wide apart. “Stop it, Dad. Please, stop.”“You stay out of it. I’m going to deal with you later.” He starts to push her away, but she keeps her feet planted long after I’m out of the pool, dripping all over the ground.“I can’t stay out of it, because this is about me, too. I chose to be with him.