Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 66548 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66548 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
I moved my hand through her hair and pulled it from her face, so I could get a better look at those plump lips and beautiful cheeks. She looked softer than a rose petal when she was asleep, peaceful knowing nothing could get through me to her.
Her alarm sounded a second later, making her jerk slightly at the obnoxious noise.
The serene moment ended.
She reached across the bed to her nightstand and shut off the alarm. “Ugh…” She yawned and ran her fingers through her hair, slowly waking up after the long night we had. We didn’t fall asleep until a few hours ago.
She moved back to me, hugging me like a pillow. Her hair brushed against my skin, soft like a feather. She finally directed her eyes on me, and as the memory of last night flooded her mind, her cheeks began to redden noticeably. Then she looked away altogether, ashamed she’d given in so profoundly.
I enjoyed every second of it.
She needed to be reminded that she needed me, that I wasn’t just some man she was sleeping with. She could pretend I meant nothing to her, but we both knew that wasn’t true anymore. I could feel her rage over the phone, how pissed she’d been that I hadn’t called her all week. She wanted to keep pretending to be indifferent to me, but I took that away from her.
Now I’d evened the score.
She moved away from me and rose to her feet. “I’ve got to get to work.”
I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face, loving the way she loathed herself from submitting to me so completely. She’d missed me like crazy. I already knew it before she told me, but it was still nice to hear. Maybe I was an asshole—but I was her asshole.
She pulled on a pair of jeans from the floor and then clasped her nude bra around her waist.
I watched her before I got out of bed and pulled on my clothes.
She skipped the makeup, but brushed her teeth and fixed her hair before she left the room and walked to the front of the apartment.
I followed her, watching her heart-shaped ass shake.
She grabbed her purse and pulled it over her shoulder, her phone stuffed into her back pocket. She kept avoiding eye contact, unable to meet me head on.
I grabbed her by the elbow and yanked her toward me, making her face me to look me dead in the eye.
Now she held my gaze without blinking.
“No more games.” My arm circled her waist and pulled her deeper into me. I gripped her lower back and let my lips hover above hers. “You look me in the eye when you tell me goodbye. You call me when you want me. You treat me like I’m yours—not some dirty secret. Do you understand me?”
She knew it would be stupid to defy me, not after the way I made her crumble into pieces last night. “Yes…”
I kissed the corner of her mouth. “Tell me I make you feel safe.”
Her arms hooked around my neck, and she pressed her forehead against mine. “You make me feel safe.” Not only did she repeat the words, but it sounded like she meant them. I didn’t need to be between her legs to make her cooperate—because I’d already conquered her.
“Have a good day at work.” I kissed her on the mouth before I walked out the door, saying goodbye like a man did to his wife.
I heard her voice trail behind me as I left. “Thanks…you too.”
I was sitting in my office when Drake knocked and walked inside. “Sir?”
I was doing the bookkeeping, making sure no one was hacking in to our systems and stealing our cash. The memberships people paid kept the casino going. I took my share every month as a salary for keeping the place going, along with insurance and liability. In addition to that, I gambled myself. All payments were transferred digitally, so there was no cash in the building.
The men would be too tempted to rob me.
“Come in.” I quickly logged out of the account, cleared my history, and then shut the laptop. I didn’t take chances with anyone—except Ronan. “What’s up?” I glanced at the only picture on my desk, a picture of Ronan and me with my mother. It was taken a year before she was diagnosed with cancer. It was Christmas morning—and I’d bought her a car.
Drake approached my desk, visibly tired after his long shift with Carmen. “I eavesdropped on a conversation Carmen had with Vanessa. I’m not sure if this is information you want to know, but I thought I would ask.”
I had my men tail her everywhere she went, joining her in restaurants and posing as potential flower shop customers whenever someone remotely shady entered her store. It didn’t seem like she aware of it, minus the pedophile who almost tried to touch her nephew. She had no idea how extensively I controlled every inch of this city. But my intention had never been to invade her privacy. I didn’t spy on her inside her apartment, and I didn’t tap her phone lines or listen to her private conversations. “Is there a problem?”