Hundreds (Dollar, #3)

by Pepper Winters

He’d almost destroyed me. Almost. But he hadn’t. And from the ashes, I stood tall.

He could steal from me so easily. He could hurt me far too simply. Yet he hadn’t. He’d cradled me in his arms. He’d kissed away my tears. He let me hit him.

With him filling me, I’d suffered a complex recipe of fear and power. Fear because of my past. Power because of the way he looked at me. He’d let me drown in those emotions until he withdrew, transforming us from one person to two again.

From now on, I was normal. And normal girls wore clothing.

Sensuality had nothing on him. Elder was the dictionary definition of sensual from the way his muscles clenched in need, his nostrils flared in want, and his lust wound tightly in constraint.

“If I had been there. If I’d been in the same room as you and seen you stand in front of those bastards with a price tag on your head, I wouldn’t have stood by and watch you be sold. I would’ve fucking won you, do you hear me? Whatever drew us together at Alrik’s would’ve drawn me to you then.”

His care was all about raising me to be his equal because there I was strong enough to give him what he ultimately wanted.

He shattered me but held me together in equal measures. My nemesis and saviour.

But you should know…if you send me away to return to a time warp where I no longer belong, return me to people who don’t know what I’ve been through, if I have relapses or nightmares, or have to relearn to survive all over again…then fine.” Her eyes glowed. “I can do that. I will do that. And I’ll do it because of you. Because of you, I’m strong enough to endure whatever comes next.”

Get it fucking together. Enough with the inner monologue. You sound like a fool.

I would never take making eye contact or indulging in a conversation for granted ever again. Pim had taught me the value of such simple things.

“The moment you found me, I didn’t stand a chance.”

“You were the first to call me a friend.” Her neck rippled as she swallowed. “I’d like to be yours in return.”

He had a soul. And it was a vibrant, throbbing thing visible, not just in his eyes, but in every nuance, kiss, and motion.

“I won’t have sex with you again because I could lose myself in you. I would become utterly, terribly addicted. Once I’d had you—fully had you where you wanted me as much as I wanted you—I’d never be able to stop. I’d fuck you every hour of every day. I’d forget to eat, sleep, breathe. All I would need is you. All I would want is you. And that sort of obsession is not healthy—for either of us.”

But Pim was worth it. She was worth every penny. Even if she cost me everything.

He was stunning when unhurt. But he was drool-worthy slightly beaten up.

“I’ll tell you why you make me weak, Pim. You make me so fucking hard I can’t think straight. You crawl inside my mind when you have no right to do so. You intrigue me, confuse me, and make me contradict everything I know and believe. You corrupt me.”

If by some miracle I enjoyed it. If I didn’t have a panic attack and fell into old adopted habits, then he would regret surrendering. I would want him again and again—I would use him to claim everything that had been stolen from me.

He’d kissed me awake like Sleeping Beauty and removed the poisoned apple from my soul like Snow White. He was my happily ever after.

She gave me lust rheumatism, and I hated that I was so far fucking gone, I came up with such ridiculous analogies.

Did no one else see what I did? See the empress in mortal form? See the warrior so much braver than anyone?

He was gravity. He was the moon, and I was the ocean, and together we couldn’t look away for a moment.

“A soul is priceless and could never have a monetary sum attached. Net worth might make a difference in this life, but when we die, we’re all worth the same.”

“We’re worth the weight of what we leave behind. The people we’ve touched. The lives we’ve shared. The knowledge we’ve gathered and traded. Physically, we’re worth the dust our corpses turn into, but spiritually, we’re rich forever.”

“I don’t believe that. This is real. You’re

real. What I feel for you is real.”

“Do you know in my culture if a family member is renounced, they’re called no one? They have no home, no people, nowhere to go. Until I saved you, I was no one. Do you understand how crazy that coincidence is? To steal your notes and feel as if you’ve been writing to me this entire time? To believe that you were begging me to find you, yet it took me two fucking years to free you?”

Elder was my sun, my air, my world. And I let him ride me.

He told me about Pim’s mother. About what she’d done.

About where she was. About everything.

“My point is I was only able to come and enjoy what happened between us because you let me touch you. You let me kiss you. You let me use you as my anchor.”

“I would rather you never showed me what love could be like because now I not only know abuse but I know the pain of being alone!”

You took me out to dinner and showed me what love could be like.

“I

have a comparison of what I want and will never settle.”

My heart bruised then set fire to itself at the thought of her with another man. A nice man. A man who would marry her and dote on her and kiss her good night for the re...

“There’s only been one man I’ve loved, and he was taken away from me when I was far too young. I loved my father. And even though we haven’t had much time together, I want you to know, I love you, too. Maybe not the traditional kind of love or in-love between a couple who found their way through fewer

messed-up beginnings but a love that is forever fundamental. I love you for rescuing me. I love you for helping me. I love you for showing me the true meaning of lust when I was so afraid.”

She’d said she loved me. Not in love with me. Not family obligation love. Not friendship love. A love that I’d earned. A love that could never be bought or broken.

But forever—if a man like me could ever hope for such a thing.

“Steal me something, Pim. After all, you’re already stealing something of mine.”

Game on, motherfuckers.

She might have just stolen a book, but to me…to me, she’d just stolen my heart.

“For you, I’ll do anything.”

nothing was better than sex between two people who respected each

other. And I respected the fuck out of her.

But it gives me something so priceless to know all along, my letters were meant for you. And you found me. I begged for help, and you delivered it. I cried for a new life, and you provided it. I craved a kinder existence, and you showed me it was possible.