Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 71348 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71348 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
“This is just how things need to be,” he told me even though I hadn’t mentioned it.
I nodded. “Yeah, I got that last night.” I finished it with a smile.
He didn’t look pleased. I held his gaze until he bent down and put his hands on the armrests, caging me in.
“Then, why aren’t you standing up to give me a kiss?”
Because I want to currently jerk that damn bun out of your hair and slap your face. I was so angry. I didn’t say that though.
“I didn’t know that was expected of me,” I replied. “I’m new at this. I’ve never shared a boyfriend before. I don’t know the rules.” I couldn’t help it. There was only so much I could control. Right now, my mouth was working on its own.
His eyes flared, and I knew what I had said was sarcastic, but I was not dealing well with this, and he needed to get out of here. I wasn’t sure how much longer I’d go without cracking and doing exactly what I had imagined doing.
He grabbed my arm and pulled me to stand with more force than necessary. “That’s not what you’re fucking doing,” he growled, as if he had a reason to be angry.
He had me to fuck whenever he wanted and a line of women to date whenever he desired.
“Again, this is new to me,” I informed him. “And you’re hurting my arm. If you wouldn’t mind easing up on it a little.”
His jaw clenched, and he let go of my arm. “I’ve got work to handle. I can’t deal with this shit right now.”
I shrugged. “Go, work. This shit will stay right here, like a good girl.”
“Madeline!” It was a warning. I knew it was.
I blinked, looking as innocent as I could, and stared up at him.
He inhaled sharply. “We will finish this tonight.”
“Okay,” I replied.
Although if he thought he was going to crawl in bed with me and fuck me after dating another woman, he was mistaken. I did have some limits. Last night, I’d been dealing with the fact that I had lived a lie my entire life and Blaise was all I had in this world. But today, as I had sat here with my book and my thoughts, I’d realized I was stronger than that. I loved him. That was the only reason I was standing here, taking this. But he could push me too far. And I was feeling pushed right now.
He didn’t kiss me. Instead, he walked away, leaving me standing there. I waited until he was out of the room before sighing and dropping back into the chair. My heart hurt, I was nauseous again, and I felt like a child he was growing weary of.
“Damn, you’re tough,” Gina whispered.
She had no idea how wrong she was. I used to be tough. Not so much anymore. I was in a man’s house with a book while he was on a date with another woman. This was not tough. This was just pathetic.
We stayed silent until a chime went off, alerting us that the back door leading into the garage had opened. He was gone.
“Want to eat ice cream and watch a movie? Trev said he’d come, but honestly, unless Garrett lets him leave, that’s not a sure thing.”
I looked toward the door that led to the stairs going to the third floor. “Where is Angel?” I asked.
“She had a bad day. The nurse gave her Valium. She’ll be out until the morning.”
I had yet to see her since I had come back. I wondered if that was on purpose. Seeing me never made her happy. Another reason I should find a different place to live.
“Since Blaise is openly dating other women and no one ever sees me with him, wouldn’t I be safe now? I mean, I could live somewhere else. Get a job and not have to worry about being abducted or killed.”
Gina shook her head. “Nope. Just because he takes other women out in public, you’re still not safe. You are Eli’s granddaughter. You’re part of the family. If I didn’t live here, I’d have to live at the ranch. I can’t live on my own either. The women in the family have to be protected.”
That wasn’t what I’d wanted to hear. Some hope that I could leave here and get a life without a fight would be nice.
Sighing, I looked back down at the book in my lap. I had no idea what this was about. I hadn’t turned the page in over an hour. Gina was sitting on the sofa with the remote, not saying anything more, and I was lost in my planning again.
Another sound went off, and Gina sat up straight with a frown on her face.
“Uh, that’s not good,” she said, then jumped up. “I’m going to go look at the security cameras.”