Verity

by Colleen Hoover

wherever he’s from, it’s a place that didn’t completely beat the empathy out of him.

Most people come to New York to be discovered. The rest of us come here to hide.

It’s what you do when you’ve experienced the worst of the worst. You seek out people like you…people worse off than you…and you use them to make yourself feel better about the terrible things that have happened to you.

challenged with making decisions heavier than anything most people ever have to face.

“Some families are lucky enough to never experience a single tragedy. But then there are those families that seem to have tragedies waiting on the back burner. What can go wrong, goes wrong. And then gets worse.”

Was it my destiny from the beginning to suffer such a tragic end? Or is my tragic end a result of poor choices rather than fate?

Poor people don’t show up to charity events unless they’re serving the rich. Present company not included.

His voice sounded like his throat was coated in honey.

I liked the sound of his voice. I liked his confidence. I liked his teeth, perfect and white. I liked the stubble on his jaw. It was the perfect length to scratch my thighs. Maybe even scar them if he stayed down there long enough. I liked that he wasn’t afraid to touch me while we talked, and every time he did, the graze of his fingers made my skin tingle.

I’ve never wanted to taste a grin like I wanted to taste the one that spread across his face.

You can’t look at someone the way he looked at me—with the entirety of his past—without also imagining the future.

His fingers felt good in my hair, and his tongue felt good in my mouth.

Sharing a kiss that intimate with a stranger was like saying, “I don’t know you, but I believe I would like you if I did.”

likeable. When he pulled away from me, I wanted to go with him. I wanted my mouth to follow his, my fingers to stay wrapped around his.

He had lit a fire in me, and I was determined to make sure it didn’t go out.

I realized I was about to make love for the first time. I’d had sex before, but never with more than just my body.

by Tuesday, I was obsessed. I was obsessed with his laugh, with his cock, with his mouth, with his skill, with his stories, with his hands, with his confidence, with his gentleness, with a new and intense need to please him.

congratulated him with a blowjob. It was the first time I swallowed. That’s how happy I was to see him. I acted like a lady after I swallowed, smiling up at him. He was still standing by the front door, fully clothed, other than the jeans that were now down to his knees. I stood up and kissed him on the cheek and said, “Be right back.” When I got to the bathroom, I locked the door, turned on the water in the sink, and then puked in the toilet. When I let him come in my mouth, I had no idea how much there would be. How long I would have to continue swallowing. Keeping my composure was tough while his dick was in my throat, drowning me.

It’s disappointing, knowing this is his life now. Caring for an egg shell with no yolk. That was harsh.

I wanted a lock so they would all be safe from me.

I have no idea why I’m embarrassed to buy tampons. It’s not like he’s never seen them. And, knowing Jeremy, he’s probably purchased them for Verity a few times. He seems like the type of husband who wouldn’t think twice about it.

But even with how uncomfortable he is right now, I appreciate he’s making an effort to make me comfortable.

He’s savoring the taste of me,

“I’m going to take you in every position I’ve imagined us in.”

the ecstasy that surges through me propels me forward