Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 114584 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 573(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114584 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 573(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
I know he’s expecting the worst, everyone knows what kind of man I’ve become since taking over the Moretti family. People know I have no mercy. If you disobey me, if you betray the family, then you’re as good as dead. My uncle learned that the hard way. When I killed him.
Just like Elena does, Romero thinks I’m going to hurt her, which was always part of my plan. I’m going to drag out the pain, drive the knife deep, and then twist it. I’ve had forever to think of this plan, to ensure it goes off without a hitch.
Smiling, I think of what I will do first. Let him wallow in his misery, thinking that I’m doing all kinds of things to his daughter, unimaginable things while he is sitting at home unable to rescue her.
After a few weeks, I will show her off and show him how much control I have over her. I’ll marry her and put my baby inside of her. But the icing on the cake will be when I have her wanting me. When she willingly chooses me over him. That will be the final blow, the nail in his coffin. The mere thought of exacting revenge gets my adrenaline pumping.
Romero should be thankful I haven’t killed him. Yet. I didn’t want the bastard to die before he could see what I have in store for his daughter. As if my sweet dark-haired Elena can hear my thoughts, she murmurs something in her sleep, the low sound drawing me out of my thoughts. Tonight has been a very tiring night for my soon to be bride, but tomorrow, I will let her in on my plan.
No matter what, she will become my bride. She’ll give me an heir, and she will bend to my will and my rules, or she’ll face the consequences.
Crawling back into the bed and under the sheets, I shut the light off and tug her to my chest. As if she subconsciously knows that she needs me, that I’m her only chance of survival, she burrows into my side. Cuddling into me like I’m her salvation.
The warmth of her body washes against mine, slamming into me, blanketing me. Holding women isn’t my thing, cuddling or being close. It’s personal, too much, but I need Elena to get used to me, and truthfully, I need to get used to it as well.
For a long time, I lie there wide awake. Turning my head, I bury my face in her thick hair. For years, I envisioned doing just this. Inhaling her scent deep into my lungs, sleep finds me, Elena’s beautiful face flickering through my mind as I close my eyes.
I’ve got my bride, and it doesn’t matter how much she fights it.
She’ll help me get my revenge without even knowing it.
5
Elena
When I awake I’m sluggish, my mind is a murky pond of water, and I’m trying to see through it and to the bottom. It takes only a second for me to remember the events from the night before, and my eyes flutter open at the same time, my body jackknifes upward and into a sitting position. For a fraction of a second, dizziness overtakes me and then fades away.
Frantically, I look down at my body and find myself still clothed. Clenching my thighs together, I don’t feel any soreness or pain.
He didn’t touch me, at least not sexually.
Looking at the spot beside me where he laid before I fell asleep, I find that it’s empty. Relief floods my veins, but that relief is short-lived when I hear a throat clear across the room.
“Good Morning, Elena.” His deep husky voice makes me shiver.
Slowly looking his way, I find he’s leaning against the wall, wearing nothing besides a pair of low hanging shorts. His muscular chest is on full display, an assortment of tattoo’s etched into his skin. I can feel his eyes on me, feel them watching the steady rise and fall of my chest.
When I glance up to look at his face, I take in the scratches I left on his face last night. I still can’t believe I did that, and I’m still expecting retribution.
There is a tray of food on the table beside him, and my stomach rumbles loudly as I eye it. I’m hungry, but not starving.
“Hungry?” he asks the obvious, clearly able to hear my rumbling belly. “I had one of the maid’s bring up breakfast. You should eat while we discuss what is going to happen next.”
“I’m not hungry,” I lie and tug the sheet higher.
It’s like no matter how many pieces of fabric separate us or how much space, I still feel as if I’m exposed, one second away from being completely naked.
Shrugging as if he doesn’t care if I eat or not, he plucks a piece of fruit off the stray and pops it into his mouth, chewing very slowly. “Suit yourself. Do you want to hear what’s going to happen next, or are you not interested in that either?”