Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
Drago knew he had no choice. He had to take over, make George comply, to fall and be at his mercy, and now was the moment.
“You cannot have her,” George said, without answering the question.
“No? Then tell me, George, does she mean so much to you that you’ll give up your life for her? That is all you’re going to get—your life or hers.”
Chapter One
One Month Later
Selma stared out the bedroom window at the impressive gardens. She couldn’t even allow herself a chance to enjoy the view. Well, she totally could, but she refused to. There was no way she was going to say anything good about her surroundings. If she did, then in a horrible way she’d be complying and see the good of the … monster who’d taken her.
She folded her arms across her chest and tried not to think about that day. The phone call she didn’t think would ever come, when her father begged her to help him. Selma wasn’t an idiot. She knew who her father really was, the crime lord, or boss, or whatever he wanted to call himself. She understood it in her own head by thinking of him as a bad man. Yes, a bad man who did bad things.
She and her father had conflicted on a lot of things, which had resulted in her leaving. She wanted no part in his life, or to be used against him. Rather than stay with him in the city, she had gone to a small town. Selma had a feeling people knew who she was, but after a short time, they had come to like her—at least she thought they had. Where her father was cruel and did unspeakable things, she volunteered and worked in the opposite field, trying to help people and animals. Mainly animals, because she had come to see that people could be entirely cruel. Animals, not so much. Yes, some were not kind, but that was because humans had hurt them, and that had turned them cruel. It was very rare, very, very, very rare for an animal to be born cruel.
She didn’t even know why she was thinking of animals at a time like this. Her father had begged her for help. There was no way she could have let her father die, so she had agreed to belong to Drago. Selma didn’t know what she had expected from the man, but it certainly wasn’t what she had gotten.
Yes, her life had been signed away to this man, but she had thought he wanted the most basic thing from her—sex. Instead, there was a priest waiting.
She was no longer Selma Kent. No, she was Selma Jones, Drago’s wife. He’d insisted on it. For the past month, she had been his wife, but she had also been trapped within his home.
She didn’t have any contact with her father, and that was on her. Drago had told her the truth. He’d given George an ultimatum—his life for hers. She understood why her father did what he did, but she didn’t exactly agree. That was hard as well, because she didn’t want to be responsible for her father’s death.
Life sucked!
As for life with Drago, so far it had been normal, or at least as normal as being used as a pawn in the rival of two monsters could be.
She’d been taken from her home, the small town she loved, and placed in a large house, which was more like a mansion. So far, she’d not been allowed to leave the room, and she was married. Drago hadn’t insisted on sharing a bed, or having sex.
Selma didn’t like the nerves that twirled inside her stomach at the thought of having to … have sex with him.
She didn’t know why he had insisted on marrying her. Glancing down at the ring on her finger, she couldn’t deny it was beautiful. It was a large diamond, but on her hand, it did look subtle. It was the perfect ring.
Tucking her hair behind her ear, she couldn’t help but look back over the grounds at the gardens. There was a lot to explore, but she had opted to stay locked away in the bedroom.
It would seem Drago liked to give choices or ultimatums, and she did not like many of them.
Drago had wanted to spend time with her, but she refused to spend time with him. This was what got her locked in the bedroom. There was also the tiny little fact that she tried to escape. So, the door was locked, according to Drago, for her own safety.
She’d been trapped in this bedroom for one full month. He had graced her with a calendar, and she counted down the days. There had been food brought to her, mostly by Drago. He had also brought her books, and although she hated to be thankful to him for anything, she was when it came to the books. They provided a little sanctuary away from this annoyance. She couldn’t call it hell. This didn’t feel like hell. It was just an inconvenience.