Read Online Shackled: A Stepbrother Romance Novel by Arabella Abbing - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Arabella Abbing
Ads: Link
there was something else I could tell her if she’d give me the chance.
But that wasn’t something I was willing to whisper into the darkness and hope she could hear the honesty in my voice. That was something that required the right moment.
The sink in the bathroom turned off and she came bursting out, staring down at the floor as she muttered, “Your turn.”
As I walked into the bathroom, I took a glance back at her miserable face and wondered if we would run out of time before I found the moment I needed.
Chapter Sixteen
Fiona
W aking up in Jonathan’s arms was like something out of a dream.
Or a nightmare, depending on which day you asked me.
He was holding me tightly against his chest, the warmth radiating through my whole body and making me feel weirdly safe.
Which was pretty ironic, considering I trusted Jonathan about as far as I could throw him at this point. Still, there was something to be said about being in the arms of someone you love.
Loved.
Another thing that entirely depended on the day I was asked.
Today, it was pretty clear that my heart was already starting to come back around and warm up to him. Not that I was planning to let it happen without a fight. Even though I had been able to hear genuine regret in his apology and I was beginning to consider forgiving him, I didn’t think it was possible for me to ever truly forget the heartache he’d caused me.
How could I ever be with him without worrying that history would repeat itself? He admitted himself that screwing things up was what he was best at. We had been friends for over a decade when he hurt me the first time. Why would it be any different if we were romantically involved?
My biggest fear in letting him back into my life and my heart was that I would constantly be second-guessing every word he said, always waiting for the next betrayal. Could I really live like that? Just waiting for the day that he got bored and walked away?
I didn’t know if I could , but I knew I didn’t want to. I deserved better than that.
“Breakfast?” he asked after coming out of the bathroom with a small, almost bashful smile on his face.
I nodded and followed him to the kitchen, sitting down while he went searching for something for us to eat. I watched as he dashed around the room, the tether between us jangling with every move he made. While his back was turned, I allowed my eyes to trail over his bare torso and an idea came to life in my head.
Would it really be so wrong of me to push past my issues and sleep with him just this once, while I still had the chance? Because even if I could bring myself to forget what he had done, our parents were about to get married. Surely, he knew as well as I did that nothing serious could ever happen between us now.
And I knew Jonathan well enough to know that he’d likely be up for some fun of the tension-relieving variety. Especially given what we had almost done last night. I still didn’t know where the strength to push him away had come from, but now a small part of me was wishing that I hadn’t.
Maybe sleeping with him would be exactly what I needed to get him out of my system once and for all. Or maybe if I gave him what he wanted, he would lose interest and leave me alone. Let me out of this damn shackle so I could call Brenda and go.
The uncertainty of my future was still weighing heavily on my mind and the sooner I got back into town and started applying for jobs, the better. Even if ditching Jonathan at the cabin raised my mom’s ire, getting a job should help calm her back down. I hoped.
So surely I could sacrifice my body just one time for that greater good. Not that I could really consider sleeping with him a sacrifice. Despite all the problems between us, I could at least admit to myself that I did want him.
The more I thought about it, the better my idea started to sound.
“Toast good with you? There’s peanut butter.”
I snapped back to reality, looking up to find him looking
But that wasn’t something I was willing to whisper into the darkness and hope she could hear the honesty in my voice. That was something that required the right moment.
The sink in the bathroom turned off and she came bursting out, staring down at the floor as she muttered, “Your turn.”
As I walked into the bathroom, I took a glance back at her miserable face and wondered if we would run out of time before I found the moment I needed.
Chapter Sixteen
Fiona
W aking up in Jonathan’s arms was like something out of a dream.
Or a nightmare, depending on which day you asked me.
He was holding me tightly against his chest, the warmth radiating through my whole body and making me feel weirdly safe.
Which was pretty ironic, considering I trusted Jonathan about as far as I could throw him at this point. Still, there was something to be said about being in the arms of someone you love.
Loved.
Another thing that entirely depended on the day I was asked.
Today, it was pretty clear that my heart was already starting to come back around and warm up to him. Not that I was planning to let it happen without a fight. Even though I had been able to hear genuine regret in his apology and I was beginning to consider forgiving him, I didn’t think it was possible for me to ever truly forget the heartache he’d caused me.
How could I ever be with him without worrying that history would repeat itself? He admitted himself that screwing things up was what he was best at. We had been friends for over a decade when he hurt me the first time. Why would it be any different if we were romantically involved?
My biggest fear in letting him back into my life and my heart was that I would constantly be second-guessing every word he said, always waiting for the next betrayal. Could I really live like that? Just waiting for the day that he got bored and walked away?
I didn’t know if I could , but I knew I didn’t want to. I deserved better than that.
“Breakfast?” he asked after coming out of the bathroom with a small, almost bashful smile on his face.
I nodded and followed him to the kitchen, sitting down while he went searching for something for us to eat. I watched as he dashed around the room, the tether between us jangling with every move he made. While his back was turned, I allowed my eyes to trail over his bare torso and an idea came to life in my head.
Would it really be so wrong of me to push past my issues and sleep with him just this once, while I still had the chance? Because even if I could bring myself to forget what he had done, our parents were about to get married. Surely, he knew as well as I did that nothing serious could ever happen between us now.
And I knew Jonathan well enough to know that he’d likely be up for some fun of the tension-relieving variety. Especially given what we had almost done last night. I still didn’t know where the strength to push him away had come from, but now a small part of me was wishing that I hadn’t.
Maybe sleeping with him would be exactly what I needed to get him out of my system once and for all. Or maybe if I gave him what he wanted, he would lose interest and leave me alone. Let me out of this damn shackle so I could call Brenda and go.
The uncertainty of my future was still weighing heavily on my mind and the sooner I got back into town and started applying for jobs, the better. Even if ditching Jonathan at the cabin raised my mom’s ire, getting a job should help calm her back down. I hoped.
So surely I could sacrifice my body just one time for that greater good. Not that I could really consider sleeping with him a sacrifice. Despite all the problems between us, I could at least admit to myself that I did want him.
The more I thought about it, the better my idea started to sound.
“Toast good with you? There’s peanut butter.”
I snapped back to reality, looking up to find him looking
Similar Books
