“You know the worst part about all of this?” I ask, tears welling up in my eyes. “I thought you were special. I thought we… I thought this might be more than a hook-up. I thought it might be…” I cover my face with my hands.
Ryder reaches for me again, but I pull back. He knows he has hurt me.
The truth is, I saw something with him.
Something real.Chapter 16RyderI walk inside the cabin so fucking pissed at myself for this entire situation.
Justine is infuriating, but that’s also the exact reason I’m so damn hot for her.
All I wanted to do was protect Justine from Luther but all I’ve done is hurt her.
Still, I know in my heart that Luther would have hurt her a hell of a lot more.
I pace the room until I think of what to do to give Justine what she wants. Truth is, I know she wants me as badly as I want her but my girl is scared.
Scared of what being with me—a man she hardly knows, would mean. It’s too fast for her, but dammit, you can’t choose when you fall in love. It happens and you can either go with it or push it away.
And hell, the last thing I want to do is push Justine far from me.
But I did just that when I called her Princess.
And now she is pissed at me, with reason.
It’s no longer just about the fact I kidnapped her.
And dammit, that was a bad fucking plan.
I never thought about being charged with kidnapping when I brought her here. I only thought of getting her away from Luther. But it looks like my short-sighted goal could backfire.
I don’t want to go to jail, but fuck, maybe it will have been worth it in the end as crazy as that fucking sounds. I really don’t want Justine, beautiful and naive and ridiculously aggravating Justine, anywhere near that bastard who has disgraced my mother by his choices after her death.
Consequences be damned. She wants to leave my woods, so I’ll help get her out, pain me though it does. Maybe if I give her want she wants—space—she’ll realize what she really needs is me.
Picking up my phone I call for a plane. I don’t have one of my own, but right now I sure as hell wish I did.
Still, a plane can get here soon, and that’s all that matters now.
I look around my place, looking at the bed where I devoured Justine and I run my hands through my hair. Letting her leave like this fucking kills me.
Maybe falling hard and fast is crazy to most people. Hell, under any other circumstance it would be crazy to me too but then I met Justine. Spent the night with her in my arms, my body filling up her perfect cunt and all I want is more of her. My desire for her is off the charts and it’s more than physical. She challenges me, makes me think about changing the way I live my life.
For the first time, my forest sanctuary feels isolated and I feel alone.
The meaning of life has got to be about more than living for me, myself, and I.
With Justine in my world, it feels like life could also be about so much more. A life with love and beauty. Hell, a wife and kids. More than a cabin in the middle of nowhere with Justine, I could have a fucking home.
She could be my home.
I need to convince her she is wrong about me. I sure as hell can’t let this woman go without a fair fight.
And I am the one who needs to be fighting.
For her.
I’m so transfixed with this idea that it takes several seconds before I register the noise outside for what it is.
It’s a plane.
That was fucking fast.
I head out the front door, trying to figure out what’s going on but I’m too late.EXPOSÉ:The Gossip Column You Can Sink Your Teeth IntoJUSTICE FOR JUSTINE! By Trista PiperAll evidence points to a kidnapping of virgin heiress Justine Van De Shire and when the local police ran the plates of the abandoned truck. The results shocked everyone.
But no one was more surprised than the highest bidder, Luther Morris, himself.
As we have learned more about this investigation we have learned that this case of kidnapping is more than meets the eye.
Luther Morris is the widower of Alaskan native, Helen Ottenbagh, founder of Humans Against Harming Animals.
While this was not disclosed at the auction raising money for HAHA, the ties Morris has to this not-for-profit run deep.
Especially now that we know more information about the deserted vehicle. The truck is registered in the name of Luther Morris’s ex-stepson, an only child, and heir to the Ottenbagh fortune and presiding director of HAHA, Ryder Ottenbagh. Though anonymous sources tell us he is the director in title only and does not have any direct influence over the organization.