Series: Lee Savino
Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 63295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
I like Cas, but I have to be honest. He’s not my friend. Everyone who works at this mansion knows I’m a prisoner, and no one has lifted a finger to help me.
Then again, Thom probably holds something over each of their heads. A pressure point he pushes on to ensure their ongoing cooperation.
Had he done that with my mom when she worked for him? Had he pressured her to do things she didn’t want to do? Did he kill her because she wouldn’t give him access to exploit me?
I fasten the chin strap on my helmet as Cas leads Starlight out of her stall.
“All set, Miss Paloma. I’ll bring her out for you.”
“Thank you, Cas.” I follow them outside then climb the stair to mount.
I throw my leg over Starlight and take the reins. In the early days of Thom’s guardianship, Wren and I got exposure to all the rich kid extracurriculars. Archery, yachting, fencing, and of course riding lessons. We even had an English riding instructor come out to train us. I learned dressage and even had dreams of competing with Starlight. But Thom decided that would take away from my “studies.”
Of course, my studies had completely become stock market related. The tutor didn’t even come anymore for a pretense of home school. Every waking moment was focused on studying the numbers and making trades.
I’ve always been able to sense a company's future success or failure. Which markets were ready to flourish and which were withering on the vine. It was easy.
My mother noticed my ability first. She called it a gift. She never lived to see it become a curse that’s turned my life into a nightmare.
Over the years, I’ve made Thom billions. But it’s not enough. It’s never enough. Thom owns me. If he has his way, he’ll control me for the rest of his life, and now he plans to make me work for his friends, too.
There’s nothing I can do about it.
I guide Starlight to trot the familiar path to the beach. Once we’re there, overlooking the wild, choppy sea, I loosen the reins and prompt her into a canter, then a gallop. Spray flies, spattering my perfect outfit. Starlight thunders over the sand, racing the wind. My hair streams behind me like a flag.
It’s not freedom, but it’s the closest thing to it I can get. I savor every second.
I’m halfway down the long stretch of surf when Starlight shies and startles. I slow us down, so I can coax her to quiet. She’s nervous, prancing, but I don’t know why. We’re far from the guard posts that mark the end of Thom’s land, and she’s used to the security teams patrolling the dunes with their guns, making sure I don’t run.
Then I see the swimmer in the water. It’s too cold to be in the ocean–as I know only too well from the night before last. Only an idiot would jump into these waters for pleasure without a wetsuit, but there he is, big and bare-chested, shaking his dark blond hair out of his face, striding out of the waves. Water streams down the epic muscles of his shoulders and chest. I’m instantly reminded of the hundreds of historical romance novels Ellie has slipped me over the years. He could easily be on the cover of one.
He looks like a Viking, striding onshore to kill and plunder. And he’s headed straight toward me.
I instantly recognize him–he’s the man who sat beside me last night at dinner. The one who told that asshole Chip to stop force-feeding me. I was drawn to him immediately, despite the fact that if he was at that dinner, then he must be here to bid on me.
The wind chafes my face, and my fingers are frozen, but the rest of my body heats. I try to look away from his glistening wet chest, but I can’t.
He’s…incredible. Light glistens over his great pectoral muscles, where rivulets of water stream down to the narrowed “V” of his waist.
Seeing him stokes a fire in my lower belly, which grows to an all-consuming blaze. I’ve probably been around too many milquetoast boys of good breeding because I’ve never been attracted to a man like this. Maybe that’s the difference. They were boys, and this is a man, wild, with eyes like the stormy sea.
“Good morning.” He lifts his hand to wave and starts toward the shore. His voice is a deep rumble. It only increases the jump of excitement in my belly. My inner thighs squeeze against Starlight.
She doesn’t like him. She dances backward, shaking her head. Only years of riding keep me in my saddle. It doesn’t help that my legs have gone weak.
“Is it?” I call back as Starlight whirls in a circle.
The Viking halts waist-deep in the water, studying me as he rubs the golden stubble on his chin. His hair looks longer than it did last night. Despite the decidedly masculine lines of a rugged jaw and bushy brows, his lips are full and perfect. What would it be like to kiss a man with a beard?