Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 66062 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 330(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66062 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 330(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Aiden glowered at him as he sat down, but his hateful look was entirely wasted, because Zain didn’t even glance at him.
Scowling, Aiden turned to the food and tucked in, telling himself to just ignore the dickhead.
Except once his stomach was appeased with the delicious khuzi, he became terrible at ignoring the other person in the room. In his defense, Zain Rahim wasn’t an easy man to ignore. Aiden’s eyes seemed to gravitate toward him, no matter how hard he tried to keep them on his food.
The worst part was, the bastard didn’t seem to have any issue ignoring him. He barely lifted his gaze from his food, eating with such a detached, cold attitude he might as well have been eating alone.
“I want to contact my family,” Aiden said, breaking the silence.
Zain didn’t even lift his gaze from his food. “No.”
Aiden gritted his teeth. “My mom has a weak heart. The grief might kill her.”
“And you contacting her to tell her your current situation wouldn’t?” Zain said, still not looking at him, as if Aiden wasn’t worthy of even a brief glance.
It was fucking infuriating.
Aiden grabbed an apple and threw it at the asshole’s head.
The smack as it hit Zain’s arrogant mouth was incredibly, immensely satisfying.
Aiden grinned, but his grin faded as Zain slowly lifted his gaze, the look in his dark eyes chilling him to his core.
As if in slow motion, Zain took a napkin and pressed it against his split lip. The drop of blood looked obscenely red against the snow-white napkin and Zain’s white thobe.
Aiden’s stomach clenched. “Look at me when I’m talking to you,” he said, trying not to sound too defensive. Violence against the person who had bought him like cattle was justified. It was.
For a long, charged moment, Zain didn’t say anything, staring him down. “You refused to cooperate, but I still let you out of your room,” he said at last, very quietly. “I can just as easily lock you up there again. Don’t test my patience, boy.”
God, Aiden hated that a part of him wanted to drop his gaze meekly and submit to this man’s will. “And you don’t test mine. You might have bought me like a thing, but I’m not a thing—I’m a human being. The least you can do is look at me when I’m talking to you.”
The tight look Zain gave him was that of irritation mixed with… with something Aiden couldn’t put his finger on.
“Fine,” Zain said. “I’m looking at you. Now what?”
Pinned under that heavy, intense gaze, Aiden realized what people meant when they said to be careful what you wished for.
Aiden wet his dry lips with his tongue. He felt parched, uneasy in his own skin. “I want to negotiate.”
“Negotiate,” Zain repeated, as if he didn’t understand the word. It seemed almost mocking, and Aiden glowered at him, feeling a rush of pure hatred again. God, he’d never known that hatred could feel like this, all-consuming and overwhelming his every sense, making his hands tremble with it.
“Yes, negotiate. You said if I cooperated with you, my situation would improve. What exactly did you mean? Will you let me contact my family if I do my best to keep your brother in line?” God, he couldn’t believe he was even considering it.
Zain looked at him as if he were stupid. “Of course not.”
Aiden took a deep breath, fighting the urge to throw another apple at the asshole’s face. Or something sharper. Like his fork. Or the knife. He’d never had homicidal urges until he’d met this man.
“Then what did you mean?” he said with forced calm.
“If you cooperate, I’ll pay you a million dollars when I let you go home next year.”
Aiden stared at him before shaking his head, incredulous.
“Ten million,” Zain said.
Aiden just laughed.
“Fifty.”
Aiden laughed again. Jesus, this man was filthy rich. “Wow, I’m so glad that at least I’d be a very expensive whore.”
“You’ll also get more freedom,” Zain said, ignoring his snide remark. “You’ll get a better room, with windows. You’ll be allowed to go outside. If you’re very cooperative, I might let you accompany me off the island or even allow you trips to Dubai by yourself—accompanied by bodyguards, of course.”
Aiden chewed on his lip, considering it. It was tempting. Very tempting. Being able to leave the island meant more opportunities to escape or at least to contact his family. He might not be locked up in his room anymore, but Aiden knew he would go crazy if he remained confined in this house for a year. He wanted to go outside. He wanted to go home. A year of this seemed like forever right now.
“Fine,” he said, even though a voice at the back of his mind whispered that he was selling his soul to the devil. He quashed that voice. Being stubborn was stupid. Principles wouldn’t get him home. Gadiel wasn’t repulsive or anything. Maybe he could make it work. Maybe. “I’m willing to cooperate. What do you want me to do?”