Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 66980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 335(@200wpm)___ 268(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 335(@200wpm)___ 268(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
“How long do you have, darling?” I ask her, dragging my gaze slowly from her feet to her eyes. With each inch I devour, I notice her visibly shiver.
“Get the fuck out!” Her screech is cute. And I step into the room and shutting the door behind me. “I said—”
“If you continue screaming at me, I’m going to bind you to the fucking window and ensure everyone on the property can see those perky tits,” I inform her coolly, twisting my cufflink between my fingers while imagining it was her peaked nipple.
“Fuck you, I’m not your property yet,” she spits her venom, causing a smile to tilt the corner of my mouth.
It’s been a long time since any woman has been brave enough to say something like that to me. Actually, most of them would fall to their knees in my presence, but Brielle is different. Trust my father to find someone fiery and defiant.
“I’m thrilled you said yet because once there’s a ring on your finger and you’re bearing the Venier name, if you ever so much as utter a defiant word to me, I will take you across my knee,” I inform her, as I cross my arms and lean against the door.
“You’re a joke,” she throws back. “I’m here to study. You’re just a complication in my life.” Her voice lowers, and her tone turns sad. “My father should never have promised something that wasn’t his to give.”
Almost as if the fight leaves her, she pulls on an oversized tee, affording me a split-second peek at her perfect tits before her upper body to the top of her thighs is covered. I’m shocked to find I miss seeing the smooth skin that will most definitely feature in my fantasies when I’m alone.
“This life isn’t fair,” I tell her, thinking about my own future. I didn’t choose her, but she’s here, and I have to make the best of this situation my father threw me into. “Especially when you are a member of the familia. Choice is taken away from you and you’re no longer your own person.”
Brielle lifts her eyes. Those pretty gold orbs remind me so much of Emilio’s. I still can’t believe my father arranged for me to marry her. But looking at her long, flowing, chestnut locks, those soft, plump lips, and her watchful gaze, I don’t think it’s such a terrible deal.
“But I never wanted to be part of this life,” she insists. “My father took me away from it and raised me alone. He risked his life to save mine, yet I’m now being thrown back into the darkness without a safety net.”
Something inside me twists painfully, my chest tightens, knowing she’ll never have a normal life either. We’re nothing but slaves to our fate. And destiny is a frightful bitch. Serendipity and all that bullshit is nothing more than a lie. It’s not there to be good to us, it’s there to force us into lives we can never escape from.
“You’re part of us now. The Princes will never allow you to get hurt.”
I make her a promise I’ve never made to anyone outside my circle of friends. But it’s true. No matter how she came into our lives, I have a responsibility, and so do my brothers. We may be immoral, but we’re not out to hurt innocents.
“But don’t mistake our protection for kindness,” I tell her. “I still hate you.”
DANGEROUS STEPS
BRIELLE
I have seen none of the Princes all day. I spent most of my time in my bedroom, not wanting to take the chance I might bump into one of them. Judah instilled fear in my heart last night when he told me he hates me. Not that I should care, but I can’t stop my chest aching from the knowledge.
Even though I already knew he didn’t see me as someone he’d choose to spend his life with, I’d hoped we could at least be friends. But, I realise now that will never be possible with Judah. This isn’t a fairy tale, so I shouldn’t expect a happy ever after.
Sadness holds me hostage as I consider what’s going to happen over the next few weeks and months. My life is going to change, even more than it has already, and it’s out of my control. It feels as if I’m caught in a rip tide, and I’m being pulled under.
As night steals the day, I move through the enormous house and come across a long, dark hallway on the top floor I haven’t explored yet. Thankfully, it’s silent. There’s no one about, and I wonder what they’re doing. There are a few doors along either side, and I wonder if this is where Judah and his friends hang out. Their part of the manor.
Even though I wasn’t forbidden to venture around the house, I’ve a feeling I shouldn’t be here. Call it intuition, but with every step, I feel as if I’m walking into danger. I should turn back, but curiosity burns through me, and my feet move of their own accord.