Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 69945 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69945 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
If either of you are alive.
He is going to survive. There is no other option.
“Why then?” he asked.
“I’m not ready to talk about this.” I waved a hand between him and me. “I don’t know how to explain it, and I—”
He shook his head. “You don’t have to explain it to anyone. It can be our secret. I’ll be gone as soon as the trial is over, and there’s no need for anyone to know.”
My pulse sped up, and nausea curled in my stomach. I didn’t want him to leave, but I didn’t know how to keep him. A relationship between us was insane, yet I wanted him in my life.
Could he be in your life and not in your bed?
I’d find a way.
Would you?
I’d have to.
“Thank you.” I wasn’t sure exactly what I was thanking him for, and the look on his face told me he wasn’t either, but I walked away and closed the bathroom door behind me, not letting myself look at him again.
Once the shower was pounding down on me, I let my eyes close and remembered how good everything had felt with him.
Nothing about it had felt strange. It hadn’t mattered that he was a man. I’d wanted him, wanted to touch him, wanted my dick inside him. Needed to control his pleasure and then watch him fall apart. It was the same and yet different than any sex I’d ever had.
There was something so much more about fucking Corey. It wasn’t because he was a man. It was because he made me feel something deep inside, not just the pleasure of getting off, but something so much more. More even than what I felt with the boys’ mother. I’d cared for her, but sex had still been about physical pleasure. I just hadn’t minded staying with her afterward, talking to her, cooking for her. She was a friend.
The idea of me and Corey being friends was laughable. He was the man I was protecting. He was innocent in so many ways, and he was a good person. I was an assassin. I ran an organized crime syndicate, but I felt connected to Corey when I touched him. I wasn’t just using his body; I was…fuck, is that what people meant by making love?
Fuck, why did there have to be so many complications in my life? First, I’m asked to play bodyguard. Then I find out it’s time to get my revenge on Lisa. And now I’m falling for Corey. I froze. No. That’s not… I wasn’t falling for him. I liked him when he wasn’t irritating me.
You like him when he is irritating you, too, maybe then most of all.
Fine, but I’m not…I don’t have the capacity to fall in love.
Are you so sure?
Yes. I…I can’t do that.
I turned the water cold, needing the shock to banish thoughts that could kill me as easily as Lisa’s plans nearly had.
I hurried through the rest of my shower and dressed.
I scowled at my cane but picked it up anyway. I was going to need it after what I’d put my leg through. It had been so worth it, though. I found myself smiling again. What the hell was that all about?
I had work to do. I was still running the lending arm of the family business, but it had been days since I’d really paid attention to our payments coming in. I knew Val and Vito could handle things, but it was hard to let go. I liked to know who had our money and what our prospects were for a good return, but when I reached my office, I knew I’d be useless looking over spreadsheets and financial details. I usually excelled at any kind of meticulous work, but today I wasn’t myself.
Or are you more yourself?
I checked in with Six and Muffin. No one had been sighted near the house. Things were quiet for now, but I knew Lisa was plotting. She was going to make another attempt to get to Corey—and probably me, too.
She wouldn’t survive next time.
I talked briefly with X. When he asked how Corey was doing, I chose my words carefully. “He’s irritating as ever, but he’s alive.”
“Why do I sense there’s a lot more you’re not saying?”
Fuck, how did he do that? Even the top profilers I’d met weren’t as perceptive as X. “Nothing you need to know about. He talks too much. You were already aware of that.”
“I was, but you don’t sound like you really mind so much.”
“I can’t change things. I won’t let Lisa hurt anyone else, so I’m stuck with him for now.”
“You are, but maybe not for long.”
“You’ve thought about my plan.”
“I have. It’s risky as hell.”
“I was upfront about that.”
“You were, but I want to make sure you really want to do this. You are going to be putting your life on the line. You really want to lure her to you?”