Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 140896 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 704(@200wpm)___ 564(@250wpm)___ 470(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140896 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 704(@200wpm)___ 564(@250wpm)___ 470(@300wpm)
What in the ever-loving hell is this bastard’s problem?
He wraps his fingers around my throat and squeezes hard enough to force all my movements to a halt.
My windpipe closes and all I can see is the shadowy side of his mask. “I said. Bring it back. Now.”
My survival instinct kicks in again, and I claw and hit his arm with everything I have.
I can’t breathe.
I can’t…breathe.
I slap a hand against his mask in an attempt to deter his attention, even if momentarily.
“Don’t be shy. Come out.” His fingers tighten further until I think I’m dying.
No. I most definitely am dying.
I go still, my hands falling to either side of me, and I attempt to go into last-resort survival mode.
His grip slowly loosens and a wolfish grin lifts his lips and a striking light twinkles the deep blue of his eyes. It’s like when the sun is kissing the surface of an ocean, light on the surface but will never reach any of the darkness beneath.
I slowly suck in a fractured breath but remain still so as not to encourage his choke-happy fingers.
“There,” he marvels, his thumb stroking the pulse point in my neck. “Perfectly statuesque. Absolutely stunning.”
There’s something seriously wrong with this guy and he could use urgent professional help.
I don’t like the shivers that cover my skin at his touch or the sensual intimacy in every stroke.
My body temperature rises and that can only be because I want to kick him in the nuts.
I contemplate doing that. I just need to push back—
“Don’t even think about it.” The rare light slowly fades from his eyes. “I’m on a high and that means I will react drastically to any provocation. Chivalry and I don’t coexist and, therefore, I don’t give two flying fucks that you’re a woman. If you attack me, I’ll choke the fuck out of you.”
I try to reach for my phone so I can type a few choice words for the asshole despite being deeply disturbed and slightly terrified.
Okay, maybe more than slightly.
He shakes his head again. “I mean it, Mia. Stay like a statue before I snuff out your life.”
“You need help, you sick psycho bastard. Go fuck yourself,” I sign, even though he doesn’t understand a thing. I just needed to get that off my chest.
He releases my throat, grabs both my arms and glues them to either side of me, then squeezes my wrists. “A statue doesn’t move, now, does it?”
Then he steps back and removes his mask.
I nearly forgot how attractive Landon is. Probably because, weirdly, I don’t see Bran as attractive. Well, he is, but I view it in a detached sense.
Landon, on the other hand, drips with charm and beauty. Both are muddied by his beastly nature.
He’s definitely on the spectrum of either a sociopath or, worse, a psychopath.
My cousin Kill has antisocial tendencies as well, and if he’s anything to go by, then Landon is a worse menace than I predicted.
I realize now that he’s never really shown me his monstrous side before. Now that I’ve gotten a mere glimpse at it, I can’t help feeling the need to turn around and run.
But I don’t.
I really don’t want to risk being strangled to death right now. Not when I’m still reeling from the earlier panic attack.
He throws his mask to the ground and takes a few more steps back, then tilts his head to the side.
A slow smirk lifts the corner of his lips. “I can make a brilliant masterpiece out of you. I can freeze you and sculpt you from the finest stone that ever existed. What do you think? But then again, a statue doesn’t think.”
I need out.
Now.
I don’t ponder it as I calculate the distance to the car and run at full speed. I don’t stop until I’m inside and the door is locked.
A bang sounds on my window and I gasp as I slowly glance at it.
Landon appears on the other side, tall and intimidating as he mouths, “We’re not done.”
I hit the engine with a shaky finger, and it takes me two tries for the damn thing to work.
Another bang. This time a fist against the glass.
I can hear the scream building at the back of my throat, but I press the accelerator all the way down.
The car revs forward, but as I speed out of the parking spot, I catch a glimpse of Landon in my rearview mirror doing the ‘I’m watching you’ sign.
Or maybe now, it’s ‘I have my eyes on you.’
This is the second time I’ve been this terrified in my life.
“Baby? What are you doing up so late?”
I stare at my mother’s face on my tablet’s screen and physically force myself to hold in the tears.
Rai Sokolov is not only my mother, the most beautiful woman inside and out, but also my role model.