Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 31449 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 157(@200wpm)___ 126(@250wpm)___ 105(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31449 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 157(@200wpm)___ 126(@250wpm)___ 105(@300wpm)
Just as quickly as his anger flared, he adjusted his mask, putting it back into place. “Listen, I’m sorry. That was unnecessary. I live a simple life for a reason, Sarena. My life wasn’t always as cultivated as it is now. There were many years when I was scared of where we’d sleep or find our next meal. I thought I left all the complications behind me, but then Emme showed up at my door, followed by you. This is all making me crazy. You are making me crazy. You mess with my head in ways I don’t like or need. You’re young, much too damn young for me. That’s bad enough, but I have Emme, and she needs to come first, no matter what.” He edged closer to me. “You’re such a good girl, Sarena, and all I want to do is make you very, very bad.”
Chapter Seven
Sebastian
I stood there like a beggar at her door, desperate for a moment of her attention. The last few weeks had been pure torture—this woman had started to consume me. Thoughts of her were as natural as breathing. There was only her.
The way her hair fell in front of her face, hiding her captivating blue eyes. How her slender fingers tapped on her thighs when she was into a song playing on the stereo. The way her clothes hugged all her curves perfectly. And most of all, the joy she brought into Emme’s and my lives. The last few weeks had been torture because the woman I’d foolishly pushed away was the only woman I wanted.
But I had realized something crucial: things with Sarena wouldn’t go south because I wouldn’t let them.
I waited for her to say something, but when she didn’t, my panic increased. I was being wildly inappropriate, considering I was her employer and sixteen years older. But I didn’t care. As I stood wondering what she was thinking, I knew I’d do whatever was necessary to make her mine. She would eventually see that we belonged together. I would make sure of it.
“What do you say to that drink, Twinkle Toes?”
Her gaze fell to our hands, my large ones holding her delicate ones. My fingers mindlessly glided along the inside of her palm. That simple touch was doing things to me that would drive a weaker man crazy. But I stood, waiting. I would wait forever for her.
Finally, after what felt like a fucking eternity, she nodded. “Sure,” she whispered.
I grinned and led us out of her bedroom and into the kitchen.
“What’s your poison?” I asked, even though I knew the answer.
She was a tea drinker through and through. I’d watched her sipping on the hot liquid in the few moments I’d been home before she went to bed. Tea was her fuel of choice. I smiled at her, thinking she was too smart for my brand of poison: whiskey, clean and straight.
“Tea.” She smiled as she sat on one of the kitchen table chairs. “Thank you.”
“This is killing me. Are you going to say anything?” I asked, unable to handle her polite silence.
“I’m not sure what to say.”
“I’m a take-charge kind of guy. Always have been. When I want something, I go for it, and I get it. And I want you.” I walked toward her slowly, closing the distance between us. Her eyes were on her fingers as she nervously laced and unlaced them. “Look at me when I’m speaking to you.”
Her eyes shot up on demand, and my cock twitched in my pants. It took everything in me not to bend her over the table and pound into her until she cried out my name.
“You’re giving me whiplash,” she finally breathed, letting out a sweet, barely audible sigh. “I want to be with you, Sebastian. I’ve never wanted a man before. But I have a lot of abandonment issues when it comes to men because of my dad. Being almost thirteen when your father commits suicide kind of messes with a girl.”
Her admission shocked me. I stumbled back as if she had physically slapped me. She might as well have.
“Did Devlynn leave that part out? I assumed she would have told you. Or that you knew since you worked for her dad.”
“What does Price have to do with all this?”
“Devlynn’s mom had an affair with my dad. When he found out, Mr. Price fired my dad, forcing him into financial ruin. My father couldn’t take it. He didn’t think about how he devastated us, how he changed our entire lives. You’ve seen my brother—if it weren’t for Devlynn, he would be spiraling out of control—until he was unrecognizable. Elis was a complete mess before her. He wasn’t allowed any time to be sad, so instead, he channeled all his rage into being destructive to himself and those around him. I didn’t want to shut myself up like Elis. I never wanted to force myself to be empty so I didn’t have to hurt. Instead, I started feeling things more deeply than anyone I knew. What I’m trying to tell you is that I break easily. I’m okay with keeping a hard line and being your employee, but I'm not a toy.”