The Beauty Series by Skye Warren

deal. I was so eager to go with him I didn’t really consider what the imbalance did to our relationship, the way he thought of me.”
    By slow degrees, Blake’s muscles tensed with her retelling. He’d expected to hear the story of some idiot boyfriend who didn’t appreciate her. Worst case, the asshole cheated on her. But he didn’t like the sound of this at all. A rich guy pulling a subtle power play, charming at the beginning… Yeah that could go downhill fast, and he already knew this story had an unhappy ending.
    “And the best part was—” The way she said it made it clear it meant exactly the opposite. “We came from the same hometown. Laredo. A small place but still big enough to have a few high schools, and I’d never met Doug before seeing him on campus. So that winter he drove us both back home in his Lexus, my stuff packed in the trunk alongside his. We were going to meet each other’s families.”
    She paused, looking a little lost.
    When the moment stretched, he prodded, “What happened, your parents didn’t approve?”
    Her laugh was hollow. “No, Mama didn’t approve. But it was worse than that. We stopped off at his place first. His mom and dad were pretty nice to me at first. Naturally they asked about me living in town, where my mom lived, what she did. And found out she used to be their cleaning lady.”
    Hell. He hadn’t even known her mother cleaned houses for a living. He could imagine that didn’t go over well with the uptight assholes.
    “Yeah,” she said, correctly interpreting his grim expression. “His mom was kind of shocked, but his father was downright rude. He kicked me out. At that point, Doug got really quiet. He didn’t defend me or anything. He drove me home and barely said a word.”
    Fuck it. She looked so small, so alone. He pulled her into his arms, pressing his lips to the crown of her head.
    She took a shuddering breath, but she allowed him to hold her, even curled into him. “When I told my mom about it, she flipped out, saying I had to stay away from the whole family. We fought and finally she told me the reason why she stopped going there. Apparently Doug’s father had hit on her…like really pushy. She said that’s as far as it went, but I don’t believe that.”
    A shiver went down Blake’s spine. Rape. That’s what they were talking about, and Erin had been in this guy’s house.
    “I talked to Doug on the phone that night. His dad had some other messed-up story about my mom stealing something. We fought about it. Then he stopped taking my calls. The bus ride back took six hours since I’d left my car here.”
    “The fucker,” Blake burst out, unable to hold it in any longer. When she jerked in his arms, he soothed her. “Sorry,” he muttered.
    She burrowed into his chest. “It’s good to hear someone say that. I was half afraid you wouldn’t believe me either.”
    “He didn’t bother you after that, did he?”
    “Nope.” She laughed roughly. “I thought we were just having a fight. I mean, they were big problems, but I thought we were serious about each other. So we’d cool off over the winter break and patch things up later. Except when I got back to town, he still wouldn’t answer my calls. And then I saw him on campus with another girl. He didn’t even look in my direction.”
    “Good riddance. Look, honey, I don’t know whether this Doug is a predator or just a guy stuck with a shitty dad, but you know, you know it wasn’t your fault or your mom’s, right?”
    “Yeah.” She sighed. “I know, but it’s hard to remember sometimes. And then with you…”
    The realization sank in his gut. Cold self-disgust settled in his bones. “And then I came onto you like that guy did to your mother,” he finished for her.
    “No,” she said, sounding surprised. “And then with you I can’t seem to let my guard down even though I know you’re nothing like him.”
    A grim smile twisted his lips. “Not totally different. I was