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 agreed with everything she said. The longer I waited, the more difficult it would be. It’d only been a few weeks, and I was in so deep already. I was calling him and asking to see him. I was coming by his apartment and riding him on the couch. I was telling him I missed him…and meant it. I was sleeping with him every night and actually enjoying it. “I know…”
“I’m sorry, girl.”
“I know you are. Being around Luca just reminds me how much I want a family. It doesn’t need to happen tomorrow or next year. But it’ll never happen with Bosco, and I never want it to. I’m stuck sleeping with a man when I should be looking for my husband.”
“I agree. But I think finding Mr. Right is the least of your problems right now. Right now, you’re dating the scariest man in this city. This guy is so strong that our family is powerless to stand up to him. If he wanted to take you and never give you back, we wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. Even Griffin can’t do anything. No matter if Griffin rounded up all his contacts, Bosco still has this entire city under his thumb.”
“I know…”
“So, end it. Do it quickly, and don’t look back.”
Easier said than done.
“Do you think he’ll let you go?” she asked, a hint of fear in her voice.
I really had no idea. “He said he would never hurt me.”
“He may not think keeping you against your will falls into that category.”
She was right. “When I asked to leave the other night, he gave me the security code and walked away. I could take the elevator to the lobby and have one of his men drive me home.”
“That’s not the same thing, Carmen.”
I knew it wasn’t, but I hoped that momentary taste of freedom was an indicator.
“What are you going to do if he doesn’t cooperate?”
I’d turned him down a few times in the beginning, but that only seemed to make him want me more. If I walked away altogether, that might ignite his lust in a dangerous way. It might make him possess me harder, make his grip so tight that I would never know freedom ever again. “I don’t think there’s anything I can do.”
12
Bosco
I was in my office when Ronan stepped inside.
“What is it?” I asked, hardly looking up at him.
“The family is here to claim the body.” His throat shifted when he finished talking, and there was a slight look of resentment in his eyes. He still didn’t agree with my decision, and he didn’t hesitate to show his disapproval.
Like I gave a damn. “Hand it over.”
He sat in the leather chair facing my desk, like this conversation wasn’t over.
“Yes?” I looked up again, this time giving him my complete attention.
“I heard the men talking. You’re seeing someone.” He gave me a look of accusation, as if he was offended I hadn’t confided in him with this information.
“Correction. I’m fucking someone.”
“You never fuck the same woman twice. So what’s this about?”
I wouldn’t be annoyed with his question if he didn’t question my decisions so often. “I’m not sure. I met her a few weeks ago. She was about to get raped in an alleyway, and I intervened. She’s been showing her gratitude ever since.”
“Is it getting serious?”
I didn’t do relationships and I didn’t consider Carmen to be my girlfriend, but she had my fidelity as well as my complete obsession. “I’m not gonna marry the woman. But we’re monogamous. Hope that answers your question.”
Both of his eyebrows rose almost off his face. “You’re exclusive? Then it’s damn serious.”
“If that’s how you want to describe it…”
“Maybe I should meet her.”
“Maybe not,” I said coldly. “Give it a few more weeks. We’re working out a few bugs right now.”
“What?” he teased. “She hates you?”
“Actually, yes.” I didn’t hide my grin. “She despises me. But she wants me anyway.”
“This sounds like an interesting relationship.”
“Quite.”
“Could this be love?” he asked, teasing me again.
“Not even close. It’s lust—which is far stronger. Now, if we’re finished with the gossip, you should get back to work.”
His mood immediately soured. “I get that you’re an asshole to most people because you have to be. But when it’s just the two of us in your office, it’s overdone.”
I had no idea where this was coming from. Our relationship was the same as it always had been There was nothing special about my words that could have possibly provoked him. I was so caught off guard by what he said, I didn’t have a comeback.
“You haven’t been the same since Mom died. It’s like you died too. And I’m fucking sick of it.” His voice rose louder as he kept talking. “I get that the two of you were a little closer than she and I were, but it’s been five years. You need to let it go and move on.” He marched out of my office and slammed the door behind him.