Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 39756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 199(@200wpm)___ 159(@250wpm)___ 133(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 199(@200wpm)___ 159(@250wpm)___ 133(@300wpm)
“Nico, you’re being ridiculous. You’d rather we get married than use me as bait. Make it make sense to me, please, because the man who was just buried deep inside me, who is now giving me one option, isn’t the same man who whispered, what I’m sure means something important to you or was that your way of making me feel loved without using the word?” Journey is naked, opening drawers, slamming them shut until she finds a shirt of mine and slides it over her head before she goes through the drawers once again until she lands on my socks. Watching her bend to put one on and then the other shouldn’t make me happy. The way she’s carrying on, wearing my clothes, it’s better than her finding a heavy object and throwing it at my head.
“You mean the fucking world to me. Not only would us being married protect you from this Russian prick, it’d make it damn hard for a cop to pick you up, question you for hours on end, trying to lure information out of you about me and the famiglia.” I get out of bed and reach for my own shorts. A level playing field is going to be key because there’s a look of pure annoyance written all over Journey’s face.
“Was this the meeting you had with Wylder, about marrying me off like I’m some cow on an auction block?” she huffs out, walking the length of the room to the glass doors, looking out them instead of at me. I didn’t tell her the reason for meeting Wylde at his office, only that I had to speak to him. I slide my shorts on and walk towards her. It’s not the ideal situation, and I haven’t said that four-letter word to her. That doesn’t mean what I feel for her isn’t strong, if not stronger than some measly word that is used more often than it should be.
“You’re not a cow, Journey. I told your brother the options. He didn’t agree with any of them but told me you’re a big girl and can make your own decision. The thought of using you as a lure to this fucker makes me murderous. He’s known for selling not only drugs but women. One wrong move, and you could be lost to me forever. That’s not happening, vita mia.” My hands take hers in my own, holding them, fingers threaded together as I raise hers to the glass doors. My body cocoons hers, feeling the slight tremble after admitting more than I should to her.
“It’s really this bad?” The back of her head lies against my shoulder. My lips graze her neck.
“Worse than your wildest imagination and then some. I know it’s not the fairytale wedding you’ve dreamed of as a little girl, but one day soon, when my parents are back and things have settled down, I’ll give you exactly what you deserve,” I admit.
“If we get married, it’s forever?” I mash down on my back molars, pissed that she’d ask such a question, taking in the fact it’s my own fault. We clearly haven’t discussed as much as we should have throughout these past few months. Another thing to fix. Jesus, what a mess I’ve made of her life.
“It’s forever. If you ran away, I’d chase after you, bring you home, and tie you to our bed. I may not do a lot of things right, Journey, but this I will. We’ll be married in every sense of the word.” My thoughts go rogue, thinking about a few years down the road, my ring on her finger, a baby I put in her belly, thinking about the noise of other children filling this otherwise empty house.
“I should be pissed at you. Honestly, I’m not above kicking you between the legs and hurting your balls. This isn’t what I expected at all, putting me on the spot, changing things so drastically when it could be as easy as me sitting at a bar to reel this disgusting pig of a man in. How will we even explain this to my parents? Mom is going to kill you, and your mom, oh my gosh, I don’t even want to think about all the fast talking you’ll have to do to pull this off.” Journey relaxes her body against mine. Once again, she’s right. I’ll have a lot of ruffled feathers to smooth come tomorrow. The rest of the afternoon is for us, and tonight, well, I’ll be taking Journey Donotello all fucking night.
“Leave that up to me, alright?” My teeth nip at her neck, and my cock loses its will to stay soft as she arches her ass into my groin. It seems we’ll be celebrating early after all.
FOURTEEN
Journey
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Delaney asks for the tenth time since he’s arrived at Nico’s place. Truth be told, I have no way of knowing if it is or isn’t. In all fairness, running for the hills probably would have been a better idea, but losing Nico would have stopped me in my tracks. The man who’s never upset was today. Things really are rocky, and until he can get a lock on this situation, I’m not going to add any stress to his life. Am a I pushover? Probably, but when you love someone, you do some really stupid shit, and I’m not a fool to deny that this isn’t one of those moments I should dive in headfirst.