Chapters (66)
- Cover
- Dedication
- Keep Reading
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sneak Peek
- Find Me
- Books by Mary Catherine Gebhard
- Acknowledgments
I went to shove him again, and he gripped my wrists. My sheet fell to the floor exposing me, but his eyes were on me, and nothing save apathy stared back.
“Like you let me in? Like you promised you wouldn’t lie?” he whispered viciously. “You’re a virgin, huh?”
My mouth dropped.
“That’s…” Blood rushed through my ears. “It was before everything. It was before the contract.”
“How many other lies have you told, Snitch?”
“What if you thought less of me? What if—”
“You think that’s what this is about?” he boomed. “You think that’s why I cared? You think I want some shiny, untouched toy? How fucking little do you really think of me, Snitch? I thought you understood. I thought you got me.”
“I do,” I cried.
“If you did, you wouldn’t have lied about this.”
“When I started, I thought it was just a crush and it would go away—”
“So you were fine with hurting me?”
“You were fine with hurting me! I was looking out for myself, same as you. It was clumsy and ugly. I was trying to protect myself from you, who I thought you were, who I’d heard you were, who I’d only ever experienced you as.”
He dropped me, turning to leave without another word.
I grabbed him. “Wait. Wait. Then I got to know you, and…you’re so much more than I should ever deserve. I didn’t realize how much my lie would hurt until it was too late.”
“Were you ever going to tell me?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. A vicious look flashed across his face that only pissed me off. “Just look what you’re doing to me! You all want my heart, but no one wants to protect it.”
“Are you comparing me to him?” It came out on a growl.
I raised my chin, eyes burning. “How are you different? You keep me in the dark. You take pieces of me to build yourself up. You’re all the same. I’m sorry the lie hurt, but I’m not sorry I lied.” I slowly stood. “At some point this becomes about survival. You wrapped your heart in thorns, and I buried mine in secrets.”
His eyes softened, and for a moment I thought he understood.
Then he looked me up and down like dirt. “You’re just like every other whore looking for a piece of me.”
“It’s not about you. You don’t get those pieces of me!” I screamed, throat and lungs and soul hoarse with the effort.
He slammed his hands on either side of me. “I get all pieces of you,” he growled.