FUEL (DirtSlap Series Book 1) by Ashlynn Pearce Read Free Book Online Page A

writhing under him.
    She grabbed his head and crushed her lips to his. Her tongue swept along his and her little pants let him know just how close she was to the edge. He wanted her over that fucking edge. He shoved his hand up her shirt. Under her bra. Her skin hot beneath his hand as she flung her head back.
    “Thrand,” she moaned and shuddered in his arms.
    Shock rippled through his head.
    Oh, hell.
    He had just gotten Cameron’s little sister off.
    He jerked his hand out from under her shirt just as those heavy lidded eyes landed on him. It took all his self-control to think and not feel.
    “Cassie. We have to stop.” He gripped her shoulders to push her back.
    She blinked and grimaced. “What?”
    “We can’t do this.” Guilt ate at his gut, because when he looked at her, he didn’t see Cam’s little sister. He saw a woman who was ready to take on the world.
    And him.
    She pursed her lips, and it was all he could do to not capture them again. Hastily, he pushed off the drum stool and backed up, stopping only when he hit the wall.
    “I’m not fourteen anymore, Thrand.” Anger laced her words. “And you damn sure noticed that.”
    “I know.” Like he didn’t notice how well her breast fit in his hand. “But you’re not just some chic. You’re Cam’s sister and my friend. Do you know how bad things like this can fuck up a friendship?”
    Her eyes widened and she stood, hands on her hips. “It’s been seven years. Seven. With no word from you. Nothing. Friends don’t disappear like that.”
    “And I regret it. There hasn’t been a day that has gone by that I haven’t thought of you and Cameron. I have no excuse for not checking up on you, but…” He didn’t know how to tell her how ashamed he had been—and still was—for leaving like that. It was a thorn that pierced him, day in and day out.
    She threw it in his face. And he deserved it… every bit of it.
    “You thought about me but didn’t check up on me?” She grabbed his sticks and threw them against the wall. “You know, I get why you left. I do. Why would anyone want to stay in that hellhole if they could get out? But then, nothing.”
    “You don’t understand. I tried to get you help, and your dad threatened me with statutory rape for trying to intervene. Social services said they would take care of it but told me, in no uncertain terms, that if I didn’t butt out, I would end up in jail. Then I found all my stuff piled in my parents’ driveway after they’d heard I was involved with trying to help you. There wasn’t much I could do.” The shame and guilt of it all came pouring out. It had eaten at him for seven long years, and even if he couldn’t fix it, he could at least try to explain. “I left without a word because I knew you would ask me to stay, and I’ve never been able to tell you no. But I couldn’t stay.”
    Tears shimmered in her eyes as she slid back onto his drum stool.
    “You’re the one who got social services involved? Hell, I should have put two-and-two together when you were gone shortly after.” She shook her head, disbelief on her face. “My dad told me you left because everyone always leaves me. Because I was nothing but trash. If my mother didn’t want me, why would anyone else?”
    Outrage and grief choked him. “You know that isn’t true.”
    “I didn’t want to think so, but…” She shrugged. “You never sent word. Nothing. Cam was gone. My mother left when I was six. Everyone left.”
    The vacant look in her eyes carved the hole in his heart deeper. There was nothing he could say to make it better.
    “Did they help you? They said they would.” He hoped liked hell they had.
    She angrily wiped at the one lone tear.
    “Oh, yeah. They got involved. At first I was relieved, then I realized they were going to put me in a foster home.” Her jaw worked and nostrils flared. “So I lied. Told them it was fine. Made the house look presentable for their visits. It may have been hell, but