Bullied Cinderella - Hollie Hutchins Page 0,56

back out the way I came in. We lingered at the window for the longest time with her in her room, and me already over on the other side, outside of the house. Every time I’d try to leave, we’d get sucked into another kiss.

18

Lucia

Leo explained to me how insatiable his desires for me had become, and it seemed that once I finally gave into them, I was just as hopeless for him. I didn’t know how to explain it. Thinking back on some of the things he had said and done was enough to make my blood boil in a split second. And yet the moment he pressed his lips to mine, all of that would dissolve into hot, flaming, arousal.

We met at the creek every afternoon, and each night he crawled back through my bedroom window. Jada had hinted at hearing strange noises in the night, but I played dumb and kept my door locked just incase. It’s as if Leo and I were taking all of that hatred and rage for each other and funneling it into each other’s bodies. And by the time we were finished, it was transformed into something else entirely. With more time alone, I might have dared to put a word to the feelings I had for him. But we both knew what we shared could never be anything more than late-night rendezvous and afternoon romps in the creek. So it was better to not overthink it, and we kept each other busy plenty enough to make that an easy thing to do.

“What are your plans once the fence is finished?” he asked me one day during an afternoon swim.

I felt a tinge of guilt as I was reminded of my plans for revenge. If he had asked me weeks ago, I would have smiled to myself as I thought about how I planned to destroy their reputation for good. But everything had changed now, and I had barely slowed down to rechart my course.

“Your family may still be unaccepted by some, like my prude of a mother,” he continued. “But you do have a small fortune from your father now. And you own land, which is as good as gold in our circles.”

“And soon my sister Jada will be married off to someone to secure our place,” I added.

“So what will you do? Will I have to find some new window to sneak through once you’re married off and sharing a bed with your husband?”

“Oh, sure!” I laughed. “I can see it now! I’ll fuck him and then meet you in the laundry room each night afterward.”

I turned around to see Leo wasn’t laughing. Instead, his eyes were flaming and glued to me with a familiar look of rage I hadn’t seen in a long time. He swept through the water quickly and moved over my body with an encompassing grip.

“Don’t talk like that,” he commanded with his deep growl. “A husband for show is one thing, but I can’t bear the thought of another man putting his hands on you.”

He clenched his fingers into my hair and pulled my head back to expose my long neck. He bit into me possessively and then urged my mouth open with his tongue. He kissed me like he owned me and he’d fight any man to the death for his right to claim my body every day and night.

“Well, you don’t have to worry,” I answered once my lips were free again. “I have no intentions of becoming any man’s wife. And since your family is too good for me, I guess I’ll die an old spinster all alone.”

“A spinster with a secret lover,” he reminded me with hope.

I wanted to laugh and joke, but it seemed unfair. He could suggest whatever he wanted, but the minute I reminded him of just how hopeless our situation really was - he flew over the edge. My heart grew heavy with the reality of it all, and it was enough to make me pull out of his grip and climb back onto the shore.

“Maybe you’re not so different as I thought,” I sneered as I reached for my clothes. He watched from the water with confusion. “I always thought you were an immature mama’s boy who was bored enough to play pranks on your poor helpless staff just to feel like you had some kind of purpose for your days.”

He growled in a deep roar under his breath and pulled himself out of the water.